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Music
City
A fine place to spend your weekdends during the
racing season. I've been a fixture there since 1996 either in scoring or the
announcer’s booth or the pits. Follow the signs in downtown
Sportsdrome Speedway
With the death of the lamented Louisville Motor Speedway (where Shell and I
were married in 1992!) there really is only one place to see quality Figure 8
racing close to our home in Nashville, and that's at "The 'Drome', in Jeffersonville, Indiana, just across the river
from Louisville on I-65.
Indycar.com
Home of the finest on wheel to wheel action, the Indy Racing League, the
Firestone Indy Lights, and of course the premier event in all of motorsports,
the Indianapolis 500.
Downforce
For years the IRL Crew was a support organization for the Indy Racing
League. Conceived and run by a staff of dedicated volunteers, it was the
closest thing to a Fan Club the IRL ever had. Not so now. In 2005 the IRL
embraced and incorporated the Crew, creating Downforce, which is now the
official fan organization of IndyCar. There's
plenty of benefits for joining, not the least of which is that it's free!
If you join as a result of this link, by all means mention that you were
referred by TTE...for which I'll get extra points!
Trackforum
Used to be I was a dedicated user of this forum, which was the best site on the
planet for racing news and gossip. It's still that, but it's also become quite
a hotbed for political bilge, mostly right-wing, and as such I can't stand
being there except during racing season. Your mileage may vary.
Trackside Online
The source for IndyCar news. It's pay-for-play, and it's well worth the
price of admission.
Robic Stopwatches
I use and recommend only Robic
timers for racing applications and this is the best place to get them.
My Favorite Music
Shriekback
Weird. Insidious. Bizarre.
Lovely. Riveting. Disturbing. A few of the adjectives that can be used to
describe the works of Barry Andrews, and, variously, Dave Allen, Carl Marsh, Martyn Barker, Mike Cozzi, and
Wendy and Sarah Partridge, otherwise known as Shriekback.
They are also the only group besides Pink Floyd to make good use of the
tremendous pipes of the amazing Clare Torry. Creeping
you out and making you move your feet against your will since 1981.
XTC
Absolutely the best band you've probably never heard of,
and the inspiration of some of my more provocative short fiction. Long live
Andy and Colin.
Another band you must hear. In their fourth decade of producing amazing music, the brothers Mael (Ron and Russell) continue to astound with their
latest, entitled Exotic Creatures of the Deep.
Talk Talk
This is Within Without, the unofficial
(but very complete) web site of the original "organic" bands,
Talk Talk and O'Rang, as
well as Talk Talk's enigmatic lead vocalist Mark Hollis. Introduce yourself to
their music Today. It's a dream away.
Cocteau
Twins
Liz Fraser, Robin Guthrie, and Simon Raymonde
produced some stunningly original and beautiful music that must be heard to be
appreciated. Though they no longer record together, their amazing body of work
remains impressively contemporary after nearly 25 years.
Dead Can Dance
Original music drawn from some truly unusual sources. Lisa Gerrard
and Brendan Perry produced music that was at once haunting, disturbing, and
evocative. You may or may not like it, but you can't help but be affected. Now
separated, both are engaged in solo careers; of particular note is Gerrard's collaboration with Hans Zimmer in producing the
spectacular (and award-winning) soundtrack to the movie Gladiator. Her
latest work is with Patrick Cassidy and is entitled Immortal Memory.
Steely Dan
The official web site of the legendary Steely Dan. Need we say more?
The The
Absolutely the best and most original name for a band, ever. Yes, it's
outrageous, but Matt Johnson has the licks to back it up. His web site is just
as outrageous, and has a wonderful online jukebox on which you can sample his
work. His creepy version of Hank Williams' Your Cheatin'
Heart is...well, creepy. Also wonderful. Matt is
also pretty free with his worldview; thus, conservatives probably won't like
this site. Your loss...
Throwing Music Online
Home site for Throwing Muses, Kristin Hersh, Lakuna, and more. We have always thought Kristin to
be one of the more unique voices in music, lyrically as well as vocally. One
listen to Sky Motel or Sunny Border Blue should convince you.
Lloyd
Cole
LC's web site is a bit too precious our tastes (recent viewings show he's
getting better) but it's his own creation, and how many pop musicians
can say that? If you only know Cole from his work with the Commotions, you
really need to get out more. Lloyd Cole and Don't Get Weird On Me Babe marked him as an artist to watch, and the
stunning Music In A Foreign Language
proves he hasn't lost anything.
Jill Sobule
Don't let I Kissed A Girl (her "K-Tel
moment" she says, tongue planted firmly in cheek) fool you. More than just
one of the members of Lloyd Cole's Negatives, JillPixy
is one of those rare performers who can combine music, mirth, and passion successfully.
I saw her open for LC in March of 2001 and I instantly fell in love. You will
too. Some of the best, most passion-filled music you will ever hear, period.
GaffaWeb
The source for all things Kate Bush. Don't know who Kate Bush is? You're
probably not alone. It took twelve years for her latest release to see daylight
and she hasn't toured in almost twenty. She has only eight original albums, but
all are so, well, extraordinary...run, do not walk, and get Hounds Of Love
or The Dreaming and you'll understand. The truly adventurous will swoon
over her latest, which is called Aerial, of which you can learn more…
Kate Bush
…at her web site! Finally! How it could take so long for
someone so technically inclined to get a site up and running, I haven’t a
clue, but it was worth the wait. Maybe now it won’t be quite so long
between albums, darling, mmmkay?
New
Order
Rising from the ashes of Joy Division New Order paved the path for many
of the techno and house bands of today. But they were--are--so much
more. Other sources describe them so much better, so we won't try. Substance
is an excellent introduction to their work.
Yes
Prior to the techno world, there was The Word, and The
Word was Yes. Spacy, often oblique lyrics by
Jon Anderson, grandiose, grinding guitars and bass from Steve Howe and Chris
Squire, lyrical percussion courtesy of Bill Bruford
and Alan White, and often stunningly beautiful keyboard work, by the second
greatest master of the form, Rick Wakeman. They can
be a bit overwhelming at times, but their body of work is impressive and they
record and tour together even today.
Emerson,
Lake & Palmer
Welcome back my friends to the show that never ends...anyone who heard
4ad
If you have no idea what on earth 4ad is, you're
depriving yourself. This enigmatic record company is the ancestral home of the
likes of Cocteau Twins, Throwing Muses, Dead Can Dance, Bauhaus, Colourbox, This Mortal Coil, Modern English (remember I
Melt With You?) and loads more. For a complete listing of all things 4ad,
we heartily recommend Eyesore, the
original 4ad database. Stunning.
Pet Shop
Boys
The official web site of Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe,
of whom I am an unapologetic fan. As Pet Shop Boys, they have amassed a dozen
or so worldwide hits and have influenced club music inestimably. They are also the
first group we ever successfully picked as future stars after seeing the
original video for West End Girls on HBO, of all places.
eMusic
Where do I get all of the tunes listed above? Well, apart most of
SanDisk
SanDisk is the world leader in flash memory. Chances
are you have one of their wonderful widgets in your computer or your digital
camera. But now that you have loads and loads of mp3s, what do you play them
on? Well, you could spend loads and
loads of shekels on an iPod, or you could get
yourself a Sansa!
Myself, I lean toward the Clip, which packs whopping great sound into a tee-niny package. At $60 or less for 4 GB, and the best sound
quality short of a genuine hi-fi (remember those?) what are you waiting for?
How to describe these wonderful ladies…well, remember Bobby McFerrin and his irrepressibly cheerful a cappella Don’t Worry Be Happy? Then you have some idea of what these four Czech ladies do. I caught them, quite by accident, while watching a Michael Palin travelogue, and I was immediately captivated. You will be too, I think. You can download Singalana from the usual sources, including eMusic.
Another musical link, another quarter of
ladies from another land, and another simply amazing record. Kurr is almost
indescribably lovely, the kind of record that demands that you sit down, be
quiet, and just listen. They have
been known to appear with Sigur Rós, which is
only appropriate because they’re all from
…you would do well to pick up the latest from Sigur Rós, which is titled með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust, and if you can’t get your head around that, the English translation is with a buzz in our ears we play endlessly. Well, I hope so! This is great stuff, and don’t let the fact that you won’t understand a word they say put you off. You can understand what Liz Fraser of Cocteau Twins sings, which makes no more sense…yet it’s amazingly lovely. So it is with Sigur Rós. Enjoy!
I fell in love with this young lady’s voice and songs after hearing her on a sampler CD from Uncut magazine. I promptly acquired everything by her that I could find. She is one of the voices behind the The New Pornographers (who are themselves marvelous; check out their latest, Challengers) and is kinda country, kinda alt-rock, and kinda amazing. Fox Confessor Brings the Flood is a stupendous work worthy of anything I’ve heard since 2000.
Hobbies
National Rocketry Association
The source for all things model rocket-related. Their bimonthly
publication, Sport Rocketry is itself worth the high cost of membership. The million
dollar liability insurance policy doesn't hurt either, along with listings of
dozens of sport launches nationwide, not to mention the two big
launches, the National Sport Launch, and NARAM, the annual Rocketry Meet, with
contests of all sorts.
Music City Missile Club
A pretty darned active group of rocketry enthusiasts
with one of the best flying fields around, MC2 is often joined by their friends
from HARA, the Huntsville Area Rocketry Association. Both groups are well worth
checking out, whether you're flying tiny MicroMaxx
rockets or enormous beasts flying nearly 10,000 feet. No kidding, they really
do.
National
Speleological Society
Interested in caves? Visit the NSS's home page first.
I am an avid hiker, and this is probably the best way to get in touch with others who are similarly inclined. They have a terrifically packed calendar that is itself worth a visit.
Just fer
fun...
The Bob and Tom Show
Home page of the sick, disgusting, childish, and outrageously funny radio show.
Snopes.com
Snopes is the absolute source for utterly debunking
those weirdo stories people forward you through email every day. Amaze your
friends! Humiliate your rivals!