A Nation never falls but by suicide.
-Ralph Waldo Emerson
Monday, September 29, 2008
Sunday, September 21, 2008
These Days
I am thrilled to be alive at such a pivotal moment in American history. I am thrilled to actually be voting for someone again, and not just voting against the other guy. Because, see, Obama can't be just an "okay" President and he knows it. When Jackie Robinson got into the major leagues in the late 40's, he knew he wasn't just playing for Jackie Robinson. He knew he was playing for all the future generations of black kids who might want a chance in major league baseball and that they would be judged on his performance. Jackie Robinson had to be more than a great player. He had to be a great gentleman and an outstanding human being. It'll be the same for Obama. His presidency will not just be for him, but for all the generations to come. It will be a beacon of shining light, sending the signal that at last, if people are diligent enough, if they work hard enough, they can achieve anything.
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Album Covers
A friend of mine recently sent me a link to a site entitled Album Covers that Changed Everything. There is a series of album covers there that were obviously so revolutionary that they changed everything.
First of all, they're album covers folks, not the atomic bomb, the transistor, or moving pictures. They're album covers. Get a grip. They didn't change anything, except how much money we had left after buying them. Some of the choices are confounding to me, I admit. But I reckon the choice was really based on the contents of the album and not the cover. For instance, Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon" was there. Ooohh, be still my heart! White light going through a prism and coming out colors. Let's not all pee our pants at once. The Clash's "London Calling" was listed because it's a clever knock-off of the first Elvis Presley release. If that's the case, why not just list the Elvis album cover?!! Probably because the person making the list still has pimples and to them "London Calling" is really delving into the annuls of history. Of course the obligatory "Sgt. Pepper's" is there. Okay, I'll give that a pass. Great cover, although my least favorite Beatle album. And the person who made the list would have to explain to me what they found so extraordinary about the Sex Pistols album cover. Could it possibly have been any more mudane?
But since I am a compulsive list maker, I feel compelled to add some of the covers that I feel were unrightfully left off the list. Now, I must remind you, I am not necessarily endorsing the contents of the album, but I do think these covers were innovative and deserve mention. But even as innovative as they were I don't think they necessarily "changed everything."
BIG BAMBU - Cheech and Chong. Designed to look like a giant package of rolling papers, this cover even featured a giant rolling paper. Yes, dear readers, mine is still intact.
TWO VIRGINS - John Lennon and Yoko Ono. A naked Beatle and a naked Asian Chick. Nuff said.
OGDEN'S NUTGONE - Small Faces. this was a round album cover, the only one I ever remember. It unfolded about 9 times and was big fun.
THICK AS A BRICK - Jethro Tull. I have the original and it unfolded and unfolded until it was about a 4X6 foot newspaper front page. It was a pain to get back together though. They should have made the next one like a giant road map.
ALONE TOGETHER - Dave Mason. This cover was a tri-fold that unfolded to become a wall hanging of a giant Dave Mason in a top hat behind a mountain - guess you had to be there. On the front of this wall hanging there was a pocket that held the album that was pressed on multi-colored vinyl and looked awesome under a black-light.
ELECTRIC LADYLAND - Jim Hendrix Experience. Not the American release, but the British. On the British version Jimi is sitting amidst a large group of nude women. I agree.
LOOK SHARP! - Joe Jackson. This was a 10 inch disc - a double if memory serves. Up in the corner, there was an opening that had a little lapel pin exclaiming Look Sharp!. Again, mine is still intact. I'm like that.
MOM'S APPLE PIE - I can't remember of this was the title of the band or of the album, but it featured some great artwork of a matronly type beauty offering up my favorite pie. I have never forgotten this artwork.
YOUNG, LOUD, AND SNOTTY - The Dead Boys. Something about the grittiness of this cover says more about NYC than any skyline shot.
SANTANA - Santana. Another cover that featured notable artwork. 30 plus images of women cleverly composed to make a lion's head.
YESTERDAY AND TODAY - The Beatles. As much as I loved the cover of "Meet The Beatles" (which really did change everything come to think of it), and the stark Yoko influenced "White Album", "Yesterday and Today" has to be on of the most notable album covers of all time. And of course I am not talking about the boys all around a footlocker that Paul is inside of, but rather the infamous "Butcher cover". The lads all sitting around in blood splattered smocks in a blood splattered room with many decapitated dolls. The first batch was printed and then Capitol freaked and the cover we all know and yawn at was hastily pasted over top. If you ever stumble across the record in a garage sale, and you know what to look for (a dark spot over Ringo's shoulder etc) you can send it somewhere, have the top lifted off and then you have a record worth at last look at around $400.
Agree? Disagree? More additions? Feel free to comment.
First of all, they're album covers folks, not the atomic bomb, the transistor, or moving pictures. They're album covers. Get a grip. They didn't change anything, except how much money we had left after buying them. Some of the choices are confounding to me, I admit. But I reckon the choice was really based on the contents of the album and not the cover. For instance, Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon" was there. Ooohh, be still my heart! White light going through a prism and coming out colors. Let's not all pee our pants at once. The Clash's "London Calling" was listed because it's a clever knock-off of the first Elvis Presley release. If that's the case, why not just list the Elvis album cover?!! Probably because the person making the list still has pimples and to them "London Calling" is really delving into the annuls of history. Of course the obligatory "Sgt. Pepper's" is there. Okay, I'll give that a pass. Great cover, although my least favorite Beatle album. And the person who made the list would have to explain to me what they found so extraordinary about the Sex Pistols album cover. Could it possibly have been any more mudane?
But since I am a compulsive list maker, I feel compelled to add some of the covers that I feel were unrightfully left off the list. Now, I must remind you, I am not necessarily endorsing the contents of the album, but I do think these covers were innovative and deserve mention. But even as innovative as they were I don't think they necessarily "changed everything."
BIG BAMBU - Cheech and Chong. Designed to look like a giant package of rolling papers, this cover even featured a giant rolling paper. Yes, dear readers, mine is still intact.
TWO VIRGINS - John Lennon and Yoko Ono. A naked Beatle and a naked Asian Chick. Nuff said.
OGDEN'S NUTGONE - Small Faces. this was a round album cover, the only one I ever remember. It unfolded about 9 times and was big fun.
THICK AS A BRICK - Jethro Tull. I have the original and it unfolded and unfolded until it was about a 4X6 foot newspaper front page. It was a pain to get back together though. They should have made the next one like a giant road map.
ALONE TOGETHER - Dave Mason. This cover was a tri-fold that unfolded to become a wall hanging of a giant Dave Mason in a top hat behind a mountain - guess you had to be there. On the front of this wall hanging there was a pocket that held the album that was pressed on multi-colored vinyl and looked awesome under a black-light.
ELECTRIC LADYLAND - Jim Hendrix Experience. Not the American release, but the British. On the British version Jimi is sitting amidst a large group of nude women. I agree.
LOOK SHARP! - Joe Jackson. This was a 10 inch disc - a double if memory serves. Up in the corner, there was an opening that had a little lapel pin exclaiming Look Sharp!. Again, mine is still intact. I'm like that.
MOM'S APPLE PIE - I can't remember of this was the title of the band or of the album, but it featured some great artwork of a matronly type beauty offering up my favorite pie. I have never forgotten this artwork.
YOUNG, LOUD, AND SNOTTY - The Dead Boys. Something about the grittiness of this cover says more about NYC than any skyline shot.
SANTANA - Santana. Another cover that featured notable artwork. 30 plus images of women cleverly composed to make a lion's head.
YESTERDAY AND TODAY - The Beatles. As much as I loved the cover of "Meet The Beatles" (which really did change everything come to think of it), and the stark Yoko influenced "White Album", "Yesterday and Today" has to be on of the most notable album covers of all time. And of course I am not talking about the boys all around a footlocker that Paul is inside of, but rather the infamous "Butcher cover". The lads all sitting around in blood splattered smocks in a blood splattered room with many decapitated dolls. The first batch was printed and then Capitol freaked and the cover we all know and yawn at was hastily pasted over top. If you ever stumble across the record in a garage sale, and you know what to look for (a dark spot over Ringo's shoulder etc) you can send it somewhere, have the top lifted off and then you have a record worth at last look at around $400.
Agree? Disagree? More additions? Feel free to comment.
Monday, April 7, 2008
Big Band Music
Don't you kind of wish that all of the people that were fans of big band music when they were young would hurry up and die, so that we don't have to hear that crap anymore?
Me too.
Me too.
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
A Couple Random Observations
Today's observation #1:
Do you realize the abbreviation for June is Jun? And for July it's Jul? Man, you've gotta be in some kind of hurry! I hope I'm never under the kind of pressure that only allows me to abbreviate these two months.
Today's observation #2:
A cheeseburger at McDonald's costs 99 cents. A Double-cheeseburger costs $1.00. This raises a couple of questions. First, do they sell a lot of regular cheeseburgers? If so, who buys them? Secondly, if they can sell me the second beef patty and cheese for one penny, one can only assume the other beef patty and cheese costs a penny. So do they use really expensive buns?
Do you realize the abbreviation for June is Jun? And for July it's Jul? Man, you've gotta be in some kind of hurry! I hope I'm never under the kind of pressure that only allows me to abbreviate these two months.
Today's observation #2:
A cheeseburger at McDonald's costs 99 cents. A Double-cheeseburger costs $1.00. This raises a couple of questions. First, do they sell a lot of regular cheeseburgers? If so, who buys them? Secondly, if they can sell me the second beef patty and cheese for one penny, one can only assume the other beef patty and cheese costs a penny. So do they use really expensive buns?
Sunday, October 14, 2007
Pet Peeves
Pet Peeves. Everybody's got 'em. Some people have only one or two. I envy them. Anybody that can be that oblivious obviously knows contentment. Some people have many. I think they're more normal. My wife has several - unfortunately they mostly center around me. But they are legit. What bothers her may not bother others, but they do bother her. Mine bother me. Yours bother you.
So I got to thinking about pet peeves yesterday, and I thought I would share a few with you. In this way, you may say "Hey, you know, my pet peeves are no big deal." More likely, you'll think "You know, that's a good one. I'm putting that on my list of pet peeves too." So here are the pet peeves of mine and other people I know.
MINE: Pronouncing the T in often. It's not ofTen. It's often - pronounced offen. If you put an S in front of it, it doesn't become sofTen. It's soften - pronounced soffen. It's fabric soffener, not sofTener. By the way, how come the same people who pronounce this T leave it silent in the word LISTEN? How come they don't say lisTen? Like in Sonny Liston?
HANNAH (my bride): People that make un-necessary noises. Cracking knuckles. Drumming on table tops. Snapping gum. And let's not even get into bodily functions. Yes, dear readers - guilty on all counts.
BILL MURGAN: People that mis-use the word "Literally". "It is literally raining cats and dogs out there!" Why, Einstein, just step in a poodle? No it's not literally - meaning empirically, in fact - raining cats and dogs.
SANDY BAKER: People that hold up fingers to show the number three, and hold their first finger down, leaving finger 2, 3, and 4 to illustrate three. In her mind - mine too- one must hold down your pinky finger and hold up fingers 1, 2 and 3 to properly illustrate three. I suppose the Boy Scouts have been wrong in their salute all these years? I think not!
STACEY SUTTON: Another buddy's wife, another finger thing. Her peeve is this. Whenever Tom lays a map down on the table, and he has to point to something, he points with his middle finger. Her contention is that in order to properly point one must use your first or index finger. I concur. That's why God gave it to us.
These are just a few. What are yours? Let me know what they are. I'll publish them. Maybe we can get people to stop annoying you so much!
So I got to thinking about pet peeves yesterday, and I thought I would share a few with you. In this way, you may say "Hey, you know, my pet peeves are no big deal." More likely, you'll think "You know, that's a good one. I'm putting that on my list of pet peeves too." So here are the pet peeves of mine and other people I know.
MINE: Pronouncing the T in often. It's not ofTen. It's often - pronounced offen. If you put an S in front of it, it doesn't become sofTen. It's soften - pronounced soffen. It's fabric soffener, not sofTener. By the way, how come the same people who pronounce this T leave it silent in the word LISTEN? How come they don't say lisTen? Like in Sonny Liston?
HANNAH (my bride): People that make un-necessary noises. Cracking knuckles. Drumming on table tops. Snapping gum. And let's not even get into bodily functions. Yes, dear readers - guilty on all counts.
BILL MURGAN: People that mis-use the word "Literally". "It is literally raining cats and dogs out there!" Why, Einstein, just step in a poodle? No it's not literally - meaning empirically, in fact - raining cats and dogs.
SANDY BAKER: People that hold up fingers to show the number three, and hold their first finger down, leaving finger 2, 3, and 4 to illustrate three. In her mind - mine too- one must hold down your pinky finger and hold up fingers 1, 2 and 3 to properly illustrate three. I suppose the Boy Scouts have been wrong in their salute all these years? I think not!
STACEY SUTTON: Another buddy's wife, another finger thing. Her peeve is this. Whenever Tom lays a map down on the table, and he has to point to something, he points with his middle finger. Her contention is that in order to properly point one must use your first or index finger. I concur. That's why God gave it to us.
These are just a few. What are yours? Let me know what they are. I'll publish them. Maybe we can get people to stop annoying you so much!
Monday, September 17, 2007
Pinball Alley
Back in the mid-seventies Todd Pierce and I climbed into his VW Beetle and caravanned with a bunch of folks down to East Lansing, Michigan to see Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band somewhere on the Michigan State campus. It was Bruce's "Born To Run" tour and it seems to me that the East Lansing stop was one of the first stops on the tour. We made it down there and Todd and I had seats about mid-way back on the main floor. It was not a huge venue so they were pretty good seats. The show was the first time I'd seen the Boss and naturally I was blown away. Three plus hours of frantic blistering rock and roll in an era that was overdosing on California singer-songwriters. Bruce took the stage and played every song like it was the last time he was ever going to get to play in front of people. He poured absolutely everything he had into every solo, lyric, and song. He did a Mitch Ryder medley. Entirely awesome.
After a Bruce show one's adrenaline is pumping so Todd and I were excited. What a show! As we walked outside to meet up with the others, we noticed the tour bus. We decided to hang around and see if we could meet Bruce. We had good intentions, but it was spring and there was a nip in the air. We got chilled and eventually we gave it up. The others had left us by now, so we decided to hit the Big Boy across from the campus for a burger and coffee before heading home.
As we were finishing up, we noticed the tour bus pull into the motel next door. I brazenly stated to Todd that we should just go over and see about partying with the band. A driver got out as we got near the bus, and I just asked where the band would be partying that night. The driver said "They said they were going to somewhere called "the copper penny or the wooden nickle, or something like that." I told Todd we should go over the the Silver Dollar. We did.
When we walked into the bar we were sure the driver had been putting us on. There was nobody in this place. There was a band and they were playing to the bartender. No exageration. There was not another soul in the place. Why? It was a Sunday night and it was exams week. People who had dared spend precious time at the concert, were now back at their dorm frantically cramming. So it was like a ghost town. But we were the only two there, so we opted for pinball and a beer before heading out. Suddenly we noticed another guy at the bar. It was Mighty Max! Bruce's drummer! We went over and bought him a beer and I was delighted to spend time talking about drummers with him - a subject he has since written a book about. Then we noticed Danny Federici come in and Clarence and Roy Bitten and I struck up a conversation with Miami Steve (now of 'The Sopranos' fame too). Then I notice over his shoulder was Bruce. How cool. Todd and I have the whole E street Band all to ourselves. Bruce went up to the pinball machines and I asked if I could play with him. We did. I will always tell my grandkids about it, as if I were telling them about getting into a swordfight with Zorro. After the pinball game I fumbled through my pockets looking for something to write on. Since I worked part time at Flaming Rat Records, all I could come up with was a promo sticker for Roger Daltry's release "Ride a Rock Horse". I told Bruce none of my friends would believe he was in this bar. He wrote on the Sticker "Lyle - I was in this bar - Bruce Springsteen." I have it framed.
None of my friends ever did believe me.
After a Bruce show one's adrenaline is pumping so Todd and I were excited. What a show! As we walked outside to meet up with the others, we noticed the tour bus. We decided to hang around and see if we could meet Bruce. We had good intentions, but it was spring and there was a nip in the air. We got chilled and eventually we gave it up. The others had left us by now, so we decided to hit the Big Boy across from the campus for a burger and coffee before heading home.
As we were finishing up, we noticed the tour bus pull into the motel next door. I brazenly stated to Todd that we should just go over and see about partying with the band. A driver got out as we got near the bus, and I just asked where the band would be partying that night. The driver said "They said they were going to somewhere called "the copper penny or the wooden nickle, or something like that." I told Todd we should go over the the Silver Dollar. We did.
When we walked into the bar we were sure the driver had been putting us on. There was nobody in this place. There was a band and they were playing to the bartender. No exageration. There was not another soul in the place. Why? It was a Sunday night and it was exams week. People who had dared spend precious time at the concert, were now back at their dorm frantically cramming. So it was like a ghost town. But we were the only two there, so we opted for pinball and a beer before heading out. Suddenly we noticed another guy at the bar. It was Mighty Max! Bruce's drummer! We went over and bought him a beer and I was delighted to spend time talking about drummers with him - a subject he has since written a book about. Then we noticed Danny Federici come in and Clarence and Roy Bitten and I struck up a conversation with Miami Steve (now of 'The Sopranos' fame too). Then I notice over his shoulder was Bruce. How cool. Todd and I have the whole E street Band all to ourselves. Bruce went up to the pinball machines and I asked if I could play with him. We did. I will always tell my grandkids about it, as if I were telling them about getting into a swordfight with Zorro. After the pinball game I fumbled through my pockets looking for something to write on. Since I worked part time at Flaming Rat Records, all I could come up with was a promo sticker for Roger Daltry's release "Ride a Rock Horse". I told Bruce none of my friends would believe he was in this bar. He wrote on the Sticker "Lyle - I was in this bar - Bruce Springsteen." I have it framed.
None of my friends ever did believe me.
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