Brought To You By The Letter T

And that brings us to the T's. There's quite a few of them too.

These first two are from a Guy in his Solo Artist incarnation. He's had many different incarnations. I think he was a talent along the lines of Frank Zappa. He never was a 'Mainstream Success', and he didn't care. The difference between him and Zappa is that Zappa didn't do 'performance enhancing drugs'. I believe, by his own admission, that this Guy did...a few.
The first one is from 'Nearly Human', the second is from 'The Ballad of Runt'. Neither are one of his few 'radio' songs but I like them. You may, or may not, recognize him as the Guy playing Guitar in a Band that started with 'N'.





Can't do the T's without this. Another great one that left us too soon.



I swear you could have wrapped six pieces of wire across a coat hanger and this guy would have played the shit out of it. Yet another one that left too soon. I read someplace that he'd been home just before his last tour in Florida. When he told his Brother 'bye'(I don't remember the conversation) his Brother knew that would be the last time he saw him. Poingnant. He died a couple of weeks before Christmas in 1976. I remember I was sitting out at 'The Rat Shack' and my,then,girlfriend came in crying her eyes out one night. She was inconsolable. I was all like, 'what's wrong, what is it, what's the matter'? She handed me a Christmas present and told me to open it. I did. I said 'Wow, great! Cool! etc.', as I was giving her a Thank You Hug she said, amidst hers sobs, "He died tonight". The present was this Guy's last Solo Album, 'Private Eyes'. I,and the rest of the residents of the Rat Shack, were in momentary shock. We confirmed the news by calling a KTUL. It was true. We then lit some candles and incense and other stuff and listened to the new Album. The last Album. What a waste. He was 25. Man. What he might have done.



On that depressing note,I'll finish up with one from my childhood...when things were all happy and shit like that. I know yesterday was St. Patrick's Day but I'm always a day late and a dollar short. Besides,the lyrics were written by one of my literary Heros...and I can put what I want here.



Peace.

Brought To You By The Letter S

My list is getting all jacked up but I think that brings us to S. There's lots of S's.

I'll start with this one. There are better versions of this but the Record Company won't let you emmbed them. This Dude never got the recognition he deserves. I suspect it's because he wouldn't commit to Country or Rock. He just made music. Good music.




You may,or may not,recognize this band. There's quite a history.



You'll have no idea who this is. *Hint* Lead singer and keyboards for a semi-popular band that started with K. One of the best singers there is/was. His solo work is spectacular.



There aren't any videos of his solo work but this is a sample. It is by no means a representation of how good 'Glossolalia' and 'Shadowman' are, but it's all I could find.



Yet another of one of my all time favorite Bands. I used to give a friend of mine, Charlie, a ride to Tech School. One day he looked at me and said something to the effect of, 'Man, do you know that you've had that tape playing everyday for the last six months'? I just turned it up.



And,of course,...because they were great. I can't remember all the times me and my friends were cruisin' around doin' crazy shit listening to this Band.



There's more S's...but I've got to SSSSSSSSSSStop SSSSSSSomeplace.

Peace.

Brought To You By The Letter R

For as dry as the Well was on the letter Q, it is,literally,overflowing with R's.
It's gonna be tough, but I'm going to limit myself to five on this pass through.

The thing that strikes me as funny about this first one is if you were to ask people,sitting around you at a Bar,who sang this I bet at least half would say Tom Cruise.



Those same people wouldn't have the slightest idea in Hell who this next one is.While technically they were called The Young Rascals at the time this song was a hit, they soon dropped the 'Young'. I don't feel like nitpicking.



And then, you'd have to tell them that 'No, this is NOT Jamie Foxx'.



I told you I love this stuff. They just get a Funky Groove that not too many White Boys can match. And I love the sound that a Saxophone makes. I wish I had learned to play one. It just looked too complicated.



There are no words to describe the horrendousness of this but it was all over the Radio and T.V. back when I was a in 9th Grade. Me and Jeebus were smokin' weed in the alley one day, he said he didn't like it either.




This Time Warp Machine is fuckin' awesome. I love it. I really do. But I must jump back into semi-reality. I have both the CD and the VHS of this one. I,myself,think the Dude was/is borderline genius. Most would disagree with me. Go ahead. It ain't the first time. There were a few of his pieces I debated over. I'll go with this one for now. There are others. Hey Man, what God wants...God gets. And,yes,that is Jeff Beck on Guitar.



I like this last one. I don't know why. I think it's because you can adapt it to a lot of different situations. It really doesn't have anything to do with religion unless...well, nevermind. That line, "I think I thought I saw you try", is brilliant. Deep stuff. Sometimes I dance like that in The Cave. I do. :)



Well, that's it for the R's today. There's lots more. Oh! I think I thought I heard you say, 'That's seven, not five like you said'. Yeah...so.

Peace.

Brought To You By The Letter Q

Q. That's a tough one. I know there's Queen and Queensryche and Quiet Riot but I've never been much of a fan of any of them. A couple of blasts from the past come to mind though.



I remember this song well. This one might be a 'stumper' in 'Name That Tune/Band'. I'll have to test Our Resident Super Hero on this one.




Peace.

Brought To You By The Letter P

If you don't remember this,well,then you're just too young to be looking at my Blog in the first place. Go back to you X-Box. It's really not about dope.

The 1960s being what they were, however, any song based on oblique or allegorical lyrics was subject to reinterpretation as a "drug song," and so it was with "Puff" (for Peter, Paul & Mary, at least, the supposition that their song was "really" about marijuana came after the song had finished its chart run; other groups were not so fortunate, and accusations of "drug lyrics" caused some radio stations to ban songs, such as the Byrds' "Eight Miles High", from their playlists). "Puff" was an obvious name for a song about smoking pot; little Jackie Paper's surname referred to rolling papers; "autumn mist" was either clouds of marijuana smoke or a drug-induced state; the land of "Hanah Lee" was really the Hawaiian village of Hanalei, known for its particularly potent marijuana plants; and so on. Peter, Paul and Mary have continually denied the song was a thinly-veiled disguise song about drugs. As Peter Yarrow has demonstrated in countless concert performances, any song, even "The Star-Spangled Banner" can be re-interpreted as a "drug song."

That's from Wikipedia, not me. I believe them. I think I saw this song on Captain Kangaroo one morning. I could be wrong. I don't care. It's a song I remember from when I was a kid.



I remember this one too. I was still a kid, just not as much of one and refused to recognise that fact. I'll blame it on Puff. If this doesn't calm you, in some way you're beyond calming. Robin Trower used to be young too. :) There's been much controversy over the meaning of the name of the Band. Supposedly, it's the Latin translation of 'Far away from these things'. I don't know whether that's correct or not,but it will always be one of my favorite songs.



There was a period during the Summer of '76 that you literally could not walk into somebody's house, or a Bar without hearing this guy. You couldn't get in a car without hearing it. You couldn't go to The Lake without hearing it. You couldn't even go to the Pizza Hut that I worked at without hearing this guy. There were some good songs but damn, cut me some slack. I listened to it though...just like everybody else.



These guys were awesome. Many of the members of the Band have been in other great Bands throughout the ages. I know this isn't really old stuff,well,does about 20 years count as old. Whatever. Great Band. I wish they would come out with a new one. I'd buy it.



Bad Version from the Legacy Album, but these dudes rocked.



You might remember this one. I'm sure you've heard it. Recognise anybody in the Band yet?




It makes my heart sad that there is no available video of this Band from the early days. Hell,it's hard to find quality recordings. Fortunatly, I have them already. I've had them for, what, 30+ years? Their first Album is some of the finest music/musicianship that I've ever,or will ever,hear. I'm not sure, but I think somebody lost the original Master Tapes of their first recording. They did a re-make of the songs, some years ago on a CD called 'Momentos'. While it was okay, it couldn't touch the brilliance that was contained on the original LP. This is not an accurate representation of the talent that comprised this Band...but I like these songs anyway. You don't even need to listen to the lyrics, just the music. I hold these guys partially responsible for teaching me how to play a Guitar. Dammit.

Brought To You By The Letter O

O is pretty slim pickins' but, here we go.

This is a great song. I don't think you'll find a live version of it as it was released after he died. He was only 26.



I loved this stuff. Hell, I still do. Don't judge me. My Paternal Grandma did an extensive,uh, what do you call it?...Genealogy thing before she died. She told us there was "a ****** in the woodpile". I believe her. I'm good with that.
The Audio on the first one sucks so I threw in another that you can hear. You just can't sit still, can 'ya? I can't. These guys had a lot of great tunes.





Didn't like her music then,don't like it now,won't like it in the Great Beyond. But...I could watch her sing it all day long. (If 'ya know what I mean.)Well maybe not all day, but for awhile. Of course I could watch Meredith Hoenes give a traffic report all day too. :)



Now. Where was I? Oh yes. This was the second concert I snuck into at the Civic Center back in my hometown. I did this one Spider Man style. Seriously. It was the Summer of '76 maybe? I don't know,70 something. Some people were leaning out of the top window on the North side of the building before the show,smoking something. I was standing out in the parking lot below by myself,smoking something. All my friends were smart enough to have tickets and were already inside. I was high as a Georgia Pine and they tossed a rope, like one of those big Gym Class Ropes, out of the window. It's a good 30 feet up to that window. I said Fuck it,it's dark,nobody's lookin'. I grabbed the rope and half-assed climbed and half-assed got pulled up the side of the building and into the window. It only took a couple of minutes. I risked Life and Limb and being thrown in Jail to see that show. It was worth it. God I had fun back in those days! I love these guys. They're semi-responsible for teaching me how to play a Guitar. For that,and all their great music I am grateful.



Peace.

Brought To You By The Letter N

Funny how that intermission came exactly halfway through the alpabet...isn't it? Karma,Man...Karma.

Anyway,If you hadn't noticed,I'm on a mission now. A pointless mission but a mission nonetheless.

I've got to put this here. I just have to. Props to the Parental Units or whatever you want to call it. I think I remember hearing this guy while I was still in the womb. They played this guy every Sunday Evening while Mom was fixing Dinner. Mom played it during Bridge Club.
I heard a lot of this guy and you know what?..I didn't mind. It was soothing somehow.
He was kinda like the Black Frank Sinatra. (Can I say that?) Of course I can. But he died.





Remember the Coke Commercial?



Now this is just some funny shit here. Back in the mid-60's this was 'provocative'. Hahahaha! Can you imagine if there had been 'Wardrobe Malfunctions' and Madonna plantin' one on Britney Spears back in those days? Instant Cardiac arrest coast to coast.



I don't know why but the name of this Band sometimes just pops into my head for no reason whatsoever. It's really kinda weird.



Okay. Enough of that. You may,or may not,recognize one of the members of this Band. Not the first Band he was in but the first one he formed.



And there was this,of course. One of those awkward slow dance inducing tunes which, when you think about it,is almost perfect irony.



And the most important N of all. Don't get me started.



Peace.

Intermission Or Interruption, Just Weird To Me

Good Lord! Now, the 'someone' that did the 'youhide' thing that caused me to delete a years worth of posts, has taken to using the Internet from where they work to stalk my meaningless little Blog. That's fine. I don't care. I just wanted that 'someone' to know that I'm aware of it. I'm not as stupid as I really am to the untrained eye. Really...it's fine. I un-blocked your IP and I don't care if you look at this shitty little Blog or not. While it did lend thought to the idea of changing my name and moving to Canada, that quickly passed. Although, that may not be a bad idea for completely unrelated reasons.

There is no more 'personal' stuff here, nor will there be. (Thank you very much). If my age, the fact I have Sisters, Parents and a Kid and my musical preference is,to you,'personal'information,then shit...you could get'personal'with about Four and a half Million other Baby Boomers that would tell you the same 'personal' stuff.

You're welcome to drop by here (not HERE) anytime. Just don't think you're foolin' me. Okay? Besides,I'd hate to see 'someone' lose their Job over inappropriate use of the Internet. Unemployment sucks. It really does.

Peace.

Brought To You By The Letter M

Okay. I'll admit to watching the T.V. Show when it started. It was pretty funny. But then...then The Big Sister bought the Album! Another source of the 'Volume Wars'. I still remember the smug look on her face as she took it into her room. I think she stuck her tongue out at me too, dammit! The Parental Units never see that shit! I heard this shit wafting across the Hallway so many times, I swear, I hold it partially responsible for whatever Brain Damage I have. 'The Horror...the horror'. (Just kiddin'. Some of that shit drove me crazy but I have really fond memories of that whole period of my Life.)



Now to cleanse the auditory system...R.I.P. Danny Joe Brown



Hard to find any quality performance video from these guys. I think Laing and West may still be Touring together as Mountain. Pappalardi's Wife killed him back in '83.



This really wasn't my 'style' but they made some great music, very harmonic. I let The Big Sister get away with this stuff. I'm not sure why. Probably 'cause I would have lost the battle anyway. I think the Parental Units liked this stuff though they wouldn't openly admit to it.



'Course now if you happened to be down in Checotah,up at my Uncles house about that time,you'd be more likely to hear this. I liked it better. It was about the same time my Cousin sold me a guitar with a hole in it for $2.00. Best $2.00 I ever spent.



Peace.

Brought To You By The Letter L

You may never have heard of him but if you turned on a Radio in the '70s you've heard him.



That hurt.

Moving along. This next Band is one of my all time favorites. They still get frequent play here in The Cave. After LG died in '79 they split up for nine years. They re-formed and are still Touring today. In fact, they're coming to KC in May.



A founding member of Little Feat and Master of the Slide Stratocaster. They're still a great Band but they, well, we all lost a great talent when Lowell George died way too soon. The sound isn't great on this one but it's a nice tribute to the Man. Oddly,or perhaps not so oddly,I've had that picture of him with the fishing pole and the seaweed in a frame on my wall for years and years. Rest In Peace Lowell.
p.s. If you run across his Solo Release,'Thanks,I'll Eat It Here' I strongly suggest you buy it. I wore out the 8-Track Tape, still have a copy (maybe two) of the LP and play the Japanese Import CD pretty often.



There are a lot more L's but I can't get stuck here all day,so I'll finish up with these guys. You might have heard of them. Some other great talents gone way too soon.






Yeah,yeah,yeah,I know those two songs have been played to death on the Radio,but seeing Allen Collins go off on that Gibson Explorer just warms my heart.


Just one more,for now. This was a very underrated album.



Peace.

Brought To You By The Letter K

Don't even try to tell me you don't remember this shit. I hated it, BUT...the girls at the Tower Ballroom, Hollywood's, Mother's Bar and Grill, The Lounge, The Elks Club, and The School House...loved it. You just kinda had to go with the flow, if 'ya know what I mean.
You know you were there too.
Don't Judge me.



I couldn't find a Live Video of 'Destroyer' and 'Lola' creeps me out. Calling somebody Lola back in the day was a serious insult.



Destroyer is too good of a song to leave out though.



Can't do the letter K without this Band. It was the first Concert I'd ever been to at Kemper. I hadn't lived here long. It was back about '80 I think. I didn't have a ticket. Got lost trying to find the Arena. Bought a ticket in the parking lot. Got lost finding my seat. Got wasted. Got lost leaving the Arena. Couldn't find my car. Walked around in the Parking Lot for a long,long time. Finally made it home. It was great. Despite the internal conflict between Livgren and Walsh and despite the numerous lineup changes,I think it was Radio that ultimately killed this Band. They played this first one and DITW way too much. They still do. The second one is from their third album released in 1975. I think it's better than the two aforementioned songs that saturate the airwaves but Radio has always had a problem playing songs that are five or six minutes long. Oh well.






Peace.

Brought To You By The Letter J

This guy is,simply,the best Guitarist that ever lived. I've been listening to him since the early '70's. I still listen to him, A LOT! I've heard some of his songs literally thousands of times. I still just shake my head and wonder how it is humanly possible for somebody to do some of the things he does with a Guitar. I saw him a few years ago,at a place called Roadhouse Ruby's. It's not there anymore, got shut down 'cause of fights and guns and drugs and shit. He had to be helped out onto the Stage. It was sad...but then it wasn't sad. I can't explain it. I stood about three rows back,Center Stage. I stood in complete awe. He looked like a Corpse,seriously,he started playing a song but didn't start singing. He played about two verses of the song before he 'felt' like singing, then he started with the first verse and played the whole song. I was mesmerized for the whole show. He played a lot of it sitting in a chair. When he stood up and strapped on the The Gibson Firebird...shit...and when he managed a signature 360 one leg spin and let out a "Yeaaahhhhh", oh man,it was spectacular. I ended up with the drummers drumstick that was thrown into the crowd. I'd have rather had a pick,but it's a nice reminder of one of the best performances I've ever seen. I came away from that show with more.
Dude has to be pushing 70 years old but last I checked he's still giggin'. Not bad for a blind,cross-eyed,albino that 'supposedly' survived on heroin,vodka and Fig Newtons for years. If you you can find a better Guitarist...let me know. There's better songs and better videos but...



And here's another two for one. You can thank me later.



I don't know about the "A Legend" part but I always just liked this song. It was playing in my head right before Cataract Surgery. I remember the first time I heard it. I was in the back yard with my little radio and my pellet gun. I was shooting at leaves floating on the pond. I don't know why I remember that, I just do.



And this? Well shit. There's really just not much to say. (But I'll find a way to rattle off some meaningless shit). Innovation. Change. New direction. The Dude changed the face of Rock and Roll, or at least, he stretched the boundaries of what people thought they could do...or maybe just what they thought...I don't know. I'm not one of his Worshipers, but being a self-proclaimed student of The Art of Rock and Roll, it would be foolish to deny his impact. I read, the other day, that when he set his Guitar on fire he looked at it like a sacrifice. He said it hurt. "You sacrifice the things you Love". That makes perfect sense to me.
While he did play a Strat upside down he strung it right side up. This just confuses the crap out of me. It's like watching somebody play Golf left-handed....just fucks with my head.



That's it for now.
Peace.

Brought To You By The Letter I

I thought H was tough! Jeeze! I is damn near Impossible!
Oh well. Considering this one is so long it has to be broken up into two segments it should be sufficient. Betcha can't make it all the way through both.






I have no evidence, but I suspect performance-enhancing drugs may have been involved in the making of this record. By performance-enhancing drugs I mean the kind that Athletes use...of course. *ahem*

Peace.

Brought To You By The Letter H

H is pretty tough by my method of alphabetizing. Everybody else does it by Last Name. But nooooo,I gotta do shit the hard way.

Anyway...



My Sister and her friends used to play this shit incessantly from her room across the hall. I hated it,which led to numerous 'Volume Wars' and the often repeated chorus of "TURN IT DOWN"! from the Parental Units. I may have lost some battles but in the end these boys just couldn't hold up against The Stones.



Well, that was painful. The next two are just Flashbacks. I didn't care for them but I remember hearing them on the Radio a lot.






Then it's back through The Time Machine,closer to reality.



There. That's better.
Peace.

Brought To You By The Letter G

I remember back in Jr.High,I was in this little Band. We called ourselves 'The Huh'. (reference The Who). We were all exited about getting to play our first School Dance. I mean shit, in Jr.High, that's a pretty big deal. Back then, we had to play for the School Band Instructor first, before he would allow us to play. I never figured that shit out 'cause nobody but myself and the drummer were in Band Class. In Band Class I played the Trumpet...in 'The Huh' I played the Bass Guitar. Made no sense to me. Whatever. We went in to audition for Mr. Bechtle. We played some Deep Purple, and Three Dog Night and James Gang. That was all okay. Then...we played a song by this Band...'Creepin'. Once the singer (my blood brother Joe Cox) hit the line 'too many people sittin' dead on their ass'...Mr.B. shut us down.
It's the only song by this Band we knew at the time. So we played a 45 minute version of Smoke on the Water, some Buddy Miles, and some Hendrix.If Mr.B. only knew. Good times.



Back when I was a kid, there was this place on Main St.,right across the street from the Jail,that was a 'hangout' for teenagers. If I remember correctly,it was called 'Larry's Landing'. It was an okay place. Pinball Machines, Pool Tables, Foosball,munchies,music,all that shit. Sometimes they had a local Band come in and play. While it was a place for underage 'kids' we were all pretty much stoned off our asses all the time we were there. I mean, there was an alley.
One Saturday afternoon I was hangin' out with some friends. The 'Local Band' was gonna play that night. They always came in early to warm up and do sound check and all that shit. Well. They weren't there yet. I was stoned to pieces. I'd been out in the alley with some friends smokin' dope and drinkin' Homemade Wine. I came back in and was bored. I walked up onto the platform where the Band was all set up and sat down at the drums. This song was playing over the Speakers. I just started playing along with the song. About halfway into it, the actual Band started coming in. They said something to the effect of,'What the fuck are you doin' kid'? I was phuggedup. I just said "Sorry", and got up and started to leave. One of the dudes said..."Keep playin'". Those were the exact words, "Keep playin'" Then he said the Drummer wasn't gonna be there today. I jammed with those guys for hours. It was awesome. I'm not a drummer. Friends kept coming in and going, what the fuck is he doing up there. I kept asking myself that...until we took a break in the alley. It was fun.

On a lighter note, my friends (in old age)and I used to play this game. It was kinda like Name That Tune...but not exactly. It was a lot fun. I miss it. One evening we were playing this game and this song came on. We were all beer buzzed and momentarily stumped. Then one of my friends says, "Oh,Oh,Oh...it's Gary Weaver. That still cracks me up.



It's a shame it took this for people to hear them. One of the best Bands that ever was. There's just too many too good tunes to go into. Althea, Friend of The Devil,Alabama Getaway,Casey Jones....shit, gimme a break. There's just too much to work with.
This one will do.



Peace.

Brought To You By The Letter F

Moving along...

While my personal favorite song from this band is 'Cinderella', I couldn't find much from them. I'm not surprised. I thought they were pretty good though. Sometimes, back then, you just needed to let your ears/head rest. They worked for that.



Then you could go back to whatever it was that you forgot you were doing before you took a nap...
These guys were awesome I don't care what anybody says. From '72 to'75 I listened to them a lot! I still listen to their 1st album frequently. And Fool For The City?...shit, you better hope you're not in the car with me if the Radio plays Foghat. One of the best concerts I ever saw. I don't remember,exactly,where I was...it was Tulsa or Wichita,I'm pretty sure. It was great.
R.I.P. Lonesome Dave



This is ONE of my favorite Foghat songs. Just something about the way it works.



And then we have...The Master of all things Music. Some of it is hard to listen to, really. Actually,a lot of it is hard to listen to unless you just shut up and listen. It makes your mind work to listen to all the shit that 'be gwine on'. If your brain is 'trained' to listen to whatever is on the Billboard Top 40 you can't handle this stuff. In fact, you probably shouldn't listen to it as it could cause irrepairable damage to your head. To myself, his work is genius. Genius like that of Mozart and Beethoven and Wagner and dudes like that. His genius goes even beyond the music. And, you should check out some of his interviews and the transcripts of the PMRC testimony. Pure Gold. He didn't do drugs and didn't allow the members of his 'band' to do drugs. He didn't drink. He just smoked about 40 packs of cigarettes a day. I bet most of them burnt up in the ashtray or stuffed in the Head of his guitar. There is no way in Hell to even scrape the surface of his body of work. Shit, most of it is still probably in Gail's basement, so I'm not even gonna try to represent it. The man was,IMHO,a genius. When I die, I'd like to go have dinner with Frank Zappa and Kurt Vonnegut,Jr. That would be awesome...assuming we all end up in the same place, of course.

Yeah, you may have expected him at 'Z'...but it's Frank Zappa.



Two Masters of the Stratocasters at the same time! You can thank me later.

Peace.
p.s. You should check out that video of S.v.'s audition. It's pretty funny.

Brought To You By The Letter E

Well you can't do the letter E without these guys. One of the tightest bands America ever produced IMHO.

Then...



and now.



I know this next one is NOT the version I used to hear on the Radio. People of my tender young age remember the Blue Cheer version of the song from about '68. Ton's of people have covered this song, but it was this guy's song.



Okay, you won't recognize this song...at least I didn't, but the video was too cool to pass up.



It's damn near impossible to find '70's footage of these guys. I have a theory as to why that is and it's not because they weren't great.
This'll have to do.



Okay. You can put your Bong back in the closet now.

Now this next guy? I don't know...it's a touchy subject. I respect, without hesitation, his body of work, however. His most prominent work was done with other Bands not as a Solo Artist. I'll cop to owning a lot of his music and to learning how to play a number of his songs. Particularly from 'Backless', 'Money and Cigarettes' and 'Slowhand'. His songs are pretty easy and I'm all about easy. The thing that people don't seem to realise is that what you hear on those recordings is, for the most part, E.C. playing Rhythm Guitar and Ry Cooder doing all the fancy shit on the fretboard. I'll even cop to the fact the he may have subconsciously inspired me to buy a Black Strat w/ a White Pick guard and a Red Guitar Strap and grow a beard (before it turned all white). However, in this video you'll see what I mean. M.K. is doing all the fancy stuff and E.C. is just playing Rhythm and singing. Not that there's anything wrong with that. It's just that I don't see him as a Master of the Stratocaster. I never bought into that whole "Clapton is God" thing. Never have, never will.
That being said, the second video is probably one of the most beautiful songs I've ever heard.






Peace.

Brought To You By The Letter D

A True Master of the Stratocaster. He did so much more than just with 'The Floyd'. I can't think of anyone,offhand,that can rival his tone and feel for the instrument. Actually, yesterday was his Birthday. Dude is 62 years old and still makin' it sing.



Another True Master of the Stratocaster, or any other Guitar you put in his hands for that matter. Some of his Solo work is magnificent, but it's a shame this Band didn't last longer.
Of course,I have to include this one...



But they had many,many other good songs...

Like this one...


And this one...


And we move along...
Now this is Old School. This is the 'Original' Line-up, not the one everybody knows.



I think I remember this one. We used to have 'MIdnight Special' Parties back in the old days. I don't remember if it was Friday or Saturday night, I think it was Friday. They had lots of great old acts on there.



And what would the D's be without this classic? I remember playing this 45 over and over and over and over. I remember my Mom saying, at first, that's a nice song. A few days later she said something like, 'It was a nice song the first 500 times, now will you please turn it down'?



And that's the way it was.
Peace.

Brought To You By The Letter C

Do you recognize the voice of the person introducing them? I do. Awesome. It's often said that one guy 'was' this band. While he did write most of the songs and do the singing and was, well yeah he was,pretty much the band. There were three other dudes playin'. Without them he probably wouldn't have got to where he did.



I wish this guy would run for President. Given the current choices I think he could actually win.



Long time ago there was this band with some guitar player that was pretty good...



This was one of those times where they say 'if you remember it you weren't really there'. Well, I remember it 'cause I wasn't there. I was 11. I remember the music though. Good stuff. That's the way things ought to be.




So I did two letters in the same day? Tough. I might start on D.

Peace.

Brought To You By The Letter B

This is the only one of their Albums I ever bought but I literally wore it out. I think Perfection was the best song on the album but I couldn't find it.
Check out who's introducing them. Funny stuff.



Ahhh...the good old days.



I know this isn't Bad Co. but it's a Bad Co. song and this video is just too good to pass up. If she used to listen to this while her Mom was driving her to school,I guess that means I'm too old for her. DAMMIT!



And then there's this. They just released a new CD a few days ago called Warpaint. I don't have it yet but I suspect I soon will.



And finally,for today, there's this. Yeah, I still listen to them too.


Before you ask, 'Where are The Beatles'?...Well, that's just too easy. There's just to much music to sift through. They might show up next pass through the alphabet.

Peace.

Brought To You By The Letter A

Since I'm already OD'ing on YouTube(in a good way)I thought I should try to bring some semblance of order to this stuff I'm putting up here. I'm gonna start with the letter A, 'cause,well,that's at the beginning. It's not possible to represent an entire list of my favorite Bands/Songs but,what the Hell, I'll just put up what I run across. Rather than spend a year on each letter of the alphabet I'm gonna try to limit it to two or three or 15 at a time. Once I work my way through to Z, I'll start over. I think I can do this. It'll be fun. Hope you enjoy some of it.

First up...AC/DC


Next...Aerosmith


Next...The Allman Brothers/Duane Allman (It's close,I never claimed to be organized.)


And finally, for today Alan Parsons (Note this is not The APP though it kinda is, confusing, I know.
Peace.

The Man In Black

This has nothing to do with today. I don't have a story to go with it, per se. I saw it on T.V. a few years ago and it stuck in the back of my head. I found it again on YouTube and I watched it about 200 times. It makes my eyes get all misty, and shit. I'm not sure why, but it does.
The Dude was awesome.
This song was actually written by Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails, which I find kinda weird, but it's a great song, especially the way Johnny Cash does it. It makes me think of something...I'm just not sure what.



There's a better video of this but you can't embed it. It's pretty much the same thing, only a little better.

"Beware the Ides of March".

I know,I know,the Ides of March isn't actually until the 15th (or the 13th depending on which ancient calendar you subscribe to) but this song was going off in my head this morning, for some reason.
My memory is fading, in my old age, but I think it was about,mmmm...1975 or '76 when I snuck into the Civic Center to see this Band. Memorial Hall/The Civic Center is a cool old building in my Hometown. They used to, and still do, house the Public Recreation part of the City Government. They used to,and still do, have Plays and Concerts and 'big events' there. I used to play Little League Basketball there. It's where we all got drafted for Little League Baseball too...but I digress.

I snuck in to see this Band back then 'cause, well, I didn't have a ticket. I only snuck in to see two Bands here, the other one was The Ozark Mountain Daredevils but that's a whole different story.

If I remember correctly, SugarLoaf opened up for The Ides of March. Or maybe it was the other way around...I don't know. I was young,and stupid,and it was Rock'n'Roll so I really didn't care. Actually, it's kind of amazing that I remember this at all.

They were a lot younger then than in this Video, but then, weren't we all?


It's really a shame that Music Videos weren't very prevalent 'back in the day'.


Oh, and I just figured out how to embed youtube videos on here so I'll probably be annoying the shit out of you for awhile. Deal with it.

Peace.

'I just dropped by to pick up a reason'...

On this day (March 3rd),back in 1966 a bunch of guys formed a Band called Buffalo Springfield. You may, or may not, have heard of them or some of the individuals that comprised this Band. Most of them went on to be quite famous. I suppose they could only be considered 'well known' if you're old.

They were only around for a couple of years, hence this Retrospective (Greatest Hits) Album was pressed in 1969. I wasn't very old then. Fortunately, however, I had an older Sister that was/is really cool and dated Hippies. They used to give me rides to places and stuff. Sometimes while other kids my age were playing with Hula-Hoops and Slinky's, I was listening to Music...like The Buffalo Springfield. That's why, I guess, I have this Album. The name of the Band was derived from the name of a Tractor, by the way.

I listened to this Old Album today. I hadn't heard for a long, long time. The songs on it are over 40 years old. The songs on it are still way past good. What's that tell 'ya?

At Least It Was Different

I was awakened by a phone call from my Son at 7:00am this morning. First of all, it's seven fuckin' A.M. Secondly, it's Sunday morning. Thirdly, It's seven o'fucking clock on Sun-damn-day morning! This is not Prime-Time for me. I haven't seen 7:00am since the middle of November, and to tell you the truth, it's still as butt-ass ugly now as it was then. That has not changed.

Had I not known who was calling, I wouldn't have answered the phone and would have drifted back off into a not so blissful semi-sleep state. Since it was The Boy, I picked it up.

The Boy: Hey! Pops! Let's go play Golf. It's gonna be like 65 degs. today! Get your old ass up!

Me: Huh?

The Boy: Yeah! I'll be over to scoop you up about 8:30!

Me: What?

The Boy: Okay! I'll see you in a little bit!

Me: *blink* *blink*

Well...I was left with no choice, but to make coffee and contemplate the scenario that had been laid out before me. I checked the Weather. Yes,indeed,it was gonna be about 60 something degrees today...with 15-25mph winds out of the Southwest. Then, it's gonna rain and then that rain is gonna turn into snow and it's gonna get cold again and all that shit.

Fine.
He actually showed up, ON TIME, which I think is the first time he's EVER done that...we did our Pre-Golf Ritual and we were off. Got out to the Course and were surprised to see that it wasn't packed. We were pleased. We warmed up a little bit, hit a few 'shit balls' out in the Driving Range and came to the great realisation that it was a Windy MuthaFuka out here today. 15-25mph MY ASS! There were some gusts that had to be up in the 40 mph range. No shit! I almost got blown into a Bunker on #9. I'm not a big Man, but shit, come on? When the Wind almost blows you into a Sand Trap...it's Windy!

It was the first time out, for both of us, this year. We played pretty well,for us, considering we were playing in Winds that would blow your eyeballs out your ears. The Boy got to hit his new set of Ping G2's and I could tell he was happy with them.

To sum up today...
Getting up early---Sucked
4000mph Wind---Sucked
65 Degs. in March---Tolerable
Overall Scores---Tolerable (for the first day out)
Playing Golf with The Boy---Priceless

WOW! I mean like, fuckin' WOW!

I'm watching Great Performances on Public Television right now. Stevie Ray Vaughn. Stevie fuckin' Ray damn Vaughn. He's dead, 'ya know...but shit!!!! This is fuckin' AWESOME!!!!!! If you're missing this you are seriously missin' some good shit.
I think I just had an Out of Body Experience.
I could be wrong.
"Play Hard and Floor It"

I Changed My Mind

That's right. I changed my mind. On the odd occasion that I actually find my mind, I have the option to change it. Well. I changed it...so bite me.

After thinking about for awhile, I've come to the conclusion that...you know what?...I can say whatever the fuck I wanna say, whenever the fuck I wanna say it and I don't care if you stalk me or not. Do I look scared?

I've seen a few of my favorite Blogs go down in flames as of late. It was kinda weird, actually, how it all came down at once. Peri's Wrinkle...gone. She was very honest and insightful. Rockstar Mommy...well shit, what can I say? She's a very gifted writer and I hope that she does something with that. They will be missed on my daily drink coffee, shake my head, try to find my shit and get it together mornings.

I still don't have anything of Social Significance to say, but fuck it. I get bored and I get tired of talking to myself. (Especialy when the voices in my head won't talk to me anymore). So, I'll spew shit out here, as I see fit, into to CyperSpace where it really doesn't fuckin' matter. At least I purge the shit that's in my head...to make room for more.

I've come to realise that I don't give a shit if that 'somebody' that lives in Mesquite, TX that did the youhide.com thing, reads my shit or not. I don't care. This person happens to be a fine person, just a bit misguided. I actully bare them no ill will and wish them only the best.

However, after I thought about it, I thought it was pretty fuckin' lame to shut down my shit just because of one semi-psycho person. Don't get me wrong...I know this person. I think the World of them, but...that's about it.

See. Sometimes Life gets fucked up. It just does that's, well, Life. We all have to walk down our own road. You can be with somebody, or alone, it doesn't matter. We all have our own path to walk Nobody can do that with you. You're on your own...as it should be.

I would stongly recommend that you never come here and read this shit again. I'm just sayin'...

Peace

p.s.---My Son just called and asked if I wanted to play Golf in the Morning....at like 9:00am. Of course I have to call and try to get a Tee-Time at the asscrack of dawn, but I'll do it.
It's gonna rain by Noon. We'll be on the back 9. I'm in...fuck it! That's what life's all about.