Bush, Brainsalad, and bemoaning the downturn

One thing I miss about only using blogger is that I could easily post a succession of thoughts and not have to make them entire stories. The application that I use now, is really powerful but can be a tad restrictive. So, this ’story’ is going to be nothing but a scattered stream of consciousness piece.

Lately, I’ve been writing nothing but city-planning and urbanism-related stuff and I have to sometimes remind myself that not everyone stays awake at night thinking about these issues as I often do. In fact, to many, I’m sure they are about as exciting to read as another recycled diatribe on the dot.com downturn. I’ve tried hard not to lament about the economic meltdown, particularly the sorry state of internet companies, but there are some thing I miss about
those naive, extravagent days of 1999-2000. I miss going to parties and having giddy conversations about a new technology that will make a profound difference in our lives. I miss meeting entrepreneurs who gushed about their new internet company brainchild, that you knew would probably never go over, but you admired their determination and zeal anyway. I miss the short period of time when Napster was seemingly unstoppable and Ginger would zip us off into the heavens. More than anything it is the entrepreurial spirit
and frenzy to make things happen that I most appreciate about that time.

Unlike many people I know, Dubya’s shenanigans don’t irk me like they probably should. Bush seems a fitting segue from the conclusion of the so called New Economy, to whatever times lie ahead. I remember seeing Clinton speak at the University of Kentucky, I think in 1997, and leaving with the sense that I had a mandate to go out and set the world on fire. It wasn’t just that he was articulate, its that he inspired hope and excitement about the future.
Clinton talked about things like Americorps, our domestic Peace Corps, which dares to ask Americans to serve and make a difference, instead of just sitting at home waiting for their tax relief so they can go buy a DVD player. OK, thats not fair. And I’m thrilled to be able to use some of our $600 toward paying off
the ‘ol credit card and putting the rest into savings. My beef with Bush is simply, he doesn’t inspire us. I know its not written on the president’s job application that he or she must uplift, inspire and make us truly proud to be Americans, but if he had this ability, it sure would help the medicine go down.

One president that is sure to bring positive results, it President Lee Todd. The new president of UK has the academic credentials and arrived with an armfull of patents, a lengthy stint at MIT, and is already demonstrating his willingness to expand the state’s notion of what the university can accomplish. Todd is really perceptive to the power of evolving
Kentucky’s culture to one that demands and expects greatness from its flagship university’s researchers, faculty, and students. Listen to what President Todd has to say.

The other day I was instant messaging with Jay Voskuhl, who is known in inner circles as the Gae Wolf, and we were waxing nostalgic about an old Lexington band called “Brainsalad.” At issue was the long-standing rumor/legend
that a certain DJ at WRFL (c’mon guys lets get that web site updated!) ruined Lexington’s chance of becoming known not just for horses and the bluegrass, but also for having a rad music scene. The legend holds that then Music Director, Will Geeslin, received a phone call from Rolling Stone magazine, and wanted to know the 411 on whats going down in Lextown. Will allegedly gushed about Brainsalad, neglecting to mention the other great bands (such as Stranglmartin, Nine Pound Hammer, Disdain, Blueberries, etc.), which were more represenative of Lexington’s scene at the time. Subsequently, the Rolling Stone article was published and focused entirely on Brainsalad. I have no idea what really happened, but on Will’s site he claims that he issued a call for band tapes on the air that day and they happened to be the band chosen for the piece. But where this story gets interesting is that as Jay and I were looking around on the web for info about what really happened, we learned that Will and his wife moved to Austin not too long ago. To make a long story short, after finding Ned’s Atomic Dustbin’s “God Fodder” in a
Waterloo bargain bin today (score!), I walked across the street to Whole Foods. There behind the checkout counter, ringing up groceries
was Will’s wife, Alexandra. I couldn’t resist introducing myself and I divulged the story of how I came to find out they were in Austin and
we chatted for a few minutes. She seemed nice and I gave her my card and I think the four of us may get together sometime.

July 30th, 2001