More Reasons To Hate Fox News

Oh believe me,this Owl has a number of reasons to utterly detest Fox News, among which are;

1) Fair and Balanced? HAH!!! You're kidding, right? These guys are nothing more than an unthinking, unquestioning propaganda machine for the desperately incompetent Bush administration. And I tell ya, Sean Hannity alone makes me want to punch his lights out for being such an egocentric obnoxious Bush-worshiping blowhard! And don't even get me started on Bill O'Reilly-------. The only thing fair and balanced about this joke of a network is that it allows a number of pro-Bushites to present their OPINIONS as indisputable gospel truth, as opposed to actually OBJECTIVELY reporting news, sadly, something that seems to have gone the way of The Twist and rotary dial phones. And then there's CNN, the Clinton News Network-- (however to their credit, they have Jack Cafferty, something Fox News doesn't have the stones to even contemplate)

2) The Barbie & Ken Syndrome: Just like CNN and pretty much ALL American networks, there's the requisite vacuous, plastic and utterly obnoxious on-air personalities that have the personality of, well, a Barbie or Ken doll, all looks, ZERO substance and go on forever and ever about NOTHING!! If these vacuous pretty boys/girls had to report REAL news, they'd be up a creek!

3) Those Damned Drug Company Ads!!: Another reason I absolutely CANNOT watch Fox news, for every say 15 minutes or so of their neo-con blathering, there's at least 7-10 minutes of these gratuitous, idiotic and UNBEARABLE drug company ads. If you pay attention to a typical Fox News broadcast over an hour or so, you'll see what I mean. Doesn't this strike you as just more than a little suspicious?

4) The Latest Outrage - More Information Control: Now these Bush-worshiping knuckle-dragging Neanderthals (Fox AND the Republican Party) are sponsoring a forum/debate in New Hampshire for the Republican presidential hopefuls, and get this THEY'VE EXCLUDED RON PAUL!! The reasons are screaming obvious, Ron Paul goes totally contrary to the party line (big government, reckless spending, disregard for the Constitution, interventionist foreign policy, supporting dictators and allowing terrorists to get away with it etc). So Fox thinks it's fair and balanced? OH PUHLLLEEEEEEZE!!! This is BLATANT information control, media and political manipulation at its worst, the kind normally occurring in Communist and Islamic dictatorships. A brief story HERE and more HERE.

Fair and balanced? About as fair and balanced as fox guarding the hen house.

National Holidays I'd Like To See

Holidays are indeed wonderful things, good for the soul, mind and body to rest and celebrate something important and meaningful. Of course, many (including myself) celebrated the birth of Jesus Christ yesterday.

Given where we are as a nation right now, I would LOVE to see these national holidays and good excuses to fire up the BBQ take place;

1) Sovereignty Reclamation Day: Where we as a country FOREVER withdraw our membership from the UN and REVOKE ALL trade treaties with foreign countries for good! And then we BANISH the UN from this country altogether, and the Grand Finale would be the implosion and razing of that infernal UN building in NYC, and it would be broadcast on national TV! What a BEAUTIFUL sight that would be!!

2) Constitution Day: The day that George WMS Bush, Dick "The Penguin" Cheney, " Donald DUMBSfeld, John A$$croft, Alberto "Not So Speedy" Gonzalez, Janet Reno and William Jefferson "Slick Willie" Clinton are all EXECUTED BY FIRING SQUAD ON NATIONAL TV for heinous acts of treason, abuse of power and violation of oath of office. After which, we start reclaiming our Constitutional rights and making sure that NEVER AGAIN will we allow unscrupulous traitors like the Bushes and Clinton's to ever ruin our country again. And it will be a Federal offense from that point on for ANYONE with the last name of Bush or Clinton to EVER run for ANY kind of elected office.

3) Energy Independence Day: A GLORIOUS day, well hey, let's make it A MONTH LONG PARTY!! Where we tell Saudi Arabia to go straight to Hell and take their oil with them! After an ambitious plan to get ourselves off of foreign oil over the period of a decade or so (just like the Brazilians did) and move to other sources of energy, it'd be just DELIRIOUSLY BEAUTIFUL to tell the Saudis and their ilk they aren't needed or wanted around anymore after all their shady dealings, financing terrorism and playing havoc with world oil markets. After this day, we TERMINATE ALL RELATIONS WITH SAUDI ARABIA FOREVER, and with a stern warning, "Mess With Us, We'll Turn Your Country Into A Radioactive Parking Lot!"

4) Fair Tax Day: The day we ANNIHILATE the IRS forever by act of law, institute the Fair Tax system and for the finale, have a nationally televised public burning of the ENTIRE US Tax Code in front of the Capitol Building. After this, the top honchos of the IRS will be marched off to a plane and banished to Antarctica.

It's Friday and Time To Hibernate (I Wish)

Due to the onset of winter, insanity at work, the insanity of the impending holiday season, the delightful insanity of a recent CD release, and various other factors, the regularly scheduled Friday Follies will not be seen for about 2 weeks, simply to allow me to recharge, take a short vacation in the Catskills in upstate NY, turn a year older, record bass parts for my friend Tony Island's next album, get some rest/brief hibernation, envy bears for their ability to hibernate, listen for owls, count my blessings, watch Batman re-runs, take up fretless bass, engage in debates regarding pale ale vs. stout, ponder the meaning of Steely Dan lyrics and various other pleasures. But fear not loyal reader, the Friday Follies WILL be back, with an ever lovin' fangs-bared vengeance!

There Oughta Be A Law--------

I think about this every once in a while, and it's the subject of if I was in the position to do so, what kinds of corrective legislation would I pass. Well folks , here's a few from yours truly;

1) It would be ILLEGAL for ANYONE with the last name of Bush or Clinton to run for ANY kind of elected office, PERIOD!

2) Rappers would be forced to wear "I Am A Violent Impulsive Dumba$$, Keep Back 200 Feet" signs when going out in public at all times.

3) The 16th Amendment of the Constitution would be repealed (the income tax one).

4) ANYONE who seeks to run for House, Senate or Presidential office MUST take a Minimum Competency Standards Exam and the minimum passing score is 95%, NO EXCEPTIONS and NO EXCUSES. The No Bush or Clinton Law would go DOUBLE here! Anyone caught cheating would be mercilessly paddled and then banished to Antarctica.

5) ALL ballots will have a "None Of The Above" option.

6) All relations with Saudi Arabia will be IMMEDIATELY terminated, FOREVER!

7) ALL US military personnel would be withdrawn from ALL foreign countries., period. The only exception being is if we're threatened or attacked, then we'll go BALLISTIC! After it's over, we'll gladly leave, clean up after yourselves.

8) Convicted non-violent criminals should be given a choice of jail or mandatory 4 year military service. NO PROBATION, NO PAROLE!!

9) An under performing president should be removed from office for gross incompetence, just like a bad CEO would, by DIRECT national referendum vote.

10) One should feel free to blow away an intruder entering one's house, a robber or other miscreant if sufficiently armed with NO fear of prosecution or lawsuit. The criminal's family should also be punished for having him/her in the first place with HEAVY fines and/or jail time (the fines of course should go directly to the victim of the crime or their family) Anyone who injures/kills a criminal should be given a medal of valor. The criminal should be told "Tough Luck", not the victim.

11) No more foreign aid, PERIOD!! You can't manage your money? TOUGH!!!

12) Welfare cheats would be sentenced to hard labor doing highway maintenance, construction, cleanup, sanitation and the like until they've paid off the money they've ripped off John Q Taxpayer for, WITH INTEREST!

13) Legislators who author ridiculous, bizarre, money and/or time-wasting laws would be arrested, jailed and forced to listen to the complete recorded works of Ethel Merman, or they could make it easier on themselves and do hard labor on the highways and what not.

The New Owl Watches CD Is Released!

Sound the siiiirreeeens, get the canned goods, record-biz execs BEWARE!!!!!

After nearly a year of labor, my new CD, "Guaranteed To be 100% Free of Hit Singles", is now out! It is currently available to the world at large on CD Baby (in both CD and MP3 formats):

www.cdbaby.com/cd/owlwatches3.

Sound samples on this page too.


And for local Atlanta GA folks, you can find it at
Earthshaking Music
543 Stokeswood Ave, Atlanta, GA 30316 -
888-978-2500 - Local (Atlanta): 404-577-0707

This CD may well represent a slight change of direction for The Owl Watches. Here, the humorous element of my muse gets free reign for the most part. This is my instrumental poke in the eye at the record industry and all its attendant idiocy and folly. At this point in life, I KNOW I have about a snowball's chance in Hell of getting signed to a label (too old, no commercial potential, not photogenic enough for MTV, you know the drill). I chose the path of maintaining my artistic integrity and having some fun with it at the same time. Hopefully you the listener will find moments here that will make you laugh, cry and call out for Chinese food. Again, it was me playing all manner of guitars (electric and classical), basses and keyboards and percussion, with some very special guest drummers in Tom Scotto (Tony Island), Philip Hart (Z-Axis), Jim Dunn (Lord Only) and the mysterious Cass Eo. Also appearing are members of The Busted Brass and The Long Winds.

Read a review HERE

This album is dedicated to the memory of Ahmet Ertegun and Tom Dowd.

Recorded for the most part at The Owl's Nest South studio in Atlanta GA with parts of "It Takes A Village To Raise An Idiot" done at Funkyard Dog in upstate NY.

Mastered by Scott Trihn and Dave Strohauer @ Earthshaking Music in Atlanta GA

Hoot Hoot, It's the Friday Follies!

And under the Owl's watchful eyes this week are:

1) People Who Should Just Shut Up and Stay AWAY From Microphones #6621: None other than former Atlanta mayor, former UN Ambassador and now perpetual blowhard Andrew Young. Who could forget his 2006 tirade in response to a question about Wal Mart running Mom and Pop stores out of business, “Well, I think they should; they ran the 'mom and pop' stores out of my neighborhood, ... But you see, those are the people who have been overcharging us selling us stale bread and bad meat and wilted vegetables. And they sold out and moved to Florida. I think they've ripped off our communities enough. First it was Jews, then it was Koreans, and now it's Arabs; very few black people own these stores". Sound more than a little condescending and racist to you? And this gem from September of 2007 (from an interview on NewsMakersLive.com) it gets even more loony;

“I want Barack Obama to be president,” Young said, pausing for effect, “in 2016"

Regarding Hillary's husband Bill Clinton: "--every bit as black as Barack, He's probably gone with more black women than Barack"

I rest my case.

2) Of Canoes and Faked Deaths: Gotta love this one, a London man faked his own death in a "canoe accident" and hid out for 3 years in a family apartment before being found out (his claims of "having amnesia" just weren't flying for local police when he walked into a police station to tell his story), more details HERE. I give him some points for originality.

3 What Price Loyalty?: What caused it? A better offer? The aftermath of the Michael Vick drama? Well in any case, Rick Petrino has decided to jump ship from the Atlanta Falcons team, much to the horror, chagrin and outrage of his now former team, after promising to stay. Guys, you WILL live through this but I do sympathize with you on the betrayal end of it.

4) Can Our Wimpy Congress Do ONE Right Thing?: This week, the House passed a bill banning waterboarding and other forms of torture by the CIA and military. Predictably, George WMS Bush is threatening to veto. My question is, can the Senate AND House get off their lazy a$$es and summon up a modicum of courage to override a veto. IIRC, we DID NOT use torture during WWII, Korea, Vietnam or the Persian Gulf War of 1990. And also, will Congress get a clue and take action on the much-despised (and rightly so) Alternative Minimum Tax? A guy can dream, can't he? Circular firing squad anyone?

5) Further Proof That Working For The Bush Administration Is Professional/Career/Personal Suicide: The list goes on of those whose careers, professions, reputations and maybe even very lives have been ruined by even the SLIGHTEST association with the hapless, amoral and hopelessly incompetent Bush administration. The most high profile of course are Alberto Gonzalez, Karl Rove, Scooter Libby, Harriet Miers, Tony Snow, John Ashcroft, Donald Rumsfeld among others. And HERE is a list of even more but lesser-known Bush Administration inflicted casualties and the circumstances under which they occurred. More commentary on Democracy Now.

6) How NOT To Do A Cover Song: Aspiring bands take not, DO NOT EVEN THINK of going onstage anywhere if you sound even REMOTELY like THIS (click if you dare)

AND ON THE PLAYER:

A Charlie Brown Christmas

It's hard to improve on a classic like this, a PERFECT soundtrack by the late jazz pianist Vince Guaraldi and his nimble trio for that wonderful animated Peanuts special about Charlie Brown finding the real meaning of Christmas despite all the crass commercialism and superficiality around him. Great cartoon of course, and the PERFECT soundtrack for it!

HAPPY FRIDAY Y'ALL!

More Disturbing Signs Of A Police State Attempt In the USA

If nothing else, the Bush Administration has served as a very SCARY and graphic example in how NOT to govern or run a country. In some ways, this train wreck of an administration reminds me of Barney Fife on the old Andy Griffith Show taken to a horrific extreme. While Barney's incompetence, fear-mongering and out-of-control reactionary tendencies were hilarious on a TV show, they're NOT funny in real life, especially where our country, the Constitution, The Bill of Rights and the well being of Americans in general are concerned.

1) How can we continue to claim a moral high-ground when ALL THREE branches of government in direct violation of the Geneva Conventions and international law approve, condone and encourage the use of torture (waterboarding for example, which was also used by the Spanish Inquisition and The Nazis), Especially in light of events this week surrounding a revelation that the CIA destroyed taped evidence of a torture/interrogation session. Bush has sure been quiet on this one, you think that Bright Boy George WMS Bush (WMS = Weapon of Mass Stupidity) might have something to hide. Especially since he VEHEMENTLY denies that we use torture, lying right ot our faces just like Bill Clinton did many times duuring his reign of error. Sure, the Democrats are putting on their usual "staged outrage" over this, but of course, these are the same spineless dolts who let the Protect America Act, The Patriot Act and other assaults on the Constitution go through.

2) The Department of Homeland Insecurity headed by Michael Chertoff now have started to implement this brilliant idea straight out of George Orwell's 1984 which involves firemen doing double duty as domestic spies. Say if your house catches on fire, they can go in, rifle through your stuff and report ANYTHING (no matter how ridiculous or insignificant) they deem "suspicious" You KNOW it's only a matter of a very short time before people who read books critical of the Bush administration will be put on the FBI's watch list, as well as anyone who dares to disagree with ANY administration policy, not to mention people who LEGITIMATELY own firearms. Here's a Fox News VIDEO (ironically enough) about this program. The fact that this can be carried out WITHOUT a search warrant is profoundly disturbing to me!

3) VIOLENT RADICALIZATION HOMEGROWN TERRORISM PREVENTION ACT OF 2007, Senate Bill 1959. Probably the MOST BLATANT assault on our Constitutional rights to date. This bill wold allow a presdient to arbitrarily declare ANYONE he wanted toa terrorist or subversive organization and bypass due process of law among other forms of unconstitutional police-state tactics. And get this, it was sponsored by a Dumb-O-Crat (the same ones who get all outraged for show at George WMS Bush's attemtps to throw the Constitution in the garbage, and of course do the exact same things themselves) by the name of Rep. Jane Harman [D-CA] (TRAITOR!!!!). Read the full text of the bill HERE and see if this doesn't get you more than a little hot under tha collar!

4) Quote of Note: "...Of all the men who are the most loathsome, it is those who will sell their friends and comrades for the purpose of conciliating their enemies..."
- Sir Edward Carson

Hellooooo, NEWMAN!!!!!

It's not just a character on Seinfeld anymore. Looks like NYC has at least one totally EVIL Newman-like mailman, one who happens to have a thing for stealing people's greeting cards and pilfering the cash or checks contained within. Was he trying to emulate the ways and philosophies of Newman on Seinfeld, or had he listened to a certain song by the Dead Kennedys ("Stealing People's Mail") a few too many times? We don't know yet,. but one thing's for sure, this Grinch, if convicted might not get out of Federal prison for a little while. The method which caught him was ingenious, a tiny transmitter hidden in a greeting card. The story HERE

Friday Follies Calling, Please Deposit $0.50 For The First Three Posts

Hello everyone, and welcome to yet another edition of Friday Follies, and under examination this week;

1) Change Is Inevitable #55413: Yes folks, there are many mainstays and icons of American life that are passing by the wayside nowadays, and here's but a short list:

a) The Phone Booth / The Pay Phone: As cell phones have become more affordable and plentiful, the pay phone/phone booth is officially obsolete, to the point that telecom giant AT&T is getting out of the payphone business altogether in just a few weeks. While cell phones are certainly more convenient (and you don't have to fumble for change or worry about the person behind you waiting to use the booth), their disappearance just BEGS one question, WHERE WILL SUPERMAN CHANGE INTO HIS OUTFIT?

b) Crank Windows In Cars: Not sure what to think here, OK, yeah they're convenient, but what if the motor or mechanism breaks, YOU'RE SCREWED!

c) Carbon Paper: The seriously old-school way to make multiple copies of typed/written documents without a Xerox. Nasty, crinkly and just plain obnoxiously messy, don't think even the most nostalgic person will miss these things. Gone the way of ditto/spirit duplicating . And you know, I wonder how many people used to get high off the fumes from those ditto machines.

d) Lickable Stamps: No tears shed here, self-adhesive rules! Never liked the taste of glue.

e) Film: Digital photography does indeed have MANY advantages, among which are unrivaled editing ability, clarity, convenience, lower operating overall costs and versatility. Even better, no nasty chemicals involved with digital photography. But still, it just isn't quite the same as, for some diehards anyway as fumbling in a darkroom with an enlarger and the pungent aroma of developer, fixer etc.

f) Original Ideas From Hollywood: Ever since CGI effects, remake-fever, hack writers, gratuitous violence, misogyny and profanity, and brainless stars that CANNOT act (like Keanu Reeves and Lucy Liu for instance), Hollywood has yet to turn up anything really worthwhile anymore. As far as the writers strike goes, takes as long as you want guys, not many are whining right now for your return.

g) Musicianship In Mainstream Rock Music: I remember there used to be a time when more mainstream rock music had a certain level of musicianship that was expected from its participants, but sadly it seems that nowadays, the worse you play/sing and the more marketable you LOOK, the more likely you are to hit it big (and of course, don't even think about trying to get signed if you're over 20). There will always be exceptions, granted but it just ain't like the 60's and 70's when musicianship and creativity was the NORM, not the exception. There'll really never be another Beatles, Steely Dan, Cream, Jimi Hendrix, Who, Black Sabbath, Yes etc.

h) The Holiday Inn As We Knew It: In the ever evolving world of hoteliers, needs do change, for good or ill. And in this case, the old open style Holiday Inn motels we grew up with are going by the wayside (with the possible exception of those that overlook coastlines) . One of the concerns has been security. Another has been declining business at the old style motels due to wildly varying quality and other issues. Holiday Inn is still a viable company alright, but it seems that the enclosed style motel is the preference nowadays. More details HERE


2) Don't Confuse Me With Facts: AAAAWWWWWWW Poor George Dubbaya, what's a Smiling Idiot In Chief to do when he wants to bomb Iran sooooooo badly, yet reality and intelligence reports tell him that Iran gave up on its nuclear weapons program at least 3+ years ago. Is Iran our friend now? HELL NO!! Should we keep an eye on them, YES! But ya know George, we've got FAR MORE important things to be doing right now than getting into MORE pointless, stupid acts of aggression against countries that had NOTHING to do with 9/11 just to vindicate your amazingly insecure ego. If you're a real man at all (which this Owl does NOT believe you are), why didn't you declare war on Saudi Arabia and go after Bin Laden and not stop until he was DEAD! ?? Wait, don't tell me, he'll invade and/or bomb states that don't vote predominantly Republican. Invade Greenland or Baffin Island maybe?

3) De-Commercializing The Holidays: As "The Holidays" descend on us (I STILL like Christmas, thank you very much you ACLU types, and I WILL say Merry Christmas over your protests), it seems to bring out the best AND worst in people. This time of year brings together families, friends and the like, giving, feasting, children having the time of their lives etc, On the flip side, it seems to do things like drive up incidences of suicide, depression, substance abuse, excessive debt and consumption. For some, it's a time of blissful remembrances and things to look forward to, for others a time of dread, disappointments, expectations gone awry and the like. One thing I DO love about this time of year is the giving part. Sure, we can bemoan the commercialism all we want, but if you really want to combat that whole thing, start by giving of yourself, be it volunteering to help the less fortunate, being there for a friend or loved one, doing ANYTHING to better the human condition in some way. And HERE is a small list of ideas.

HAPPY FRIDAY EVERYONE!!

Things I'm REALLY Glad I Didn't Say

Man will never reach the moon regardless of all future scientific advances." -- Dr. Lee DeForest, "Father of Radio & Grandfather of Television."

"The bomb will never go off. I speak as an expert in explosives." - - Admiral William Leahy , US Atomic Bomb Project

"There is no likelihood man can ever tap the power of the atom." -- Robert Millikan, Nobel Prize in Physics, 1923

"Computers in the future may weigh no more than 1.5 tons." -- Popular Mechanics, forecasting the relentless march of science, 1949

"I think there is a world market for maybe five computers ." -- Thomas Watson, chairman of IBM, 1943

"I have traveled the length and breadth of this country and talked with the best people, and I can assure you that data processing is a fad that won't last out the year." -- The editor in charge of business books for Prentice Hall, 1957

"But what .. is it good for?" -- Engineer at the Advanced Computing Systems Division of IBM, 1968, commenting on the microchip.

"640K ought to be enough memory for anybody." -- Bill Gates, 1981

" This 'telephone' has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication. The device is inherently of no value to us," -- Western Union internal memo, 1876.

"The wireless music box has no imaginable commercial value. Who would pay for a message sent to nobody in particular?" -- David Sarnoff's associates in response to his urgings for investment in the radio in the 1920s.

"The concept is interesting and well-formed, but in order to earn better than a 'C,' the idea must be feasible," -- A Yale University management professor in response to Fred Smith's paper proposing reliable overnight delivery service. (Smith went on to found Federal Express Corp.)

"I'm just glad it'll be Clark Gable who's falling on his face and not Gary Cooper," -- Gary Cooper on his decision not to take the leading role in "Gone With The Wind."

"A cookie store is a bad idea. Besides, the market research reports say America likes crispy cookies, not soft and chewy cookies like you make," -- Response to Debbi Fields' idea of starting Mrs. Fields' Cookies.

"We don't like their sound, and guitar music is on the way out," -- Decca Recording Co. rejecting the Beatles, 1962.

"Heavier-than-air flying machines are impossible," -- Lord Kelvin, president, Royal Society, 1895.

"If I had thought about it, I wouldn't have done the experiment. The literature was full of examples that said you can't do this," - - Spencer Silver on the work that led to the unique adhesives for 3-M "Post-It" Notepads.

"Drill for oil? You mean drill into the ground to try and find oil? You're crazy," -- Drillers who Edwin L. Drake tried to enlist to his project to drill for oil in 1859.

"Stocks have reached what looks like a permanently high plateau." - - Irving Fisher, Professor of Economics, Yale University , 1929.

"Airplanes are interesting toys but of no military value," -- Marechal Ferdinand Foch, Professor of Strategy, Ecole Superieure de Guerre , France .

"Everything that can be invented has been invented," -- Charles H. Duell, Commissioner, US Office of Patents, 1899.

"The super computer is technologically impossible. It would take all of the water that flows over Niagara Falls to cool the heat generated by the number of vacuum tubes required." -- Professor of Electrical Engineering, New York University

"I don't know what use any one could find for a machine that would make copies of documents. It certainly couldn't be a feasible business by itself." -- the head of IBM, refusing to back the idea, forcing the inventor to found Xerox.

"Louis Pasteur's theory of germs is ridiculous fiction." -- Pierre Pachet, Professor of Physiology at Toulouse , 1872

"The abdomen, the chest, and the brain will forever be shut from the intrusion of the wise and humane surgeon," -- Sir John Eric Ericksen, British surgeon, appointed Surgeon-Extraordinary to Queen Victoria 1873.

And last but not least...

"There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home." -- Ken Olson, president, chairman and founder of Digital Equipment Corp., 1977

OH YEAH??????!!!

It's Got A Good Beat and You ABSOLUTELY CANNOT Dance To It!

Well folks, it's been a long, never-a-dull-moment journey but it's nearly over now!

As things stand, the new Owl Watches album, "Guaranteed To Be 100% Free Of Hit Singles" will be coming out of the mastering studio today, getting printed up and will be released officially on December 15, 2007! In the meantime, there are mp3 streaming audio samples of some of the new album HERE for you to check out (just keep in mind these are the UNMASTERED versions).

So far, it will be available on CD Baby, but in the ensuing weeks and months, it will also become available on iTunes and other digital outlets as well. For local Atlanta folks, you'll be able to find it at Earthshaking Music come December 15.

In its final form, it will be 10 tracks instead of the original 11, this only due to some technical issues with one track, but with the appropriate software, it can be remedied and put on the NEXT Owl Watches disc, which is already starting to form, this will be "The Complete Radio Free Antarctica Tapes".

Special thanks are in order for Dave Strohauer and Scott Trihn at Earthshaking Music for doing an AMAZING mastering job and making the songs really jump off the disc. They were able to bring out more details than I thought possible, give the music a vivid 3-dimensional spatial image and a crisp clarity that darn near reminds me of recordings on the famed ECM label (most notably on the 3 acoustic tracks "Sign With Disappearing Ink", "Hydrogen and Stupidity" and "Don't Do The Mime If You Can't Do The Time").

If you like instrumental music along the lines of, say King Crimson, Frank Zappa or other oddities, and if fyou like your instrumental music dripping with more than a little sarcasm directed at the music biz star-making machinery and peppered with gratuitous gong usage and even more gratuitous voiceovers, I think you'll find this a very enjoyable listening experience. Will be available in CD, mp3 and 8-Track Tapes (well, just kidding about the 8-track tapes).