Hey Tmidgett -

Will you play on my debut album, whenever it ends up getting recorded?

Hey Tim, I'm home for the weekend 'cos I'm going to my cousin's baby's christening tomorrow (why do babies have such small hands? Freaks me out!), but my parents are out having a meal so I'm just stuck at home watching the Johnny Depp Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I'm not sure whether I like it or not...

Haven't seen that old lady for a while, I hope she's okay, maybe she found a nicer place to do her exercise...

Thought you'd be interested...

Hello Mr Tmidgett,

Can you please define the word "choogle," and that be the end of it.

Thanks in advance.

Dear Tim:

This is true. There's a photo I've wanted to show you for a while, for at least a year. This photo, she does not exist on the Internet, only in a small octagon-shaped room off the main room at the Pump Room in the Ambassador East Hotel. This photo, I have seen it several times and each time I have thought of you, but I would rather show it to you than describe it. I'll try taking a picture of this photo with my phone camera sometime, but in case you end up near the Pump Room at State & Goethe, go in that octagon-shaped room and you will know exactly what I'm talking about.

All best,
The Bot

P.S. This is not a wild-goose chase. This is no shit.

Trying to imagine what this could be. I'm assuming it's not a full-frontal nude of Scarlett Johanssen.

It's not a full-frontal nude of me, is it? There are only a couple of those floating around, so probably not.

Tim,

My cat has quite a belly as a result of me overfeeding her as a kitten and her voracious appetite. I've tried cutting down her portions but she just can't seem to shed that lil' gut. Any kitty suggestions?

Also, what is the most amazing this you've seen a cat do?

-mw

1. It might be too late. Does she run around? If not, maybe she has some kind of deficiency of some sort that the vet can help you regulate.

But put the food out there in the morning. If there's any food left after they're done eatin', right then, in the morning, then you put out too much food. They shouldn't be able to come back and graze.

2. Probably ride a paper towel roll like a horse.

Because I wasn't thinking straight, I said "Subculture" is on Substance and completely forgot about the superior original version (without the damned soul singers) being on Low-life. This lapse in memory still bugs me, especially given how familiar I am with both of these records. Should I carry this abject embarrassment to my grave?

Best,

Jacques

I don't remember you making this hideous gaffe.

Boy, what a hideous gaffe to remind someone of such a hideous gaffe, when he didn't even remember you making it in the first place. You must feel really bad about yourself now.

We never did work up Sub-Culture. Could still happen, but I kinda like that we don't know a single cover.

Hey Tim

Will my team Newcastle United be saved from relegation this season? Was Kevin Keegan the right appointment?

Should I have soup or a sandwich for lunch?

Thought you'd be interested.

I know things about soccer/football, but I don't know anything about the teams that play it.

I'm sure there are subtle, weird things about American sport uniforms that I don't pick up on. But the whole thing of the 'authentic' football jerseys over there having a big old ad for Samsung or whomever on the front. That's odd.

Tim-

Last night I was at this deli by my house and the intense Egyptian dude working the counter was sort freaked out by my Bottomless Pit badge. He kept demanding to know what it was and he spent close to a minute pulling my jacket closer to him over the counter so he could get a better look. He also maybe winked at my friend which is a separate issue. I'm not walking around w/ a swear on my chest am I?

Chris

No, evidently it doesn't mean anything. Besides, now, "Bottomless Pit."

I had a similar experience at a show in Boston, right after we'd made t-shirts with the sigil on them. The guy was, like, "That's Farsi." And I was, like, "Kinda....Does it mean anything?" He looked it over and said it didn't. But it took a while.

When you are being filmed for the Skwm doc, do you make shit up like those people do on shows like The Real World? Do you have people call you so you can yell into the phone "I said 50g's, mofucka, are you deaf?"

No, I have been completely honest so far.

Dearest Tim,

I bought my second Silkworm album today. Lifestyle. I wrote a limerick on the tenner I bought it with so please have a laugh on me when you receive it.

Is "Produced by Heather Whinna" a joke or did she stand over you during the recording demanding that you "Give this take some of that Midgett magic"?

your friend,

Russell Tanx.

Heather bailed us out on a couple of things in a big way.

We were messing around with "Young," having probs. I knew Kelly Hogan was gonna sing it, so that was fine. But the intro had to be slow, then when all the shit kicked it in, the song just took forever. It was a fucking slog.

Heather was, like, "you have to speed up after the beginning." We were, like, "?" She was, like, "That is what Thin Lizzy would do. Do it like Thin Lizzy would do it."

We did it once, speeding up what seemed like quite a bit. She was, like, "No, you have to REALLY SPEED UP."

So we did, and it felt totally weird, but it was fixed. Bing.

She made us turn the piano up on a few occasions. It was always better to turn it up.

On "The Bones," she suggested some arrangement stuff--dropping out the electric guitar early in the song, etc.--that made that song a lot more interesting.

Mostly she sat around watching TV upstairs until we had a mix mostly together, and then she came downstairs, and she either said "OK" or she made us change it all.

So, yeah, she totally produced it.

Hey Tmidgett -

Will you play on my debut album, whenever it ends up getting recorded?

I tend to want to make people happy, so my instinct is to say 'sure' even though I know I would drag my feet and never do it, even if the music is good.

So no, probably not. It's nothing personal; I've done this with friends, told them I'd do it and then not done it. I'm not proud of this tendency.

Hey Tim, I'm home for the weekend 'cos I'm going to my cousin's baby's christening tomorrow (why do babies have such small hands? Freaks me out!), but my parents are out having a meal so I'm just stuck at home watching the Johnny Depp Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I'm not sure whether I like it or not...

Haven't seen that old lady for a while, I hope she's okay, maybe she found a nicer place to do her exercise...

Thought you'd be interested...

I am interested.

No interest in the J.D. Charlie. I'm sure it is fine, but the original is a classic. It's like remaking Psycho. Just pointless.

Hello Mr Tmidgett,

Can you please define the word "choogle," and that be the end of it.

Thanks in advance.

I did this here once.

Though looking back, I think I really meant the dotted QUARTER NOTE followed by an eighth note. Starting on the 'and' of 2.

And by 'swing it a little but not too much,' I mean hit the eighth note a little harder than the dotted quarter note.

Brett Ralph has a very good, nontechnical description of it on page 2 of the above-linked discussion.

Hey Tmidgett:

I'm working on a project that involved me watching Japanese game show clips all day, and I came across this specimen:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bmuxljOvBdU&NR=1
The contestants have to successfully complete a tongue twister or they get hit in the nuts with a spring-loaded thingie.

I can't stop watching it. It's horrible, but I'm laughing until tears come to my eyes even just writing about it here. Considering the bond we've developed in this thread, I felt like I should post it for you. No really good reason, and you're a man of the world so you've probably already seen it, but it seemed like something you'd be interested in.

Uncle Ovipositor wrote:Hey Tmidgett:

I'm working on a project that involved me watching Japanese game show clips all day, and I came across this specimen:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bmuxljOvBdU&NR=1
The contestants have to successfully complete a tongue twister or they get hit in the nuts with a spring-loaded thingie.

I can't stop watching it. It's horrible, but I'm laughing until tears come to my eyes even just writing about it here. Considering the bond we've developed in this thread, I felt like I should post it for you. No really good reason, and you're a man of the world so you've probably already seen it, but it seemed like something you'd be interested in.

Yes, this is the kind of thing I am interested in.

I love Jackass. I just watched about 5hrs of this Jackass special on MTV.

The thing that is best about it is that they are rarely victimizing anyone but themselves. And they're completely good-humored about the people they encounter, and they seem genuinely horrified by some of the things they do.

Anyway, that was great. It looks a lot like the entertainment at my work a couple years ago, before the company grew by 200%.

Hey Tim,
What's a Bottomless Pit practice usually like? How long does it last? Did you ever use any pedals or anything in Silkworm?

Hello Tim,

I recently bought Firewater and Lifestyle from itunes and I can't understand how I missed your band. Great job. I jumped in with both feet. Songs stuck in head. I was always into very similar bands so, I guess my question is: How did I miss Silkworm?

I hope this letter finds you well.

John

T-unit,

Thanks for indulging us so far.

Do you know why I can't find a Big Black C/NC? It must've been done at some point. While I am confident in my searching skills I fear the almighty kerbalism.

Truly yours, your biggest fan, this is Stan.

Hey Tim,
What's a Bottomless Pit practice usually like? How long does it last? Did you ever use any pedals or anything in Silkworm?

1. We pretty much only play new stuff. We only play old stuff if we have a show coming up in the next couple weeks.

2. Pretty short. A couple hours, maybe, including talking about motorcycles and so forth.

3. When I wasn't using Ampegs, I dicked around with various things, trying to get the sound I wanted. When I was using Ampegs, I didn't use any pedals.

Hello Tim,

I recently bought Firewater and Lifestyle from itunes and I can't understand how I missed your band. Great job. I jumped in with both feet. Songs stuck in head. I was always into very similar bands so, I guess my question is: How did I miss Silkworm?

I hope this letter finds you well.

John

It is easy to pass by Silkworm for 15 or 20 years. You are certainly not alone in this regard.

Honestly, there's something weird about the music that keeps it from resonating with most people. I'm not entirely sure what it is. The people who like it tend to like it an awful lot, but everyone else is just, like, 'huh?' or 'ugh.'

That kind of reaction tends to limit the 'buzz' a band will develop.

I'd love to blame it on lackluster promotion or bad luck, but I think that is your answer.

T-unit,

Thanks for indulging us so far.

Do you know why I can't find a Big Black C/NC? It must've been done at some point. While I am confident in my searching skills I fear the almighty kerbalism.

Truly yours, your biggest fan, this is Stan.

You are indulging me as well.

I can't find a Big Black C/NC either. Hard to believe.

I just put The Marshall Mathers LP in the 'sell' pile. I think it's a decent record, but I'm never gonna play an Eminem record of my own accord.