Fun With Insomnia Blog

When TV On the Radio guitarist and producer extraordinaire Dave Sitek decided to release an album to, in his word ‘get a bunch of pop music out of my system’, he decided his own singing wasn’t quite up to the task, so given his impressive connections he just flicked through his talent-filled Rolodex to give voice to his Maximum Balloon project.

Sitek himself produces a pretty consistent musical backing throughout the record, actually working within a relatively limited scope in terms of instrumentation: guitar, bass, synths, drum machines with the pretty odd album horn part thrown in. Basically the same sonic palette as TVOTR themselves, but texturally free of the more abrasive aspects of their sound, whilst also shying away from the weighty subject matter that sees critics treat each TVOTR album like a state-of-the-nation address. Guitars scratch out a classic Chic funk sound and the synths glisten or buzz in the style you would expect of a modern pop record, the whole sound bristling with a sexuality befitting its seductive rhythms.

The album opener sees Theophilus London plead “I want you to groove me baby over a punchy bass beat which thrusts purposely, while the trebly hi-hats are almost lustily breathless in themselves between the muted guitar and lively keyboard riffs. Lead single ‘Tiger’ works to similar effect. Without resorting to imagery of thrusting pelvises for every song, the beat and filthy synth belches really do engender a (t)humping motion, which Dragons of Zynth rapper Aku prowls his way around ( literally meowing at one point), before the song culminates in a slick disco face-off of guitar and parping horns. Model Daisy Lowe certainly saw the potential when she asked to use the song for the purposes of writhing around in her underwear for Esquire (ahem, this way gentlemen).

The record isn’t overly libidinous however, thanks to the ever-changing gender of the singers throughout. ‘If You Return’ throbs with intent whilst simultaneously providing a soft bed of sound for Yukumi Nagano, of Swedish electro-poppers Little Dragon, to coo sensually. It’s tracks such as this that demonstrate how liberated Sitek is by the notion of the record being a one off. Untrammelled by any concern for recreating the tracks in the live arena he has free rein to layer different sounds, predominantly synth sounds, as intricately and/or densely as he likes. Part of the thrill of tracks such as glistening disco-pulsed ‘Young Love’ is just how much he can pack into the song, yet Sitek knows when to strip a song back, letting the Moroder-esque disco foundation stretch out euphorically as Ford’s voice soars majestically on the outro.

When the more abrasive textures for which Sitek is better known do appear it’s quite appropriate that they do so in the company of Tunde Adebimpe. A metronomic beat is disrupted by messy cymbal splashes, the angular guitar hooks are gnarled and nasty, whilst synths bleep and buzz ominous melodies. Adebimpe sticks to the carnal theme however, “I’ll be your messenger, your minister, your morbid curiosity, in the hands of the night you’re a plaything“. While Adebimpe’s contribution sounds debased, fellow bandmate Kyp Malone’s appearance on ’Shakedown’ is merely debauched, although irresistibly so, recalling Prince with his breathy falsetto over fidgety funk and smouldering lounge effects all at a woozy tempo.

If it all sounds rather preoccupied with the pleasures of the body at the expense of the soul then that’s because it is really. The point of the record isn’t to tackles the same weighty political/social/personal matter that his full-time band do, but all the same the record could do with a dose of pathos. ’Lessons’ attempts a more sombre tone, but the melody lacks an interest which the over-processed beat can’t compensate for, while the glitch-ridden ethereal strains of closer ’Pink Bricks’ suffers from the same problem, despite soothing vocals by the impossibly named Ambrosia Parsley. Somehow a beautifully sedate vocal from Karen O manages to imbue ‘Communion’ with a greater feeling than should really be possible given that she spends most of the song pleading “Gimme that beat”.

Of the big name vocal contributions only David Byrne disappoints. Not that there’s anything terribly wrong with ’Wrestling Apartments’ per se, but it is musically so indebted to post-Remain In Light Talking Heads that it just feels like Byrne is basking in his own influence, although it’s sort of fun all the same. Ultimately that’s a disclaimer that could apply to the record as a whole; although it’s never groundbreaking, it‘s a dizzyingly good pop record, and while the contributions from TVOTR members bode well for their next album, Maximum Balloon really about a great producer/songwriter exhibiting his considerable talents free from the pressure and expectation of his day job.

Bono, while getting ready for the resumption of the band’s mammoth 360 tour back in May, “suffered severe compression of the sciatic nerve”, as the German doctor who eventually rebuilt the 50-year-old explained.

The singer would require surgery, and extensive rehabilitation. The band would have to shelve the American leg of the tour and look to start again in Europe in August.

Fast forward to August 16. Tonight U2 will perform only their fifth show back – the second of two nights in a row at a smallish (“It’s not even 360,” drummer Larry Mullen Jr laments) football stadium in Horsens, Denmark.

Prince Frederik was in the house yesterday. Tonight it’s supermodel Helena Christensen passing for Danish royalty.

The double-header is clearly a test for Bono’s fitness – on stage he milks the audience of every last drop of energy to make it through the show.

Pre-show, Mullen says he’s surprised the frontman hadn’t done himself a serious injury a lot earlier in the band’s career.

“He’s fallen off the stage. He trips over on a regular basis and gets straight back up, never a problem. So I’m surprised… he normally bounces!”

The Edge is less likely to make wisecracks about Bono’s bung back. For the guitarist, it’s been more an existential crisis.

“We’re a band that play hail, rain or shine and no matter what’s going on physically, if somebody’s ill, got the flu, we just play. So it was a shock to me when we finally had to admit that actually we can’t perform,” he says. “Bono famously on the Joshua Tree tour fell and separated his shoulder, which is a serious injury and puts most, say, professional football players out of action for six months, yet he got strapped up and went on and we did every single show on that tour.

“So this was the first time that we went, ‘Oh wow, we’re actually not superhuman’. There is actually a human frailty involved in the band. We had to take that on board.

“The great news is he’s, I would say, 95 per cent back to full physical health, and every show he seems to be getting closer to top form, and the voice is as good as ever.”

What about The Edge’s vital bits – any RSI setting in?

“No, not that I don’t have the pretty odd album ache or pain, but nothing that’s that worrisome. This was just kind of a freak thing that occurred.”

“I’m not sure,” Mullen says, returning to Bono’s propensity for falling over. “I mean he’s totally abused himself over the years. When I thought about it, the amount of jumping off stages, the physical risks…”

“Much more in the early days too,” Edge agrees. “Early on, we took it for granted that Bono would by the end of the show be scaling the scaffolding, and on numerous occasions he scared the life out of not so much us – because we had this bizarre, unfounded confidence that he would be fine – but our touring personnel would be just quaking in their shoes.

“He on one occasion jumped from a second-floor balcony down into the crowd who grabbed him, and again I thought, ‘That was a bit much’, but our touring people just went absolutely nuts.

“I think part of the reason Bono’s never hurt himself during a show is the amount of adrenalin going through the system and he’s lost in the music so much that he’s got this resilience that no normal person would have.”

For all its magnificent runways, spider-like legs and that eye-melting, 43m-deep cylindrical television screen, for the band, the 360 playing surface is actually so small that if Bono is to fall over, he’d most likely trip on one of his bandmates. (Or perhaps he’d be momentarily blinded by the reflection off bassist Adam Clayton’s silver pants.)

The small stage area makes The Edge feel exposed – “We’re really out there in a way we’ve never been before.”

Mullen describes the stage as: “Actually quite intimate. It’s just with the other stuff around it, it looks a lot more intimidating than it actually is.

“It’s an amazing place to play. There’s a real connection with your audience that it’s hard to find in a stadium. It’s certainly the best stage I’ve ever played on. And I’m not that a—d either way, you know, like I get on, I’ll do my job, I’ll do what I have to do. But it’s nice to be on a stage where you feel, ‘Ooh, this is really something’.”

Perhaps the biggest surprise of the show is seeing the usually reluctant Mullen getting out from behind the kit, strutting the runways with a bongo drum. It’s hard to tell if he’s actually enjoying it, though.

“Sometimes hitting things for 30 years takes its toll, so the various grimaces on the face may not necessarily be to do with my dislike of what I’m doing, it might be that I’ve basically just pulled the other leg out,” the 48-year-old says with a wry smile.

“No, I like it, it’s a strange sensation. I’ve never done it before, not like that. I’ve done it being in the middle and then just running back up, but actually having to walk around and perform to people is different.

“You start to realise how crap you are at playing those drums when you’re standing in front of that many people – ‘S—, I’m really bad at this, I better go home and practise!’ “

On this European leg, the set has featured four songs from U2′s album of last year, No Line on the Horizon – Get on Your Boots, Magnificent, I’ll Go Crazy if I Don’t Go Crazy Tonight and Moment of Surrender.

Though none of the new songs have been hits to rival those they rub shoulders with in the set-list (think Mysterious Ways, Elevation, New Year’s Day, With or Without You), they really catch fire in the live show.

No Line on the Horizon has sold more than five million copies in a year and a half – that’s a disappointing result in U2 land. When Hit raises this lack of commercial success, Mullen, who had entered the room carrying his dinner (chicken and vegetables, in case you were wondering) drops his cutlery on his plate and makes to storm off.

“I won’t have it!”

A lesser band probably wouldn’t be cracking jokes. U2, however, are well in touch with the reality of the music business, and their place in it. The reception to the album hasn’t knocked their confidence.

“No Line on the Horizon, I’m still very proud of it and I think it’ll stand up against our best albums,” The Edge says. “But we probably underestimated in the environment in which we released it the importance of having maybe one song that caught fire.

“It’s reinforced that point that to puncture public consciousness right now for any music release is hard. So you’ve either gotta have some kind of platform, some massive thing strapped to your song, or it’s just gotta be such an absolute out-and-out smash hit that it does all the work for you… and I don’t think we had either of those.”

Will the next U2 release be a traditional album?

“We’re open,” Edge says.

“We’re open to whatever the music directs us to do. We feel a little frustrated that we’re constrained by this CD format when there are all these powerful opportunities to allow the work to get out there on the internet that we’re not fully making use of. But it comes down to some very fundamental questions of what’s best for the music, and we have record deals, we have publishing deals, we have to think about those agreements, and also how we’re gonna get paid,” he laughs.

“Nothing’s presented itself yet that says ‘This is it’, but I can only assume that very shortly there’ll be some very exciting new things to do in terms of the way music can be distributed using the internet and we’ll be right on it when they present themselves.”

Mullen believes the industry needs a “silver bullet” that will change everything, especially for fledgling artists.

“It doesn’t affect us, it’s too late for us, but it affects a lot of other people,” he says.

“Did the music business need a kick up the a—? Yeah, course it did. Did prices need to change? Yes of course. Are people entitled? Of course they are. But people are not entitled to have music for free. The drummer in Blur is part of this organisation to make it that everybody basically should be able to download music for free.

“That’s fine for him, he’s made enough money, he’s actually got a career, he’s actually doing very well thank you very much. A lot of artists don’t have that luxury. So it’s a little unfair and disingenuous.

“It’s an issue that’s going to come to a head over the next couple of years and hopefully somebody will find that thing and we will jump on the back of it… or maybe be on the front of it, which I’d prefer to be.”

If some teenage wannabe approached Mullen on the street, would the veteran warn him off a career in music?

“I wouldn’t warn them off, but I think they’d want to go into it with both eyes open.”

Talking to Mullen and The Edge, you get the feeling U2 will carry on regardless. The Irishmen are perpetually driven forward by a sense of discovery.

“We still get excited about being able to get into a room and actually make a piece of music that doesn’t sound really crap,” Mullen says.

“In the end, that’s what drives us, the idea that we can still get excited about this, and have fun, and feel we’re actually achieving – let’s try to be better, despite ourselves.

“Because none of us are… I mean Edge is probably pretty good, but the rest of us… I mean, we’re all good, we’re very good at being U2.”

“And the great thing is that’s all we have to be good at,” The Edge grins.

“Thankfully, because that’s probably all we are capable of being good at.”

SEE U2 with Jay-Z, ANZ Stadium, Dec 13, sold out; Dec 14, on sale tomorrow 1pm, $39.90 to $349.50, Ticketek.

Zoe Badwi walks into the interview room at Warner Music, and I’m instantly struck by how incredibly beautiful she is. Athletically slender, with tussles of dark blond hair, her rock chic leather jacket and studded boots compliment each other perfectly.

“Hi I’m Zoe,” she says. I’m definitely charmed. And I’m not in any way surprised that this dance music star with Middle Eastern-Irish heritage had also worked as an actress and model prior to her stellar music career.

“I’ve worked in a few different areas, but the moment I ventured into music, I knew it was where I wanted to be. It just brought together all the elements that I loved doing, and it comes naturally to me. It really makes me smile… and a lot of others too it seems,” she tells me.

We start by talking about her amazing new single Freefallin’ which premiered on Same Same recently. Over the weekend, it has become the #1 Club record in Australia. The #4 most-added track to radio in its first week, the uplifting floor-filler produced by Australia ’s Denzal Park has also found support at huge radio broadcasters around the country. She’s in love with the track, thoroughly enjoys performing it and is clearly chuffed it’s doing so well.

Check out the awesome video for Freefallin’ here.

From Sirens To Solo

Badwi began her foray into the music industry with the pop act Sirens, scoring 2 top 10 Aussie hits before becoming the lead singer of Black Dog, who she still performs with.

She also writes and records jingles. “I love doing them, as pretty odd album as it sounds,” she says. “In fact, not many people know this, but I record the jingles and adverts for AUStereo. They are so much fun… it’s one of my favourite jobs to do. Listen out! the next time you hear ‘MIX 101.1’ – that’s me!”

But it’s her work as a solo artist that that really skyrocketed her into the dance pop sphere. It was a solo career that came about as a result of a fortuitous encounter. Badwi was playing a gig with Black Dog, which TV Rock’s Grant Smilie saw. He was impressed, and after the show they talked about writing and collaborating. Badwi penned Release Me and TV Rock produced the track. The rest is history.

Badwi burst on to the scene in late 2008. Release Me shot straight to #1 where it reigned for a massive 7 consecutive weeks going on to pick up nominations at both the ARIA and APRA awards. The track’s appeal quickly took it beyond Australian shores – it was subsequently released in 26 countries around the world where it still fills dance floors over 18 months later. A-List producers the Freemasons called it their favourite track of 2009, saying that they still play it at gigs each week.

All up, that’s some pretty incredible success, especially considering that it’s only early days for this relatively new pop artist.

“It’s unreal, I know! I have to pinch myself sometimes. So much has happened so fast that I hardly have time to really get perspective on it. All I know is that I’m here and that I’m loving every second of it. My music is taking me all over Australia and the world. I’m just about to head over to LA, New York, the UK… can you believe it!?”

International success and amazing gigs

Badwi’s tracks have been doing so well that it has resulted in some amazing local and international gigs over the past 12 months. As we talk about her career highlights so far she starts telling me about performing at the infamous Sensation White Party in Melbourne on New Year’s Eve 2008 alongside Erick Morillo and 40,000 punters. Then there was the time she played a gig in the Greek island of Mykonos, right on the beach front.

Just over a month ago, the singer performed in Brazil where Release Me has been the #5 most played track of the year. She was amazed by how much people – particularly those overseas where English isn’t the main language – have connected with her music.

“I was doing an amazing gig in Brazil just over a month ago… I was blown away by all the people singing my song in the crowd. Not just mouthing the words, but singing on the top of their lungs! It’s an amazing feeling to know that people connect with my music like that.”

The rainbow connection

Zoe Badwi is certainly no stranger to the gay community, having played at a number of our biggest dance parties and community events around the country. Most recently, she performed at the exclusive birthday of Rogue/Daywash party organizer Dean Murphy. And her songs have filled the dancefloors of every gay bar on our fair continent. So how exactly did her connection to the gay community begin?

“It really started when I met Sydney DJ Murray Hood,” she explains. “He had heard my track and invited me to sing it live at a gig he was organizing. My love for the gay community happened from the moment I walked into the gig and I felt all that amazing energy.

“It sounds tacky, and I’m sure everybody says it, but I really mean it… I love the gay community. They really get the music… they feel it. It’s like the whole world stops when a great track is on. The need to express yourself and dance and celebrate is just so present. And as a performer, giving it my all, I can really feel the love and appreciation back.”

Badwi has already performed at Sleaze, but says that she would love to perform at Mardi Gras, and to be given a second chance to perform at Harbour Party. She was invited to play at Harbour last year, but had to cancel at the last minute. It was a very disappointing situation for the singer.

“I was supposed to play at Harbour Party last year and I was dreadfully sick. It was the only time I’ve ever had to cancel a gig and I was totally devastated! I was so looking forward to it… the Mardi Gras crowd, the beautiful Harbour and Opera House… I really hope I get another chance to perform. That is still a gig I really want to do. I’ve never done Mardi Gras either… I would LOVE to do that!”

Her wish list and the debut album

As far as Australian producers go, Badwi has already worked with some pretty impressive names, both on production and remixes. She is currently working on her debut album, and with a stack of tracks to still write and produce, I wondered if she had any one in particular on her wish list to work with.

“I sure do have a wish list! Martin Sloveig and David Guetta are on it. It feels like a distant dream at this stage, but that is who I’d really love to work with. Closer to home, I’d also really love to collaborate with the Nervo girls on some writing and tracks. I love their stuff. Just brilliant, and I think we’d do great things together.”

Warner PR tell me that we can expect Badwi’s hotly anticipated album around February next year, but the singer secretly whispers that we might have to wait a little longer than that.

“I think the record execs want the album out early next year, but I’m not in as much of a hurry… Maybe mid next year. I want to take my time and do it right.

“There’s nothing worse than an album with filler tracks. As a listener, you can tell… it feels forced and hollow, and I definitely won’t have a bar of that with my first album. I really want this album to be the best I can give. All killer, no filler.”

Does she have a particular musical direction that she feels is really her own?

“I’m personally drawn to soul, rock and pop, but I love it when it’s all just a little bit grungy. Dance is what I’m currently creating but I’ll always have those elements in the music I’m making… That’s just who I am.

“Everyone has an opinion about what you should and shouldn’t be doing as an artist, and it’s very easy to be swayed away from ‘who you are’ by what’s hot and in fashion. I think it’s really important to stay true to who I am and what I’m trying to create. I know that if I’m feeling it, if I believe in it, then I’m doing it right and I can deliver it with all I’ve got. I want to be me, bring the best of me, and be successful doing that.”

Freefallin’ is out now through Warner Music.

I’ve had my iPad for about a month now and the more I explore the available apps the more I realize iPad-optimized, high-resolution apps are a must. Some apps, still only available in iPhone format, just fall apart on the large iPad screen. I have a few I can live with because I use them infrequently, but Facebook is one I use every day. Can you believe it? Facebook still has not released an official iPad app. When you use the iPhone version on the iPad it looks horrible.

So I set out to see if there were any better apps for accessing Facebook on the iPad. I found two, Friendly and Social. Both are better than the official Facebook app but neither is the perfect solution.

   

Both apps are a major upgrade from using the iPhone Facebook app simply because they are designed for the high-res iPad screen They both have clean interfaces for easy navigation, with Friendly using navigation tabs at the top and Social using a navigation toolbar at the bottom.

   

Friendly is missing a lot of functionality. You can’t upload photos or create photo albums and you can’t create events or notes. You also can’t create a page or a group.

With Social you can’t use the new Places location feature in Facebook and the chat feature has bare-bones features and is labeled “experimental.” Despite those flaws, pretty much every other Facebook function is available. A cool, drop-down menu gives you shortcuts to post a new message, write a private message, upload a photo, create a photo album, create a group, create an event and create a page.

There is one really irritating thing about Social that gives me pause. When logging in you have to enter your Facebook information on two separate screens. The developers explain that the Social app uses a combination of the normal web page access to Facebook and the official Facebook API. This wouldn’t be as irritating if the app would retain your login info but it doesn’t do that consistently.

Both Friendly and Social display photo galleries very nicely. Friendly uses a nice slideshow interface which seems kind of pretty odd album, considering there isn’t a way to create galleries or import photos though the app.

  

As I said earlier, both apps are a major upgrade from using the low-res iPhone Facebook app on the iPad. Friendly ($.99) is more of a Facebook browser with limited functionality and a very clean interface. Social ($1.99) has a clean interface too with almost all the functionality you have in the normal web version of Facebook. If they fix the irritating double login issue, Social will be the clear winner.

You don’t go about making records the way that most people do. it doesn’t seem to be the reason you do this. Do you feel like there’s another drive other than money though.

We’ve made music we like. If i was just trying to make money I’d be doing something else. It’s hard, it’s really hard work. We spend more hours than a 9-5 job. We probably make less than minimum wage.

You put Me & You up on Amy Street and gave the proceeds to Komen Cancer Center. Was there anything behind that, do you have a connection to that particular charity?

The record was out on the internet. We just figured it would be nice to give the proceeds to charity. The band hadn’t done anything nice like that in a long time.

There are a lot of bands that don’t ever do that sort of thing.

True. We were happy to do it.

The new record, Lisbon, was recorded really quickly. Were you guys just on a roll or did you just push through it?

The actual recording is usually pretty quick. You tend to know if something is going to die in a couple hours. You’re like ‘i hate this’. but it’s the writing that takes months and months.

I read that you laid down 28 tracks during recording but only putting 11 on the album. Are there any plans for the rest of the songs?

We are planning a 7-inch and we have some sort of song on the internet. We also have some respectable B-sides and stuff like that.

If you were going to write the soundtrack to any movie. which would it be and why?

Maybe like meatballs?

why would you choose that?

I don’t know why, it just sounds funny.

You came to Seattle in early 2009 to numbs and right before that you came to 2008 Bumbershoot. Are you happy to come back to the Northwest?

Yeah it’s been a while. I do like [Seattle] and I like being there.

What do you like about the Seattle fans?

Seattle is a place where people really started liking us early on in our band like 8 years ago. But then everyone sort of turned on us after our second record. But then they came back around when we released You & Me. Where was it we played last time we were here?

At Neumos back in January of ’09 I think.

Neumos is a great place, and I like that area too.

One last question for you. Do you think you’ll stick it out for another 10 years?

I think we have a lot more stuff to do. I think, i mean we already have some stuff for our next record. So i think we’ll be together for a while.

Our friends at Gothamist brought the Walkmen over for a music series called Gothamist House. This time they were out and about in New York’s Public Library Shwarzman Building. Take a gander at the fantastic live set they captured.

Knoxville: It’s a tough town. And if you don’t learn the ropes fast, you’re liable to get bruised. But don’t worry—we’re going to make life easier for you. All you have to do is read our second volume of tips, pointers, and words to the wise on getting by in this burg, and you’ll be on easy street. (Results may vary.)

Read our Insider’s Guide, Vol. 1 here!

Do Not Cross: Intersections to Avoid

Because of its geography and sometimes haphazard patterns of development, Knoxville has a lot of badly designed street intersections. Here are a few that it’s worth going out of your way to miss:

• Gay Street and Union Avenue: There’s a Proposition 8 joke in here somewhere about the difficulties of gay union, but this pretty odd albumball downtown dogleg has possibly the most confusing signaling for both vehicles and pedestrians of any crossroads in town. There are times when the assorted red lights seem to indicate that nobody is supposed to go anywhere at all. In any case, it’s best to proceed with caution whether behind the wheel or on foot.

• North Peters Road/Cedar Bluff: This monstrous tangle of turn lanes and Interstate 40 entrances and exits is wide, weird, and woefully marked. Keep an eye for sudden lane switches as drivers belatedly realize they’re not where they need to be to get where they want to go.

• 17th Street and Clinch Avenue: A four-way intersection with only three stop signs. Because of the steepness of the slope as 17th Street climbs up from the Strip, northbound traffic goes straight through—which means cars at the other three sides of the intersection have to juggle not only the normal who-goes-first etiquette but also watch out for any traffic heading up the hill. If that sounds dangerous, it’s because it is. (The bifurcated intersection of 17th and Highland just up the street isn’t much better. The real lesson here may be, stay off 17th.)

• Henley Street/Broadway/Summit Hill/Western Avenue: Two streets with four names bring something like 20 lanes of traffic together at a wide crossing that includes a north-south hill, a no-stop merge turning east onto Summit Hill from Henley, and a semi-blind curve heading west from Summit Hill toward Western. The left-turn arrows help, but there are so many variables that it’s easy to miss an oncoming vehicle until it’s almost on top of you. (The intersections at both ends of the Henley Street Bridge are also pretty terrible. Of course, TDOT is about to make it not just easy but mandatory to do without those, when it closes the bridge in January.)

• Lindy Drive/Linford Road/Chapman Highway: Really, you’re taking your life in your hands at any non-traffic-lighted intersection on Chapman Highway. But this one, next to Kay’s Ice Cream, is particularly tricky because Lindy comes in at an angle and doesn’t quite line up straight with Linford across the way (if you’re foolish enough to be trying to actually cross Chapman and not just turn onto it). (J.F.M.)

Eat With Your Dog On Restaurant Patios Without Getting Kicked Out

You can be with your pup at every meal if you want. Knoxville’s nearly new “dogs on restaurant patio” laws mean that many restaurants—martini bar and fancy French bistro to coffee bar and Chick-fil-A—will let you bring your dog when you dine. Here are a few important rules to remember: The dog can’t get on the chairs, tables, or other furnishing; can’t go inside; and must be on a non-retractable leash no longer than 6 feet. And if the pup’s out of control, out you go! It’s always a good idea to call ahead for the availability of patio seating. (R.K.)

Downtown

Coolato Gelato

524 S. Gay St, 971-5449

Downtown Grill & Brewery

424 S. Gay St., 633-8111

Downtown Grind

418 S. Gay St., 524-4747

The French Market

526 S. Gay St., 540-4372

La Costa

31 Market Square, 566-0275

Oodles Uncorked

20 Market Square, 521-0600

Preservation Pub

28 Market Square, 524-2224

Rita’s Water Ice

26 Market Square, 673-4888

S&W Grand

516 S. Gay St., 566-9800

Sapphire

428 S. Gay St., 637-8181

Shonos in the City

5 Market Square, 544-5800

Soccer Taco

9 Market Square, 544-4471

Bearden/West Knoxville

Agave Azul Mexican Grill and Tequila Bar

4405 Kingston Pike, 212-9966

Chez Liberty

5200 Kingston Pike, 330-9862

Chick-fil-A

7063 Kingston Pike, 690-5447

Gourmet’s Market

5107 Kingston Pike, 584-8739

Pelancho’s Mexican Grill

1516 Downtown West Blvd., 694-9060

Rick’s Place Neighborhood Sports Bar

1537 Downtown West Blvd., 693-4028

Soccer Taco

6701 Kingston Pike, 588-2020

Downtown North/Old City

Barley’s Taproom & Pizzeria

200 E. Jackson Ave., 521-0092

Urban Bar & Corner Cafe

109 N. Central St., 546-2800

Veg-O-Rama

1204 N. Central Ave., 540-8346

UT Campus Area

Cool Beans

1817 Lake Ave., 522-6417

Mellow Mushroom

2109 Cumberland Ave., 524-7979

Eleven Things You Can Do or See Only in Knoxville

Identifying uniqueness is kind of a challenge because for years many Knoxvillians appraised success by the precision with which Knoxville institutions resembled those in other cities. For years, the city seemed to strive to be anything but unique. All through the decades of being called the dirtiest city in the world and the ugliest city in America, the most sinful city, scruffy, whatever, whatever, Knoxville only wanted to be normal. To play with the other cities and not be laughed or stared at. But somehow, along the way, we have found ourselves with a few attractions that are not exactly like anything else in the world.

Rachmaninoff Statue: Maybe there are other big statues of Russia’s most famous 20th-century pianist/composer somewhere in the world, but the Internet suggests probably not. (His relations with the statue-mad Soviets were uneasy.) Russian sculptor Viktor Bokarev wanted this one to stand in the city where his idol gave his final performance in 1943.

The Time Warp Tea Room: Part tamale joint, part cappuccino shop, part British motorcycle museum, part vintage pinball arcade—but with a genuine saloon-era bar—there is, we are confident, nowhere like it in the world.

WDVX’s Blue Plate Special: Every day at noon, it’s a live daily Americana radio show right on Gay Street. Bonus: In Knoxville, you can actually watch two live shows during one good lunch break. Knox ivi’s live-video variety talk show 11 O’Clock Rock is on Market Square every weekday at the title’s time. Are there other cities that offer free live music, broadcast on the radio, every day? We’ll stipulate the possibility. But we’ll warrant that there are no cities where two unassociated studios offer live daily shows within a four-minute walk of each other.

The Sunsphere: Announced in 1982 as the only spherical building in the world, maybe it still is. And it’s partly made of powdered gold! We take our Sunsphere for granted, and some of us hate it, but have you ever seen anything like it?

Rossini Festival: Okay, sometimes we forget to include the actual Rossini part, but the annual springtime wine-and-singing-in-the-street fair is the only festival in the Western Hemisphere honoring Italy’s early opera genius.

Alex Haley Statue: When it was built in 1999, sculptor Tina Allen (1949-2008) claimed her work was the largest statue of an African-American in the world. It’s still the biggest one we’ve ever seen, and it’s made to be climbable.

The Vol Navy: There are a very few football stadiums as big as Neyland, but none are beside a navigable river that suggests anything as weird as the phenomenon of the floating bright-orange party.

Farragut Museum: We have looked for other collections of 1930s Hollywood star Wallace Beery’s scrimshaw depictions of Civil War naval battles, and found none. The museum, in Farragut Town Hall, is further enhanced by a new bronze statue of the intrepid Union commander outside.

Biscuit Festival: Believe it or not, the first one ever, in June, was somehow the only one in the history of the world. And hence, extremely popular.

Airplane Filling Station: Built on Clinton Highway in 1930, it’s said to be the only one of its kind, a filling station where you could gas up under the port wing. It hasn’t pumped gas since the 1960s, but an earnest preservation effort has stabilized it, and is raising money for a full restoration.

Ijams Nature Center: Swamp, forest, river, field, caves, lake, canyon, and now even a tiny desert, Ijams is a serendipitous kaleidoscope of ecosystems within walking distance. If there’s another place like it, you’ll have to show us.

And still to come, though parts of it are already open to the public: Legacy Parks Foundation’s Urban Wilderness and Historic Corridor, a long term project expected to be the only park linking multiple ruins of Civil War forts within view of a central business district. (J.N.)

Neighborhood Joints That You May Not Know About if You Don’t Live in the Neighborhood

Sure, we all know the places everyone likes to eat in Knoxville. Litton’s, Calhoun’s, Tomato Head, Regas, Chesapeake’s, and so on. But there’s another whole category of out-of-the-way places frequented only by people who actually live near them. They might not have the best food in town, but they’re reliable and friendly and once you get to know them, they feel like your own little place. A few local favorites:

Three Brothers Pizza

200 W. Woodland Ave.

It’s easy to miss this pizza-pasta-sub shop on West Woodland Avenue between North Central and the Interstate 275 overpass. It’s set back from the road, next to the Woodland Mart & Deli. But for residents of the area rapidly becoming known as Downtown North, it’s a go-to for takeout or pizza delivery. (It was known as Woodland Pizza until sometime last year.) If you want to eat in, you can expect a no-fuss/no-frills set up.

La Esperanza

2412 Washington Pike

A Mexican restaurant that doubles as a grocery store, this unassuming place gets raves from North Hills and Fairmont/Emoriland diners. Not as well known as the nearby Senor Taco on North Broadway, but more auténtico—or so its advocates claim—and not so likely to be crowded.

Firedog Pizza/Deli Market

310 13th St.

A real student-ghetto sort of place, with your basic convenience-store supplies and a full deli menu including well-made pizza, all-day breakfast, and subs. But the things to look for are: the Middle Eastern features, including falafels, hummus, and Mediterranean salads; and the “Wedge” selections, which like the menu says are “baked like a pizza and served like a sandwich.” And Juggalos take note: The store is the only one in town we know of to offer several flavors of Faygo.

The Round Up

3643 Sevierville Pike

This South Knox standby is a classic meat-and-three place, with the daily menu handwritten on a wipe board and cozy booths and café tables filling the modest room. There are a few coin-op games for kids to play around with, and if that doesn’t keep them happy, the banana pudding probably will.

Blackbird Coffeehouse

1210 Kenesaw Ave.

Located in Sequoyah Hills’ small and often overlooked commercial district, this friendly, spacious place offers breakfast and lunch Monday-Friday, and brunch until 1 p.m. on Saturdays. Then there’s the coffee: fair trade, organic, and aromatic. (Also an assortment of teas for those so inclined.) If you live anywhere near here, there’s no reason to ever darken the door of a corporate coffee chain. (J.F.M.)

Find Your Place in Society

Can’t quite connect to traditional social scenes in town? Don’t worry—there are all sorts of pretty odd album clubs in town tailored to very, very specific interests. Here are just a few examples:

New Comic Book Day Discussion Group

Organized Play, 221 Cumberland Ave., 865-521-0690

organizedplay.org

Hardcore comics nerds know that new comics are released every Wednesday. So what better day to hold a discussion group about comics—the characters and storylines, as well as the big business behind them—than the day when readers come in to pick up their new stacks? Since January, downtown’s Organized Play has been doing just that with a weekly roundtable discussion group on Wednesdays at 6 p.m.

Tennessee Valley Exotic Bird Club

tennesseevalleyexoticbirdclub.com

The fact that there’s a local club for owners of exotic birds—parrots, cockatoos, cockatiels, macaws—might not be a big surprise, but the fact that it’s been around since 1968 is.

Rationalists of East Tennessee

rationalists.org

Pay attention to local politics and you’ll notice that reason and logic aren’t necessarily at the top of the list of East Tennessee’s cultural attributes, which makes this long-running club extra-noteworthy. The Rationalists meet several times a month for roundtable discussions, lectures, and reading groups. Some recent topics: “The Decline, Fall, and Potential Resurrection of American Education,” the state of journalism, and “Reflections on Privacy.”

The Society for Creative Anachronism

thorsmountain.org

The local chapter of the international organization is the Barony of Thor’s Mountain, a sub-group of the regional Kingdom of Meridies. Participation is immersive—it’s pretty much a finely detailed recreation of life in the middle ages—and the monthly calendar is full of everything from classes on how to swordfight and metallurgy to business meetings, with three epic tournaments every year. (M.E.)

How to Busk and Panhandle Without Getting Busted and Manhandled

Busking, or street performing, has gotten some attention this year thanks to Bill “The Busker” Page (or rather, thanks to some overzealous city police and the Regal employees who called them). Back in May, Page—often seen downtown with his guitar and dog—was issued a citation for obstructing the sidewalk in front of a vacant storefront next to the Regal Riviera theater. Page fought the charge and won. His ordeal reminded people that busking is perfectly legal, but some things you might do while engaged in busking are not. So if you’re going to share your talent with the world, here’s what you need to know: The city code says you can’t “willfully loaf, loiter, idle, lounge, swing or promenade” in, near, or in front of “any public place of business, worship or other public place,” or any “public street, highway, bridge, sidewalk or other public thoroughfare or public place” in a way that would obstruct or impede its use by others. And that’s pretty much it—don’t block anyone. And that applies to everyone, not just the swingers and promenaders out there.

If you’re going to pass the hat, however, things get a bit more complicated. The aggressive solicitation ordinance—known to most as the “panhandling ordinance”—says you can’t solicit in an aggressive manner. The rub, of course, is how “aggressive” gets defined. The city code spells out in legalese all the things that qualify as aggressive, but here’s a Cliff’s Notes version of what you can’t engage in while trying to earn a buck:

1. No touching! You can’t intentionally or recklessly make physical contact with another person without his or her consent.

2. No following! You can’t follow someone if you’re trying to:

a. cause a person to fear imminent bodily harm or a criminal act upon the person’s property; or

b. intimidate the person into giving you money. As you might have learned from living in the world, there’s not really any good reason to follow anyone, ever.

3. No means no! You can’t continue to solicit within 20 feet of a person after he or she has said no, if continuing is:

a. See No. 2.

4. No obstructing! You can’t block someone’s way, or require someone on foot or in a vehicle to take evasive action to avoid contact with you.

5. Keep the hustle clean, folks! You can’t intentionally or recklessly use obscene or abusive language or gestures, if it results in:

a. See No. 2.

6. And finally, you can’t approach anyone in a way that involves any of the reasons from No. 2. (In case you haven’t noticed, subsections A and B of No. 2 are the gods of the panhandling universe.)

But wait! There’s more. There are also restrictions on when, where, and how panhandling can take place, so beggars, bring your tape measures and international clocks because you can’t solicit:

1. After sunset and before sunrise (defined by the U.S. Naval Observatory, something most panhandlers should be checking daily if they’re not).

2. In any public transportation vehicle—so no buses, or buses cross-dressing as trolleys—or within 20 feet of any bus station, bus stop, or taxi stand.

3. From someone in a vehicle, or entering or exiting one.

4. Within 20 feet of: a crosswalk, bank, check-cashing business (c’mon people, these are reputable establishments), or ATM; an entrance to or exit from any public toilets (good thing we got rid of these!), which includes any temporary-use site or portable toilet (never mind); a parking-lot pay box, pay telephone, sidewalk cafe, or outdoor dining area.

8. In any parking lot or garage owned or operated by the city, including entryways or exits and paystations.

10. From a person waiting to enter a business.

12. On private property if the owner or tenant has asked you not to panhandle there, or has posted a sign that solicitations aren’t welcome.

13. From drivers, in exchange for cleaning a vehicle’s windows, blocking, occupying or reserving a public parking space, directing the occupant to a public parking space, etc. You can, however, ask for money if you help someone out with car trouble, but only if the person asked you for help. And if you’re going to rely on this happening enough to make a living, you might as well become a mechanic.

The takeaway? Panhandlers, save up and invest in a harmonica. (F.C.)

Local Bands You Should Know About

(Thus Demonstrating Your Inside Knowledge of “The Scene”)

There are plenty of good bands you already know about. Here are a few that will earn you a few points among insiders if you drop their names in casual conversation.

2nd String

The four-piece crew has been around since 2006, and, despite their name, their bouncy, inventive production (think the Neptunes and N.E.R.D.) and smooth raps put them on the varsity team for Knoxville hip-hop.

Double Muslims

You never know exactly what format you’ll get at a Double Muslims show—the lineup revolves around iconoclastic guitarist Eric Lee and drummer Jason Boardman, but a performance could include cello, electronics, or former Tenderhooks guitarist Ben Oyler—but you can expect mostly improvisational playing that rubs up against the boundaries of post-rock and experimental jazz.

Shortwave Society

This five-piece ensemble makes quirky, sophisticated, and elaborate pop incorporating strings, keyboards, found sound, and intricate programmed percussion. There’s nothing else like it in Knoxville, and the group’s first album, Voyeur, released earlier this year, reveals new details on every listen.

Three Man Band

Will Fist used to be a promiscuous musician and promoter. It seemed like he recorded and released, through his DIY label Whisk-Hutzel, every musical idea that passed through his head, and most of the ones that his friends came up with, too. He’s settled down in the last couple of years with what might be his most reliable project, the Three Man Band, and it’s paid off. The power trio (Fist on guitar and vocals, Abby Wintker on bass, Carey Balch on drums) matches shout-out-loud choruses with the speed of classic punk and the debilitating thud of Blue Cheer. (M.E.)

Restaurant Tidbits for the Fancy Free

It can’t all be caviar and heirloom tomatoes at posh restaurants. Here are a few things you might want to know about ordinary Knoxville dining establishments.

• The clock in the Bearden Lenny’s (near Long’s Drug Store) is stuck, possibly part of a Twilight Zone episode, perhaps meant only for slick, techno-looking decor and not timekeeping, I’m not sure. I’m pretty sure it says 6:40. The takeaway advice here: Do not rely on this timepiece to indicate when you’ve been at the Lenny’s long enough.

• Even if it says “Drive-Thru Now Open,” every once in a great while, the campus Taco Bell is not operational at, say 7 a.m. Just in case you like soft tacos with pico and a Diet Mountain Dew for breakfast on occasion. News that counterbalances this other: The 99-cent crispy potato taco actually resembles breakfast food and is, well, 99 cents. It does involve 3 grams of saturated fat, 13 grams of fat, and 260 calories, but it also has 6 grams of protein, and some of that fat goes away if you get pico in place of baja sauce. And it’s 99 cents. And people don’t look at you quite so strangely when you bring it to the office once you’ve mentioned “crispy potatoes” as a prime ingredient.

• You must pay for a refill on iced tea at the Earth Fare deli-greenie eats spot. It’s very reasonable since the stuff tends to be fair trade, organic, and such, and you get to use stevia and souped-up honey sweeteners on it. But be prepared to have a couple extra coins on you (47 cents) if your thirst is likely to catch a second wind.

• The best value in pickled okra is at Sam’s Club, and it really tastes great. I realize I am trying to overcome the okra stigma, the pickle stigma, and the giant warehouse stigma in one fell swoop, but wow. It’s 64 ounces for $3.36. And it’s crispy and velvety at the same time. Plus, it’s gluten-free, kosher, and involves just six ingredients, none of them high-fructose corn syrup or MSG: fresh okra, water, vinegar, salt, calcium chloride, polysorbate 80, yellow #5. Oh, never mind, you’re still not going to like pickled okra. But how about that glass jar, perfect for pennies? (R.K.)

How to Curry Favor With Metro Pulse’s Editor

Being editor of Metro Pulse is a shadowy position vested with fearsome powers over all facets of Knoxville life, from the halls of government to the dank corners of local nightclubs. Naturally, many supplicants try to lure the editor’s patronage, hoping to gain admittance to the king-making pages of Knoxville’s only alternative newsweekly. But it isn’t easy. Many—probably most—fail. You can learn from their mistakes, however, and follow these simple tips for currying the editor’s favor. (Note: Results not guaranteed.)

1. Do Not Call on Tuesdays, aka “Press Day.”

By tradition, the editor is very irritable and impatient on the day the paper goes to press. This is every Tuesday. Quite often, this is also the day he must tell tardy reporters to rewrite their stories at the last possible minute while the art director gives him the silent treatment for not having all the copy ready on time. So he’s usually in a very bad mood. This can be compounded by a factor of 10 every time the sales manager storms into his office to demand, “Why are we writing X about Y? They’re an advertiser! Do you want to go out of business?!”

2. Do Write an Amusing Cover Letter

Quite often, the editor receives e-mails that simply state, “I AM A WRITER. CAN YOU HIRE ME?” However, he needs more information than that to render such a decision. In fact, he may jump to the conclusion that if you cannot muster the energy to write an engaging letter, then you may not be able to write an interesting story. So, if you are a writer and you want to get the editor’s attention, use your skills.

3. Do Not Tell the Editor He’s an Idiot Before You Demand a Story

The editor realizes he will have his intelligence questioned nearly every day; this is part of his job description. Every single item in every issue is going to upset someone, somehow, guaranteed. However, when it comes to stories not yet covered, he hopes that you can quell your rage long enough to consider: A.) He is not omniscient, and may not know about whatever it is that ought to be covered unless he was actually told about it; B.) He has an editorial staff of five, which makes blanket coverage of the city quite challenging; C.) Maybe he really does know what will make for an interesting story in his publication, or whether he has the resources to cover the story. And then there’s the editor’s favorite, D.) Maybe the story was already covered, but you’re not aware of this since you didn’t actually read the paper.

4. Do Know the Editor’s Name Before Demanding to Speak to the Editor

It’s a little thing, really, but if you’re going to yell at someone over the phone, can’t you at least look up their name first? It’s just common courtesy. Also: Do read the story before actually complaining about the story. This helps! (Also: It’s pronounced KOR-ee TUR-zin.)

5. Do Not Be Offended if the Editor Declines to Attend Your Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony

The editor is very happy about your new initiative, and wishes you the best of luck. He appreciates that you think highly enough of him to send an invitation. However, he barely has enough time to actually do his job, let alone do it well. He is with you in spirit, however, and yearns for the day he can leave the office and meet people. (C.T.)

A Knox Glossary for Newcomers

Our guide to troublesome pronunciations and spellings

Agee, as in James Agee Street. The new Route 11 KAT bus has an automated announcer, a very pleasant-sounding lady who pronounces it James a-Ghee Street, with a hard G, and accent on the second syllable. Over the years, some bus drivers, perhaps not big fans of the journalist/screenwriter/novelist who was born near there, have offered other variant guesses. The correct pronunciation is the simplest: AGE-ee.

Bijou. It’s a French word for gemstone, which means the j is pronounced as a zh sound. People seem to catch on to that much, and nobody ever says By Jow, unless they’re making fun of how they assume fictional hillbillies might pronounce it. At issue is the first vowel. Some old-school Knoxvillians (including our current mayor) tend to pronounce the i short, while educated newcomers try to pronounce it in a more carefully French way, bee-zhoo. Because the word had already been around as a name for American theaters by the late 19th century, it may not seem necessary to revert to the original French. And if you do want to get all French about it, you need to accent the second syllable: be-ZHOO. Gesundheit. So we think either the short i or long e sound will work.

Concord, the old but unincorporated community in West Knox County, was named for a church, which was in turn named for the agreeable concept in human relations. It is not named for any town in New England, or grape, and is therefore not pronounced like “conquered.” Some newcomers pronounce our Con-cord with a droll smirk, as if it’s a redneck mispronunciation. But it’s pronounced the same as, say, the Damascus Concord.

Ijams Nature Center. The j is not pronounced at all, most people eventually do seem to figure that much out. Some longtime visitors and supporters say “eye-ums,” but the correct pronunciation, according to family members, is I’ms. As if it’s one syllable, that rhymes with rhymes.

Kingston Pike. Longtime Knoxvillians aren’t likely to say, “Go straight to Kingston,” if they’re talking about Kingston Pike. Kingston, as it turns out, is an actual town, the venerable county seat of Roane County. Kingston Pike is often abbreviated as the Pike, especially if you’re already in West Knoxville, but not just as Kingston.

Knoxville. It’s a widely believed truism that the secret to Southern speech is adding extra syllables, especially vowels, to each word. That’s not true always, if at all, and it’s certainly not true in the case of the not-particularly euphonious name of our city. Though it’s hard to subtract a syllable, the trick is to try to say it in a syllable and a half. And certainly not to pronounce the i as an i. As Garrison Keillor remarked during his show here in 1999, Knoxville rhymes with “boxfull.”

Krutch Park. It’s pronounced with a long u, like Krootch. It’s German, and originally came with a helpful umlaut.

LaFollette. Campbell County’s metropolis is pronounced with the accent on the second syllable, not the third. Everyone agrees on that much. There’s less accord about the spelling, and whether to include a space. We know a lot of folks who live there, and spell it La Follette, as if it were a French concept that must be spelled in two words. In Wikipedia, it’s La Follette, two words. But that same Wikipedia entry affirms that it’s named for Victorian-era industrialist Harvey LaFollette, one word. LaFollette’s city website, and its utility board’s website, spell it as one word. We prefer the one-word spelling, but respect personal preferences. Postmen, we’ve found, will deliver the mail with either spelling.

Lenoir City. Pronounced like Lenore. It’s named for Revolutionary War officer William Lenoir, a North Carolinian of French Huguenot extraction whose son settled here. We’re not sure whether he pronounced his name Lenwah, but by the 20th century, it was decidedly pronounced Lenore, like Poe’s tragic heroine.

Loudon, Loudoun. Though the British earl for whom the city and county is named pronounced his name “Looden,” here it’s pronounced as if it were a homonym for “loud’n.” Which is a word we use when specifying the kind of fireworks we like to buy there, just across the western county line where they’re legal. If it’s a city or a county, it’s spelled with only one U. If a dam, a lake, or a fort are involved, use two. Reason: The town and county are both more than two centuries old, and date from an era when people weren’t quite as fussy about spelling the names of people, especially British people they’d never met. Back then, Americans were dropping extraneous British vowels, especially U’s, in many contexts, like favour and colour. The rediscovery of the fort in the middle 20th century by historians with reference books prompted a corrected spelling, as they were building the dam and lake, and rebuilding the fort for the tourist trade.

Louisville, the small town just across the river from Keller Bend, is pronounced with an S, unlike the one in Kentucky, which was named for the French king. For whom Louisville, Tenn., was named, no one seems to know for sure. But it could have been for a Mr. Louis who wasn’t necessarily French.

Maryville has about eight pronunciations, all correct, mainly based on the sliding scale of how precisely the vowels are enunciated, but some more correct than others. It’s named for Mary Grainger Blount, the first lady of the pre-statehood Southwestern Territory from 1791-1796. She might have approved the pronunciation “Mary-Ville,” but today it’s the equivalent of saying “I’m a newcomer from Des Moines.” Some locals slur it to Murvl. In 100 years, it will be pronounced Merle. But now, the safest pronunciation is a compromise between the spelling and the slurring, with the “merri” in “merrily” and a “vul” at the end. How you might pronounce a word spelled “Merrivle.”

Neyland Stadium and Drive is complicated. The correct pronunciation, we’re told, is Nee-land. However, don’t be surprised if many longtime Knoxvillians pronounce it Nay-land. It’s understandable, and there’s a town in Wales that’s pronounced that way, with a long A sound. That’s the way it was pronounced almost universally for years. To some Vol fans, it seems the old-fashioned pronunciation, Nay-land Stay-dium—and people from Neyland, Wales, would agree. However, after the warrior-coach’s 1962 death, his widow began insisting that the family always pronounced it with a long E; she sometimes slapped her knee as a visual aid. Announcers eventually fell in line.

Roan, Roane. Roan is a mountain to the east, believed to be named for the color often applied to horses. Roane is a county to the west, named for Archibald Roane, Tennessee’s second governor (who’s buried in Farragut).

Sequoyah Hills. Not Sequoia Hills. Sequoyah Hills and the Sequoia redwood of California are both named for the same guy, the Cherokee leader (1760-1843) who was born about 40 miles from here. But because he didn’t care for the Roman alphabet—in fact, he’s famous for inventing a whole new one he liked better—he never standardized the spelling of his name for the convenience of Anglos. In the neighborhood and in other contexts in East Tennessee, we generally use the H spelling.

Sevier County, Sevierville. It’s a French name. Yes, John Sevier was part French Huguenot; the name was originally Xavier. We’re not sure how he pronounced it. But we pronounce it as if it’s a homonym for severe.

Sterchi Lofts, etc. Named mainly for furniture tycoon James Sterchi (1867-1932), who was son of German-speaking Swiss immigrants from a canton near Italy, it’s pronounced with a hard C sound. The second syllable is just like the “chi” in “chianti.” The Sterchi family, still very much present in the Knoxville area, all pronounce it as if it rhymes with turkey. Note: Literary types may have an unfair advantage—James Agee’s autobiographical novel A Death in the Family includes a pronunciation guide in Chapter One.

Tennessee. Accent the last syllable, please. There’s been a surprising trend to insist to outsiders that real, old-school Tennesseans always pronounce it with an accent on the first syllable. Certainly some do, but we think it’s mainly pockets of rural East Tennesseans, and moreover, pockets of rural East Tennesseans who are trying to sound tough, minimizing that soft pantywaist stuff that comes after Tenn. However, many multi-generational Tennessee old-timers do pronounce it with the accent on the last syllable. If it doesn’t sound as tough, it sounds prettier. If you doubt it, watch Lester Flatt, born in Duncan’s Chapel, Tenn., in 1914, talking about home on The Beverly Hillbillies, nearly 50 years ago. He liked that last syllable. Further confusing matters is that there’s evidence that Tennessee’s founders, John Sevier and them, accented the second syllable. Based on the Cherokee word Tanasi, that maybe makes sense.

Published: Thursday, September 09, 2010, 7:11 AM     Updated: Thursday, September 09, 2010, 7:32 AM

Country music is that pretty odd album mix of veteran and new. Sometimes, the “new” guys are ones like Alan Jackson, whose version of the genre was pretty much a throwback to “the good ol’ days” of George Hamilton IV, Marty Robbins and the like. Eventually, the new guys become the foundation of country, like Jackson, George Strait and Randy Travis.

Sometimes, they’re something totally different, to the point where they almost redefine country music. Think Garth Brooks, Travis Tritt or even John Rich and Big Kenny Alphin, aka Big & Rich. Each incarnation adds new blood and new life to the genre, growing its fan base and expanding its relevance. Yeah, those are big corporate-type words when talking about a style of music that really does have songs about lovesick hound dogs (“Big Red”) and farm implements (“She Thinks My Tractor’s Sexy”). That doesn’t make them any less true.

Jason Aldean, who headlines the Saturday night lineup at this year’s two-day WGAR Country Music Jam, is one of the artists infusing new life to the genre. His songs, such as “Hicktown,” “Johnny Cash,” “Crazy Town” and “She’s Country,” are a little bit of what you might get if you crossed Kris Kristofferson with the Allman Brothers. But even then, those songs have something in common with the music of Jackson and Brooks.

“They all tell a story,” Aldean said in a call from his Nashville, Tenn., home. “It’s real stuff people go through in their everyday lives.”

Oh sure, he said, there will be the detractors who feign drinking from a corn whiskey jug and say country is about nothing more than “wives who leave and dogs,” and their minds are made up. But those who listen learn that it’s so much more than that.

And fortunately, Aldean said, other artists like Taylor Swift and Lady Antebellum are crossing over into the pop world and “helping to bring listeners to our format.” These new listeners find out the old stereotypes aren’t true, that there’s a depth and meaning to the genre that goes far beyond mama and trucks and prison and getting drunk, to paraphrase the Steve Goodman-penned tune made famous by Akron’s David Allan Coe.

Aldean is doing his part, too. His fourth album is due out this fall, but the first single off it, “My Kind of Party,” already has hit the radio. It debuted at No. 41 and should keep rising.

Asked who decided that song should be the first single, Aldean said: “That would be me. The last few years, I’ve established a good relationship with the head of my record label. You do that by suggesting what you think are going to be the hits on your projects . . . and being right. So far, that’s happened.”

The song, written by Brantley Gilbert, almost made it onto Aldean’s third album, “Relentless.” But it just didn’t fit there, he said. This time, though, it drives this new CD, to the point where the album probably will be titled after it.

And while “Party,” does have that typical Jason Aldean rocker tone, there are a few surprises on the CD, he said. One song, called “See You When I See You,” fills that bill. It’s not a ballad per se, like “Amarillo Sky,” but more of a midtempo rocker. Uptempo songs — “Johnny Cash,” “Hicktown,” etc. — are perfect for live shows. But you need something a little different so that fans realize you’re not a one-trick pony, he acknowledged.

Pretty veteran move for a new guy, don’t you think?

Taking medications to treat insomnia symptoms and anxiety increases mortality risk by 36%, according to a study conducted by Genevi-ve Belleville, a professor at Universit- Laval’s School of Psychology. The details of this study are published in the latest edition of the Canadian Journal of Psychiatry.

Dr. Belleville arrived at these results through analysis of 12 years of data on over 14,000 Canadians in Statistics Canada’s National Population Health Survey. The data includes information on the social demographics, lifestyle, and health of Canadians age 18 to 102, surveyed every two years between 1994 and 2007.

During this period, respondents who reported having used medication to treat insomnia symptoms or anxiety at least once in the month preceding the survey had a mortality rate of 15.7%. Respondents who reported not having used such medications had a rate of 10.5%. After controlling for personal factors that might affect mortality risk, notably alcohol and tobacco consumption, physical health, physical activity level, and the presence or absence of depressive symptoms among participants, Dr. Belleville established that the consumption of sleeping pills or anxiety-relieving medications was associated with a 36% increase in the risk of death.

A number of hypotheses have been put forward to explain the link between use of these medications and increased mortality. Sleeping pills and anxiolytics affect reaction time, alertness, and coordination and are thus conducive to falls and other accidents. They may also have an inhibiting effect on the respiratory system, which could aggravate certain breathing problems during sleep. These medications are also central nervous system inhibitors that may affect judgment and thus increase the risk of suicide.

“These medications aren’t candy, and taking them is far from harmless,” commented Dr. Belleville. “Given that cognitive behavioral therapies have shown good results in treating insomnia symptoms and anxiety, doctors should systematically discuss such therapies with their patients as an option. Combining a pharmacological approach in the short term with psychological treatment is a promising strategy for reducing anxiety and promoting sleep.”

Source: Universit- Laval