Friday Night Videos

Sixpence None The Richer's not a band I keep up with much. Sure, I recognize their biggest songs but they've never intrigued me enough to dive deeper into their catalog. So why am I featuring them on Friday Night Videos? Because their new single, "Rosemary Hill," has an accompanying video that was filmed in and around New Braunfels. Seriously, the whole thing. I recognize every intersection, every hill, every Gruene Hall... well, that last one's a given, as there's only one Gruene Hall and it's five minutes from my house. So if you'd like a glimpse of where I live (generally speaking) this video will scratch that itch.

Previously on Friday Night Videos... Sergio Mendes.

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A Moment of Tiki episode 72: Pineapple Parlor

Episode 72 of A Moment of Tiki: Pineapple Parlor, is now live on the interwebz. I invite you to read all about it on my Substack.

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Armadillocon in the rear-view mirror: 2024 edition

Armadillocon took place in Austin over the weekend. This is, for those unaware, an annual science fiction and fantasy convention that's been running for 46 years. This isn't a big cosplay-and-celebrity event like DragonCon or ComiCon you see on TV. It's a more intimate affair focused on authors and artists. It's a blast. I attended it for the first time way back in 1990 and hope to attend many more in the future.

My recap of the weekend, along with a goodly number of photos, may be found on my Substack. As traffic here to my blog has gradually declined over the years, I'm shifting more of my writing over to the Substack platform, which combines the blog concept with social media and a built-in newsletter, with the potential of reaching more readers. And as a writer, reaching more readers is the name of the game. I don't plan on wholly abandoning this space, but the main activity will happen over at the new digs.

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Friday Night Videos

Sergio Mendes died today. The man was a musical force, doing an amazing amount of work to popularize Bossa Nova, one of my favorite genres of music. Everyone's focused on his work with Brasil '66, specifically "Mas Que Nada," which is a fantastic song, but I want to showcase his talent with one of his later releases, "Funky Bahia," which he recorded with will.i.am and Siedah Garrett almost 15 years ago. Just watching him in the video, Sergio is so full of life and energy. I think it's safe to say he was having a ball.

Previously on Friday Night Videos... The Surfrajettes.

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A Moment of Tiki episode 71: Black Velvet, if you please

Black velvet art is one of the staple items of decor found in home and commercial tiki bars alike. In this episode of A MOMENT OF TIKI I look at two of the most influential artists who excelled at this form and captured striking, dramatic images from the South Pacific on black velvet: Edgar Leeteg and Ralph Burke Tyree. Read the full post on my Substack.

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Friday Night Videos

The Surfrajettes are back with a new surf guitar-driven single, "Easy As Pie," which heralds a new album coming soon. How cool is this? I've seen them live twice now and can't wait to catch them again the next time they swing through Texas. Maybe I'll luck out and they'll get a booking at legendary Gruene Hall--that way the afterparty could be held at the Lagoon of Mystery, our home tiki bar. Yeah, I can dream...

Previously on Friday Night Videos... Cyndi Lauper.

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Friday Night Videos

Last week's Riki Lindhome video sparked memories of my teenage years in the 1980s when Tipper Gore and her morality posse spent many a sleepless night worried that popular music might give me unwholesome thoughts about sex and women in general. I remember they even came out with a "Filthy 15" list of songs that were wholly inappropriate for young ears--which gave all or us teenagers a great starting place to find audio smut. I have to confess that I wasn't a huge fan of Cyndi Lauper at the time, but I found her song, "She Bop" somewhat catchy. Imagine my surprise to discover it was on the "Filty 15" list because it glorified masturbation! Really? I'd assumed it was about girls wanting to go dancing. Oh, sure, if you listen closely to the lyric you'd pick up references to Freud and going blind and such, but even today I find most of her lyrics in that song unintelligible and am only able to really make them out by reading the accompanying captions. Needless to say, once I found out what it was really about, I became a much bigger fan of Cyndi. So thanks for that, Tipper!

Previously on Friday Night Videos... Riki Lindhome.

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