Dudeism...your answer for everything?What is Dudeism?
According to the website and The Book of the Dude,
"While Dudeism in its official form has been organized as a religion only recently, it has existed down through the ages in one form or another. Probably the earliest form of Dudeism was the original form of Chinese Taoism, before it went all weird with magic tricks and body fluids. The originator of Taoism, Lao Tzu, basically said "smoke 'em if you got 'em" and "mellow out, man" although he said this in ancient Chinese so something may have been lost in the translation.
Down through the ages, this "rebel shrug" has fortified many successful creeds - Buddhism, Christianity, Sufism, John Lennonism and Fo'-Shizzle-my-Nizzlism. The idea is this: Life is short and complicated and nobody knows what to do about it. So don't do anything about it. Just take it easy, man. Stop worrying so much whether you'll make it into the finals. Kick back with some friends and some oat soda and whether you roll strikes or gutters, do your best to be true to yourself and others - that is to say, abide.
Incidentally, the term "dude" is commonly agreed to refer to both genders. Most linguists contend that "Dudette" is not in keeping with the parlance of our times..."
Duderonomy: Rules to live by, and sometimes break
The section in the Judeo-Christian bible called Deuteronomy deals with laws you need to follow to live your life. They are hopelessly outdated. Here's the Dudeo-Coen version of them.
BOOK 11. Thou shalt always use fresh creamer when preparing the sacrificial beverage. To ensure its freshness, it must be sniffed and even sampled before purchase. If it is unclean, put it back.
2. Ideally half-and-half shall be used in preparing the sacrificial beverage. Failing this, milk, and under the most dire of circumstances, non-dairy creamer.
3. Always write checks whenever possible, as your cash is limited and you never know when you might have to pay off roving bands of heathen Nihilists.
4. When confronted by vicious thugs demanding money, give them it. If you don't have it, employ humor to lighten the situation. Do not under any circumstances try to fight back by hurling a bowling ball at them. [READ MORE]
Music
From the Inbox: Child Bite
"Yeah, punk rock is dead, but there are a handful of bands making chaos that refuse to believe this proclamation, and they're all the better for it. And maybe the punk rock zombie has just been reanimated into a new unholy beast, and if so, Child Bite are roaming the streets searching for brains to infect. Spazz-tastic, post-post-punk is the mission statement of Wild Feast, Child Bite's self-released molotov-cocktail of a record. At many junctures in this disc, it sounds as if Dave Thomas of Pere Ubu had decided to join a much filthier, more intimidating version of Devo circa '79, but there's also the haunting caterwauling of a pre-industrial-infatuated Ex Models or a version of Brainiac willing to throw in things like banjos to their squiggling insanity. If this all doesn't sell you immediately, the record was also mastered by the great Weasel Walter of Flying Luttenbachers/XBXRX/Lake Of Dracula fame." [Information provided by Fantastic Promotion].
Child Bite - "Bone Sleep"
Child Bite - "Broach for Two"
Featured Artist: Tiny Dancers
Tiny Dancers are David Kay (vocals, acoustic guitar), Chris ‘Ev’ Etherington (lead guitar, keyboards), Dez Wathey (bass guitar), Duncan ‘Zed’ Morrison (drums) and Glover (keyboards, glockenspiel, percussion, guitar, noise creation). They all grew up in South Kirkby, South Elmsall and Brierley, three small former pit villages marooned in the West Yorkshire countryside between Doncaster and Wakefield. The kind of places where everyone knows everyone else and “there’s always a friendly face”, they were at the very centre of the miner’s strike – although only one of the band is old enough to have a vague memory of it.Later, music provided a potent escape. In their isolation music from the USA seemed no more exotic than music made far closer to home, so they listened to a wide range from different eras and from both sides of the Atlantic. Indeed, they point out, their villages often had more in common with hick towns in the mid-West than with the nearby music centres of Manchester or Leeds. “It was quite depressed, yet still quite scenic,” says Ev. “And although there was a lot for a kid to do, there was not so much for adults. After the pits closed, you got sawmills and warehouses coming in, woodworkers and stonemasons. So it was a bit like the old West.”
The name is not taken from the Elton John song, but because it just felt right: playful, unassuming, but intimate too. “We like the song, but it’s not a tribute to Elton John or anything. It’s just a happy coincidence. Tiny Dancers has got a good, positive feeling.”
So what will you hear when you hear Tiny Dancers? You’ll hear a distinctly English eccentric take on those strong 60s pop melodies with close harmonies, memorable guitar riffs, touches of country rock, of techno-funk raunch, of post-punk innovation. Most of all, you’ll hear a band that fit into few established pigeonholes, that sound utterly themselves.
Live, you’ll see a frontman who looks like some unholy mix of David Johansson, Beck and Bowie leading a stylish gang who swap instruments, laugh a lot and banter with each other and the crowd. You’ll see decorative touches, standard lamps, flowers and stuffed toys. And lots of balloons and glitter. Decorating the stage, they say, is part of the fun, a way of making it feel like home. “Although it does cause quite a lot of discomfort in the van.”
Like The Flaming Lips, Tiny Dancers are serious about their music, but intend to have fun playing it live. “We love bands that push themselves, stretch themselves,” they say. “We’re always thinking of different ideas, things to play with.” They laugh, then Ev sums them up in a sentence. “We’re quite unpredictable.”
Tiny Dancers - "20 to 9"
The Tiny Dancers
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