Well, I've been tagged...

So you know what's comin'. Anyway, this one sounds fun and interesting on its face, but the grit is in the details. Mrs. Phlemmy...



(Not really her, but I think it captures her spirit excellently) over at Fatal Abstraction has tagged me to go to this site and check out the top-40 tunes of the year I turned 18, pick five of those tunes and then tell you how they effected my life.

Sounds fun and easy on the face of it, till you look at the list from 1978. Jesus, it's almost NOTHING but disco, dance drivel. So embarrassing.

So, I've devised a variation, in defense of the graduating class of 1979; A list of the five top-40 "hits" that I can hold my nose and admit to have actually liked, and also a list of the other music most of us really listened to on great "album rock" stations like KZEW, "The Zoo", back in those better, more innocent days in Ft. Worth.



~~~~The Zoo freaks live on baby!~~~~

After all that, I've got to tag five more suckers... so live in fear.

So here we go.

1. How Deep Is Your Love, by the Bee Gees. You know, as much as I love to run down the whole disco era, I friggin' LOVE the Bee Gees. I started listening to them in England in the late 1960s, when they were the Brothers Gibb, and put out excellent hits like "Gotta Get A Message To You", and "Massachusetts". Love that early stuff. The disco/Saturday Night Fever stuff is excellent as well, but a guilty pleasure.

At the time, the rockers and disco kids were at odds, and I found myself somewhere in the middle. I mostly listened to KVIL in those days, which played all sorts of soft rock, soul and some dance music, as well as older stuff like Simon and Garfunkle. I was socially inept, having missed out on whatever stage of socialization it is where you learned how to get along with others and talk to girls, and make your way into adulthood, and the thought of dancing in public made me ill. Still does. Meanwhile, the "cool" kids were sitting in big circles out in the fields behind the high school and passing joints around, among other things.

I wasn't interested in that ether. My older sister did all the chemical experimentation in the family, hers and my share, and then some. Growing up between the two domineering personalities of dad and big sis, both insisting that their way was the only way, I found that if I wanted to be myself and not end up feeling like I was living in someone else's shadow, I had to do my own thing. I did, but it didn't make me popular. Ended up with a very small circle of friends, mostly other nerds. You've all heard it before. Anyway...

2. If I Can't Have You, by Yvonne Elliman. Again, this is a great little disco number, and another guilty pleasure. First fell for her in the movie "Jesus Christ Superstar", when she played Mary Magdalene and belted out some great songs, like "Everything's Alright" and "I Don't Know How To Love Him". My sister took me to see that flick when I was 12 (same year she took me to see The Exocist - the bitch), and the music still thrills me. Loved that stuff. Yep, I'm into show tunes. There, I said it. God, this is embarrassing.

3. Miss You, by the Rolling Stones. Now HERE's something I can be proud to tell you about, another bloody disco record, this time by the Rolling Stones! What the hell? Yep, that's a disco beat, from the drugged out old farts who gave us "I Can't Get No Satisfaction", like 15 years earlier. It's no wonder buddy, puttin' crap like that out.

Otherwise, I loved that album, "Some Girls". My favorite cut from the album was definitely "Beast of Burden", and I even loved the hell out of "Shattered". Not to be accused of being one dimensional, the Stones even put a country song on the album. Zip down to track number six next time you have the CD out and enjoy "Far away Eyes". Tong-in-cheek, but that shit is wonderful, seriously.

4. Baby Come Back, by Player. OK, this one I don't feel guilty about at all. Excellent soft rock tune by a band that was easily akin to folks like Atlanta Rhythm Section, Hall and Oats, or the softer stuff put out by the Pure Prairie League or the Eagles. This is the sort of stuff I spent a lot of time listenin' to back then. Lots of spin time on KVIL, along with the likes of Roger Whittaker, ABBA, Barry Manilow, and Kenny Rogers. Eeeeh, I just had a shiver run through me. Jesus, have I become a snob or what? What the hell, I love that sweet old shit. Anyway...

Saved perhaps the most humiliating for last. It's 1978, I think it was the Grammy Awards, Barbra Streisand walks out of the curtain and there's applause, and then Neil Diamond walked out on the other end of the stage, and the place went nuts. They knew what they were in for. Here it is. Check it out for yourself.



5. You Don't Bring Me Flowers, by Barbra Streisand and Neil Diamond. I know, she's a total asshole, but come on guys, she sings her ass off. And ya gotta love Neil Diamond. How cool was he? What a great duo this was. Yep, I love the hell out of it. Hell, I even loved Yentl, but don't ask me to take her politics seriously. Friggin' singers should stick to what they do best. Why do so many of them think that the rest of us are gonna give a damn what they think about politics just because they're famous for being able to keep a tune?

So, now that you've seen what the top-40 had to offer, the question is, what were we actually listening to back in 1978? Think back...

ELO had released "Out Of The Blue" in '77, with a whole slew of excellent tunes on it like "It's Over", "Mr. Blue Sky', and "Wild West Hero", not to mention the cool instrumental "The Whale". Wore that 8-track out in the old AMC Hornet! Neil Young had released a double greatest tunes (not hits) album called "Decade" in '77. I used to put that on the stereo and let it run over and over. He also released "Comes A Time" in '78, featuring the excellent tune of the same name. The Eagles were in the midst of a dry spell/break up. They'd put out "Hotel California" in '76, and it was still in regular circulation on the album rock stations. "Warm smell of colitas, rising up through the air"... Sis had to clue me in to what the hell that stuff was. I guess I missed out on somethin' there, but what the hell. You can't go back.

Pink Floyd had released "Animals" in '77, Which I love, but we were all still obsessed with "Dark Side of the Moon". "The Wall" wouldn't come out till '79. Fleetwood Mac had released their classic album "Rumours" in '77, and the radio stations were still wearin' that one out in '78. Led Zeppelin was in the midst of a long dry spell. They'd put out the mostly unsatisfying album "Presence" in "76, with the excellent track "Achilles Last Stand", but The Zoo, our local album rock station (God Bless 'em) was still giving much more air time to their earlier stuff, like favorites "Black Dog", "Whole Lotta Love", and "Stairway To Heaven". The Band released the Martin Scorsese film "The Last Waltz" in '78, with a corresponding album set. Levon Helm and Robbie Robertson, et al. I still can't get enough of that stuff. Check out the DVD if you've never seen it. Pure bliss.

Journey released their excellent album "Infinity" in '78, and Boston released their less than excellent, but still heavily listened to album "Don't Look Back". Thing is, groups like Journey and Boston were great in their time, but they were increasingly being left in the dust by new, harder, edgier sounds that were sneaking into our consciousness. I'll never forget, goin to see Journey in concert in '78 and being totally blown away by their lead up band, AC-DC. Those guys, with their original singer, rocked the place so hard we were ready to go home after thirty minutes. Unbelievable, and just a taste of what was to come later.

The Sex Pistols were churnin' things up in England in '77, and came to The States for an explosive tour through the south (cheeky of them) in early '78. They played a gig in Dallas, and I think another at Billy Bob's in Ft. Worth. They didn't survive the tour though. The lead singer heralded the end of the band at their last gig by asking the audience "D'you ever get the feeling you've been cheated?", and then dropping the mike and walking off stage. Wanker! Another group of Brits, Queen, had put out "News of the World" in '77, with the transcendent duo of "We Will Rock You - We Are The Champions". I'll never forget hearing that drum beat for the first time coming out of the 8-track system in my buddy's Pinto. They put out "Jazz" in '78, with the tune "Fat Bottomed Girls". Love the hell outa that one.

The Cars released their self titled debut album in '78, with amazing stuff like "Good Times Roll", "My Best Friends Girl", "Just What I Needed", and my personal favorite at the time, "Moving in Stereo". These guys were labeled "New Wave", but they rocked like nothing else. I guess New Wave was packaged Punk, only the musicians actually knew what the hell to do with their instruments. The Police put out their first Punk/New Wave/ Reggae record "Outlando's D'Amour" in '78, with the amazing song "Roxanne". Blondie put out "Parallel lines" in '78, with the tune "Heart of Glass".

So, there was some great shit on the radio, and blarin' through the headphones and the 8-track back in 1978. Don't let that top-40 dance crud fool ya.

So, who do I tag with this little baby? Yea, you thought I'd forgot didn't ya? Well, Mushy's a huge music guy. Should be interesting. lets go with the Goddess. I bet she's got interesting stuff to say. Lets lay it on the Hammer, when he gets back, and Kevin over at the Brown Valley . They're both always interesting. And finally , last but never least, lets tag the Shrink-wrapped screamer. Those last two should give us the British take on things. There, we should have an interesting mix of eras and influences there.

Well, that's enough of that, by God. Sheesh, I'm outa here. I've got Zep blarin' on the speakers and it's air guitar time. You'll have to excuse me. Later.

One of my cousins, who lives in Houston, went to the Ultimate Fighting Championships there recently, and guess who he ran into?

Son of a bitch! Ok, that's not really my cousin. Apparently when he had his picture taken, the camera operator was a bit nervous and the shot is blurred and a bit washed out with light. You can see it's him, but I figured this shot was better. Gotta love the shit eatin' grin on this guys face, what with his wife standin' right there on the other side of old Jenna. Nice rack on the wife, I must say. These are friends of his. This guys company has a floor suite, so they get access to a VIP area that occasionally has this sort of person flitting through. I remember when this kid was born, and now he's huggin' on a porn star. Love it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ok, here's my cousin, after I worked on the shot a bit. I'm so proud.



I asked him, "She didn't have any trouble swallowin' anything while you were there, or anything?" "Of course not!" Loaded question?

Another little musical interlude.

It's been said that the official end of the 1960s was documented for everyone to see in The Rolling Stones 1970 concert at Altamont Speedway. The tragic decision to hire the Hells Angels as security, and the death of a concert goer caught on film are just two highlights in the fascinating documentary of that concert, dubbed the west coasts Woodstock, "Gimme Shelter". Mick Jagger, never one to shrink from publicity, contracted to have a film made of their 1972 U.S. Tour, coinciding with the release of their album "Exile on Main Street".

Photographer Robert Frank, who'd taken some of the album photos, was chosen as director, and took a much artier approach to filming the Stones on stage and off. However, footage of drug consumption, (staged) orgies and a decidedly non-commercial title prevented "Cocksucker Blues" from getting an official theatrical release. Even so, it's long been widely available on video as a bootleg.

Immediately after a private screening of the film, Jagger is said to have turned to Frank and told him, "It's a fucking good film, Robert, but if it shows in America we'll never be allowed in the country again." Jagger may well have been afraid of the film's lurid and potentially incriminating images - the heroin use, Jagger masturbating, or even the extended sequence of questionably consensual group sex with a reluctant groupie at 30,000 feet (after all, this was rock and roll).

But what Mick may have found most disturbing was the bleak and accurate portrait of the obvious despair and loneliness of life on the road. Frank's obsession with pursuing truth destroyed the illusion of glamour for the world's most famous rock and roll band.The Stones took Frank to court to prevent the film's distribution. It became, legally, a question of who owned the film, the artist who created it or the patron who paid for it. A bizarre deal was struck allowing the film to be screened once a year, but only if the director was present for the screening.

Of course, now the film is available on DVD, and clips are appearing on YouTube and elsewhere. Here's a clip from that 72 tour. I think this may have been their peak, with the slide to geezerdom still way over the horizon. I saw them in Rome at a soccer stadium in the summer of 1990. Got up close, and enjoyed it, but they were only a shadow of the band they'd been in this early time. There's somethin' wrong with these guys still tryin' to shake their money maker at their age. Sordid.

Enjoy this snap shot.

And yea, I'm lookin' for that DVD. I'll tell ya if I find it.

Happy Easter everyone.

So, it's a hot weekend. Yer at a pool party at a buddy's house, and someone gets a really stupid idea.

This is all about trust. Trust, and alcohol. How drunk would you need to be?



And you may have seen this before. It's been goin' around. Too damn funny not to post. Enjoy.



So, I'm heading to the little town of Sweetwater, Texas this weekend. They're having a combined chili cook-off, rattlesnake roundup, carnival, and gun show. Now folks, what the hell else do you need?

Ok, get yer minds out of the gutter. I'm sure I'll be able to round THAT up if needs must. Chili cook-off folks...



are notoriously open minded, horny as hell, and easily plied with small amounts of booze... or so I hear. And if that doesn't work, there's always the carnival folks. Shiny objects and booze? I understand that it works. Many a marriage has been based on less.

A few friends will be competing in the cook-off, and I'll be eating copious amounts of BBQ, and maybe judging the competition. Can you say ringer? Might even eat some BBQ roasted rattlesnake. It ain't bad. Weather looks like it'll be nice; 70s in the day time and 40s at night. Perfect camping weather. I might even get to buy a new toy at the gun show. If the ninjas of the nanny state have their way, I'm sure these sorts of shows will soon be a thing of the past, so why not splurge?

I'll have an early out at the high school tomorrow morning, and then I'm off from there for a week of spring break. On the way back to town to get ready to head to Sweetwater, I'll spend a while at the local veterans cemetery. An old buddy of mine, Bobby Spence, passed away this week. He was one of the attendants in the building on base that I teach out of. Known him for years. Great guy. Army vet. Korea and Nam, I think. Supposedly his wife found him, seemingly sleeping, eyes closed, hands clasped behind his head. She shook his foot to wake him and discovered how cold he was. Now, if that isn't the way to go, I don't know what is. God bless him. He'll be missed.

So, relax and have a great weekend, and I'll see ya on the other end.