The Bass Geek

There’s been no zombie apocalypse up to this point, although I have seen some drunken stumbling and lurching (which is, admittedly, somewhat common) approximating said invasion. There have been some new visitors to the Square, but their threat potential has yet to be determined. Sadie, our elderly pug, showed some life in chasing monsters, demons, and other dogs alike. She took more pity on the trick-or-treaters, though, which they seemed to enjoy. I saw a fair amount of princess, demon and (weirdly enough) chicken costumes, but my dream of opening the door to a fully festooned Bootsy Collins remains unfulfilled. I realize it’s not the easiest costume to put together, especially when it comes to channeling the necessary amount of interplanetary funksmanship. Yet, it remains a necessary and crucial part of Halloween. Kids, make a note of it. I’m giving a FULL FREAKIN’ BAG OF CANDY to the first Bootsy at my door next year. I’m going to retire now to take in “Black Sheep,” which comes highly recommended on all sides. I can offer middling praise for “Severance,” which has a hilarious premise (”The Office” meets “The Most Dangerous Game”) that might have benefitted from more slapstick. Otherwise, good show. Happy Halloween, everybody. And yes, FULL BAG OF CANDY. Here’s your model. Make it happen. Some form of Space Bass is mandatory, although replicas are acceptable. Funky attitude is a MUST. And if it guides another young person down the road towards mastering the low end, then it’s all worth it. It may start out as a costume, but it can open the gates to funkentelechy of the highest order.

WATCHING: It was the right weekend for a horror movie, so the good folks at Mass. Ave. Video hooked us up with “The Descent” and “Dog Soldiers,” both by director Neil Marshall.  Both were very well-crafted, but watching them as a double feature signaled to me that they were based on the same plot structure:

1. Protagonist undergoes some sort of traumatic, life-changing event.
2. Protagonist is then swept into the middle of nowhere.
3. Protagonist encounters unknown, evil forces in the middle of nowhere that have adapted perfectly to that environment.
4. Protagonist has to get the hell out.

The endings differ quite a bit, but the similarities are quite striking.  Therefore, I’d recommend watching both of them at different times, and let them stand for themselves individually.

LISTENING: Georgia Anne Muldrow.  Some time away from her recordings did these well - they really open up on second and third listenings.  She’s worked with Sa-Ra and Stone’s Throw quite a bit, and she’s got a new project called G&D.  Pick up anything by her - great stuff.  Kind of like a younger, funkier Martina Topley- Bird.

ANTICIPATING: Halloween in Fountain Square.  We didn’t get a lot of trick-or-treaters last year, mostly because we were new in the neighborhood and I don’t think a lot of the people knew the house was even occupied (it had been vacant for a year, I think).  Even though the multitude of parties make the actual day kind of anti-climactic (as does pushing back the Simpson’s “Treehouse of Horror” to the coming weekend), I’m looking forward to it.