Written by Dirk A. Keaton, webMASTER

Frames, Store, and THUG in the Balance

   The main page is about to change to frames, our famed CHS merch may be
availible through a store, and the famous THUG may become integrated into
the THUGficial.  How can this be?  Well, simple, everything is going cukoo
mad, while our famed webMASTER is trying to speed us into the second year
of the 20th century.  There are many questions, should the slowly-dying
THUG live, and as what?  There are many questions to be asked and even the
obvious bearers of answers are not bearing them (Or something like that).
Do we want frames or not?  Will people really pay money for our crap? 
More wil come about in the coming weeks.

Album Review: "Buffalo Springfield Again" by Buffalo Springfield

   Buffalo Springfield wears their influences on their sleeve, literally.  
The back album cover of "Buffalo Springfield Again" has four collumns of 
their heroes, including: Hank E. Marvin, Otis Redding (Before he was cool), 
Doc Watson, Hank Williams, Rick Nelson, The Ventures, Roy Orbison, Hendrix, 
Buddy Miles, Clapton, Ringo (?!), Phil Spector, Frank Zappa, The Stones, 
Chet, John Lee Hooker, Flatt and Scruggs, and a couple dozen other obscure
rockabilly, folk, country, and pop bands lost to the anals of time (And
the strips of packing tape the previous owner wrapped across the back of
the album).  For those uninitiated, Springfield was the band that made 
Neil Young and Steven Stills household names.  Here, Young is more present 
as twangy Gretsch (With Firebird and TV Jones pickups for the gear-minded), 
than a singer/songwriter fellow.
   The following description will sound like a review of a '45, but this is
anything but.  Here it goes: The amazing A-side is wrecked by a poor, pre
-tenious b-side.  The A-side opens up with the first of 2 Young-penned
tracks, Mr. Soul, a crazy, Helter-Skelter-esque twang-fest.  It then lapses
into the country-rock masterpiece, A Child's Claim to Fame, with its tasty
Dobro lick played by Rick Nelson's (Not to mention Merle Haggard, Elvis, 
John Denver, and a hundred-thousand other artists' guitarist) guitarist, 
Tele-God, James Burton.  Everydays is a another crazy song, a little pop
ballad with Neil Young sustaining single drone notes for entire verses.
Expecting to fly is another great example of Young's lead work, and the
epic Bluebird hits us with great guitar and banjo leads (The mysterious
banjo player's name is obscured by one of those aforementioned strips of 
packing tape).  The first side fulfills its promise delivering a punkish
blend of country, folk, early hard rock, and leaves us no doubts as to 
why they listed Hank Marvin as their #1 influence (They were one of the
first North American bands to give that obscure guitar god his much
-deserved props).
   The B-Side makes me long for the glory days of Manassas (One of Stills'
solo bands, it had as many members as Slipknot, and the music was just as
tired and cluttered, redeemable, in my opinion, only because it stands next
to Riders of the Purple Sage in putting the most Gretsch products on stage
at one time).  It's bad, really bad, thick, pretentious, soopy, clogged 
with B.S.S. (The infamous Bad Saxaphone Solos).  I really would expect 
better out of the Eagles.  I guess they assumed the fans were all stoned
at this point and no longer gave a damn.  It caps itself off with one of
the worst songs ever, the over-produced "song about a band" crap-fest
Broken Arrow.  When a song lists additional producers, you know it sucks.
It isn't even as deep or introspective as Kiss's Destroyer (And that ain't
hard).
   I would give it a two, but the strength of the A-side is so powerful
that I might forgive it and give out a four.  Needless to say, I have
chosen the middle road of three.  Don't get me wrong, it's a damn good
album, it would be a legendary EP, but so few albums can boast five,
really fuckin' strong tracks, that you have to give it props.  Buy it, 
or not, I paid my 50 cents and have given the A-side a couple dozen
spins, so I'm happy.

SCORE:  of 5 penguins.

Haiku For the Taco Bell Chicken Quesedia

I ate one on Saturday
The play was good that night
Why shouldn't it be

Feat of Strength #16 (It's been 12 for four issues)

The Feat of Strength competition is a test to see how ballin' my Thespian brothers are.  
Each week's winner (The first to mail me the correct/best answer) will recieve a nominal 
prize.

This week's prize is:

The Title Honorary Commandant and "Extreme Faith" the "Extreme" version 
of the Bible.

This week's feat is:

Write me a summary of the plot of the next Susan Zeder play.

(You have until next 0600 Thursday GMT (Or midnight Wednesday, here), or more likely, 
whenever the hell I get to making a new newsletter (My release dates are bad, but 
they ain't worse than Spence), to e-mail me the answer.


Until Next Week...
Have fun and give it up to the Dutch.