My Boot Heels Might Be Wandering

I ran into a dear friend in the store the other night. She is a very smart woman and an in my opinion accomplished artist (actress) in her own right. We were just talking and then she recommended I see the film "Searching for Sugar Man". I said I would try and see it on her recommendation. She said "This guy is better than Bob Dylan." I replied "Nobody is better than Bob Dylan." Her reply was "This guy can write AND sing."

To say this guy can write and sing seems to put emphasis somehow on the vocals and I would think that if you gauge Bob Dylan by the vocals, I would respectfully submit that you have missed the whole point. Dylan is not a singer/songwriter like James Taylor or Cat Stevens. He is a poet who chose to send us his poetry through song instead of just text.

Let me start by saying that Bob Dylan is a poet of extraordinary caliber, and I truly believe he is the poet of a generation. I believe that from 1963 through his album "Blood On The Tracks" the muse of genius sat on his shoulder and gave him an extraordinary abilities. Bob Dylan must feel somewhat gratified to know that several major universities have courses in the poetry of Bob Dylan. His name will be revered generations from now along with Dickinson, Whitman, Kerouac, Ginsberg, Van Doren, and Williams. And I sincerely believe aside from perhaps Dickinson, his name will rise to top.

If someone was actually greater than Dylan, their face would be on the cover of TIME and NEWSWEEK several times this year, and for years to come. I must confess.....I don't know what the hell she's talking about.

So let me go back a bit.

I was pubescent teenager. I was in the home of my second surrogate family the Springers, and saw the open door to the top of the stairs where my surrogate sisters slept. At the top of the stairs there was an album cover propped up and it was the cover of Dylan's Blonde On Blonde. So I thought "if I want to be as cool as my surrogate sister Valkerie, I have to get this record." So I went to the store to get it. But they were sold out. So my first ever album buy was the substitute The Freewheeling Bob Dylan. And oh buddy, my life changed.

Okay, I'm man enough to admit that the other album I bought that day was Herman's Hermit's Greatest Hits. but I don't remember whatever happened to that. But Bob Dylan's Freewheeling Bob Dylan, preoccupied all of my time. Not just the anthem Blowin' In The Wind, but Talkin' World War III Blues, and the powerful Masters of War and A Hard Rains Gonna Fall. I knew then I was on to something and started buying Bob Dylan albums as fast as I could afford them.

Okay, maybe Dylan isn't the first name anybody ever thinks of when they think of singers. But neither is Mick Jagger, Leadbelly, Muddy Waters, Tom Waits, Johnny Cash, or Louie Armstrong. But geniuses each and every one. Armstrong invented a music genre and the great American art form, but Dylan had the poet's muse.

My weariness amazes me, I’m branded on my feet
I have no one to meet
And the ancient empty street’s too dead for dreaming.

Also:

I’m ready to go anywhere, I’m ready for to fade
Into my own parade, cast your dancing spell my way
I promise to go under it.

And:

Yes, to dance beneath the diamond sky with one hand waving free
Silhouetted by the sea, circled by the circus sands
With all memory and fate driven deep beneath the waves
Let me forget about today until tomorrow.

- Mr. Tambourine Man

If Dylan had never written anything other that "Mr. Tamborine Man" he would have been a legend to me, and I realize my brief snippets of lyrics don't do it justice. But he sailed on "ships with tattooed sails", and asked "where you want this killin' done? And God said out on Highway 61",  and "there must be some kind of way out of here, said the Joker to the Thief", and "Senators and Congressman, please heed the call, please get out of the doorways, get out of the halls, for the Times They Are Changin'." And of course the incomparable "Like A Rolling Stone."

If you don't own "Blonde On Blonde" go out and buy it now. I'll wait.......... It is the only record I have purchased in every format. Vinyl (twice, wore the first out), 8 track, Cassette, CD, and download.

Everyone should own "Blonde On Blonde", "Highway 61 Revisited", and "Bringing It All Back Home." Listen to these three albums all the way through 5 times and tell me I'm not right.  And then branch out to ""The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan", "John Wesley Harding", "Blood On The Tracks", "Nashville Skyline" and "Desire." What an extraordinary trip.... so far......

No, Bob Dylan may not be the greatest singer of our time, but Bob Dylan was our time. And that is something for us to marvel at in it's own right. And so my dear friend, my sad-eyed lady of the lowlands, I say again, nobody is better than Bob Dylan.

The Spring Trip home, 2014.

My wife says I need to follow up on my post of December 17, 2013, wherein I implied we were going to do some specific things in our trip home from Pensacola College in the spring of 2014. Which we did, but she chastised me because I failed to report on it.

This year on the way home, instead of heading into Mississippi, we stayed in Alabama. We stopped in Alabama and saw the incredible grave of Hank Williams. It's the best I've seen, and I have been to many. I thought Bruce Lee and Brandon Lee's were something, but the Hank Williams was very impressive.

From there we headed north, naturally, and swung over to Florence, Alabama. I wanted to go there for many reasons. First of all, it's close to Muscle Shoals, the home of where a lot of the music I love was born. We were able to visit the FAME studios. (Florence Alabama Music Enterprises). This is where Aretha Franklin cut "I Never Loved A Man The Way I Love You." Wilson Pickett did most of his great stuff here. Otis Redding recorded here. Duane Allman slept in the parking lot until they'd let him in on the sessions. That's him on Wilson Pickett's "Hey Jude." He takes off on a riff that virtually invented "southern rock." The usual 20 minute tour turned into an hour and a half for us because the manager took an instant liking to me. I got to play a guitar that Duane Allman used to noodle around on (among others), and my wife got to play a piano that has been played by everybody from Aretha Franklin to Alicia Keyes. And she got to play the organ that was played during the opening of "I Never Loved A Man The Way I Love You."

Then we stopped at the other Muscle Shoals studio where everybody and their brother recorded. Cat Stevens, Paul Simon, too many to list. This is where The Rolling Stones recorded "Brown Sugar" and "Wild Horses."

Once back in the hotel, the wife was flipping through some literature, and mentioned that there was a Frank Lloyd Wright house in Florence. So that was added to the next day's itinerary.

The next day we were able to visit the childhood home of Helen Keller and yeah, I even got to stand at the pump. I have Assistant Directed this play, and I was in this play once, and the whole Helen Keller miracle is one of the great American stories. Then we were able to visit The Rosenbaum House, the Frank Lloyd Wright creation in Florence, Alabama. I loved it and befriended the director who gave us the royal treatment, because I mentioned I was a docent at the Meyer May House in Grand Rapids. It was a wonderful visit.

From there we visited the childhood home of W.C. Handy, whom some consider 'father of the blues'. And after we visited the University of North Alabama, (alma mater of George "Goober" Lindsey) and see the extensive George Lindsey exhibit there.

It was, as always, a great trip. I love the south. If they weren't all red states, I would live there. I will live in Florida someday. And that state goes either way......

Brief Sports stuff

The Detroit Lions couldn't seem to get it done over the best record in the NFL Arizona Cardinals today. But still I think they are going to end up with the best Lions record in a long long time. I said at the time I thought Caldwell was the guy, and he hasn't let me down.

Of course MSU took Maryland to the woodshed, but last week against Ohio State they just ran into a better team, a team that had a great game plan and they executed precisely. I wish the Spartans could have  presented their best game, but things happen. Ohio State is, and always will be, a contender. MSU is too, but it wasn't their day.

That's about all I have sports fans. Go Red Wings!

San Fran

San Fran Claims the World Series! I was rooting for them, but secretly thought it was going to be all about KC at home in game 7. I would think San Fran might really want to reevaluate letting Sandoval go. He gave the wink and then went on to get...what?...3 hits? And then with some fast base running and catching the final out. Not a bad night. Letting him go to free agency? Give the guy a mega raise and keep him!

Sports Notes for this week.

Peyton Manning last night threw 4 TD passes to go past and then some on Brett Favre's pervious record of 508. The astonishing thing is, Manning has broken the record in 243 games, a record it took Brett Favre 302 games to set.

The University of Michigan of course needed an extra week to rest up before seeing Michigan State this coming Saturday. Just once I would like to see the playing field even for this game. Just once. Usually for the first game MSU has to play Notre Dame, and UM had to play The Milwaukee Driver's Institute. There is always something in the schedule to give UM a presumed advantage. Well, maybe the schedule makers will start seeing it a little differently after next Saturday when yes folks....we make Michigan our Bichigan. How much longer will the schedule makers not realize who the big power is now? By the way, the top three players that committed to Michigan, have now "uncommitted" or whatever that is called. They obviously have NFL ambitions, and they know they aren't gonna get there by playing for a nowhere losing team. U of M....3 losses in September...first in the history of the school, and then losing to Rutgers......

The World Series promise to be fun as always, and seriously, is the best baseball of the year. As it stands tonight, they are tied at 1 game apiece. The first game was all San Francisco, and last night it was all about Kansas City. Interesting series for other reasons too. Who ever thought these two teams would be the match up? Neither team won its Division, and neither team even won 90 games. The Giants finished six games behind the Dodgers in the NL West and won eight fewer games than the Nationals who entered the post-season coming off a season 96 wins....but the most unlikely team got it done. Same in the AL. The Royals finished a game behind the Detroit Tigers, and won nine fewer games than the Angels (whom they swept in the Division series) and even fewer than the Orioles who they swept in the Championship series. But it's things like that that make me love baseball.

The Lions head to London, England to play their game this week, and I hope it's not too distracting for them. I do hope they get the job done, and although I was the lone voice amidst my sports buddies  when I thought Coach Caldwell could be the one to get the job done when he was signed, I'm confident they too like him more with every win. And the Lions have been officially dubbed the No. 1 Defense in the league. I hope their good fortune continues. The fans deserve it.

The Big Game.

Can anyone tell me why U of Michigan always manages to finagle an advantage in the schedule with Michigan State? Just for once, I would love to see State take these bitches on, head to head in a straight up confrontation. Usually Michigan sees The Milwaukee Drivers Institute, while State sees Notre Dame. And then they see each other. But sometimes, like this week, State battles Indiana, while Michigan gets the week off to rest up for "The Big Game." Please just once, make this fair. And we State fans in the Big Game, will knock these worthless SOBs into next week. Oh but wait, unless Michigan might have to see Ohio State. In that case, they get another week of rest. What a bunch of  bitches.

This weeks Sports Round Up

Okay Sports fans, listen up. This is how I saw things:

Michigan took it on the chin again this week by losing to Rutgers. This is sad. How many other Big 10 teams will fall to Rutgers this year? Probably none. After a 3 loss September (which had never happened before in the history of the school) to come into Rutgers and get beat...well it certainly will test the meddle of the Michigan fans.

As a State fan, I was delighted to see MSU beat a very good and talented Nebraska team. I predicted by 7 and I would have lost that bet, but hey a win is a win.

In the NFL the Lions did what they are so famous for. They get a healthy lead and then quit doing the things that got them that comfortable lead. They get conservative. They don't try and score, they try to sit on a lead. And of course they get their butts beat. I had hoped for more out of this coach. I wonder if there are calls coming from upstairs that ruin the Lions. The coaches change but the formula seems consistent. Get a lead and sit on it and lose. I have made lots of money in my betting life by consistently betting against the Lions and this is the reason why. They get a lead and then become shrinking violets, preferring to sit in the corner and hoping the other team will just quit.

The Lions see Minnesota this week, and I like them to win. They may be the only team of our nearby teams to win.... Chicago sees Atlanta, and Green Bay has to deal with.......

The Detroit Tigers were disappointing to say the least. Baltimore came in and made a 3 game easy sweep telling the Tigers to get to the curb. Hey it was a good year, and I'm not complaining really, but this is a better team than that and I was hoping for a better show of it.

Peyton Manning threw his 500th TD last week, and I loved it because it continues to show the Colts what idiots they are. This guy will be a Hall of Fame legend and his successor will not be. Come on Denver! Be the great team we have come to expect! (My son is a Denver fanatic, so to keep peace in the family....) And Manning should break the TD pass record in the next few weeks.

It is officially "Domestic Violence Awareness Month" and yet the NFL remains oblivious. They are still trying to tout Breast Cancer Awareness and sweep two weeks off for knocking your fiancee out under the rug. In light of all the controversy surrounding the NFL and its lackadaisical attitude regarding domestic violence, it looked as though they were going to finally take the issue seriously. But as quickly as the public loses it's attention (usually takes a week) it back to business as usual.

Stay tuned sports fans...

Game Changer.

I've decided to retool this blog. Too much fluff. I have to get serious here. I have a lot of hits here, so let's make it worthwhile. No TV or movie reviews, but talk about TV or Movie trends. Sports round-ups, and any other news of the day -sans political (have another site for that) - so if you are up for the new King of the Whole Darned World, stay tuned.

Sit-Coms

Although, I have had nearly 12,000 hits on this blog site, I just don't get here as often as I used to. I also review Mom and Pop diners on "GreasySpoonHandbook" and movies, TV, music, and books on "It's ON!" at "flixtubetunespages.blogspot.com and I tend to spend the most time on them.

I am beginning to formulate an idea for a post to talk about the greatest sit-coms of all-time to put on my "It's On!" blog, but I am kind of stuck....I originally was going to make it a top ten list, and I rather easily filled in the first nine slots, but then I got to the tenth place and became stuck.

So here is the way it went.

All Time Greatest Sit-Coms:

1. I Love Lucy.
2. The Andy Griffith Show
3. The Dick VanDyke Show
4. The Honeymooners
5. Seinfeld
6. Cheers
7. Frasier
8. The Mary Tyler Moore Show
9. All In The Family

and then there is number ten.....

Should it be........
Arrested Development
Modern Family
Everybody Loves Raymond
Will and Grace
Get Smart
The Addams Family
The Bob Newhart Show
The Cosby Show
or
Taxi
or what am I forgetting?

Maybe I should just make it a Top 25......

You know.....The Grammy's Ain't All That.....

I guess I could get a little more excited about the Grammy's if they held just a smidgen of credibility. Elvis won three Grammys. All for his Gospel records. The King of frickin' Rock and Roll, after all.

But there are many folks that never won a Grammy at all. Can you say ¨Guns and Roses? How about Tupac Shakur? I don't as much about Rap as I should but my nephews all tell me Tupac was the man! Snoop Dogg never won one either, but he has a tendency to put people off, and the Grammys as much or more than any other awards are a popularity contest more than an artistic recognition. Katy Perry's never won a Grammy, but hey she's young, and I think she is nominated this year. We'll see. 

Hard to believe, with an astounding body of incredible work, that Diana Ross has never won a Grammy. Diana Ross, for crying out loud. One of the pivotal voices of Motown, and a significant part of the American songbook. 

But there are others. Perhaps even more astounding that were overlooked. How about Queen? "Bohemian Rhapsody" is being sung along with right now somewhere by a carload of teenagers. But they never won a Grammy. Nor did The Grateful Dead. American Icons. The Dead. Bands of followers known as Dead-Heads. Historic rock album's like "Workingman's Dead", and "American Beauty". But no Grammy.

Bob Marley. A Golden voice. The inspiration to a group of British kids, notably Sting, who were good in their own right, but never as good as the master. Reggae became a major part of the music scene thanks to Marley, but sadly, according to the Grammy's will not be held in anymore favor than his great-great-great uncle Jacob. 

But now it gets even more serious. Really? Can you believe The Who never won a Grammy? The Who. So when you're watching the Grammy's, if you're actually going to, just don't get fooled again. If they didn't recognize The Who, then what the?....

And now (drum roll please), the coup de gras. The ultimate, are you fricking kidding me? of all times. Led Zeppelin never won a Grammy. Led Zeppelin. Would make anybody's top ten on "Best Bands Ever" List. Led frickin' Zeppelin. Robert Plant, Jimmy Page. And of course anyone with half a brain can come up with the names John Paul Jones and John Bonham. What a band. Icons. But apparently not good enough to win a Grammy.

So soon the Grammy's will be on TV. But remember; it's only a popularity contest.