Whew! A chance to sit down. I’ve been running most days this week, taking care of various obligations and appointments, and time has been scarce. Instead of trying to squeeze in a post with any substance today, I’m going to beg your indulgence and start regular posts again tomorrow with a Saturday Single.

In the meantime, here are some songs that deal with this week’s rarest commodity. Though I like all of these, the Whitfield and Williams tracks really kick. But I’d urge you to try all of them.

A Six-Pack Of Time
“Time Lonesome” by Zephyr from Sunset Ride [1972]
“Tell Me Just One More Time” by Jennifer Warnes from Shot Through The Heart [1979]
“Pony Time” by Barrence Whitfield from Back To The Streets–Celebrating the Music of Don Covay [1993]
“Pearl Time” by Andre Williams, Sport 105 [1967]
“The Time Will Come” by the Whispers, Soul Clock 107 [1969]
“Good Time Living” by Three Dog Night from It Ain’t Easy [1970]
Bonus Track
“Give Me Just A Little More Time” by the Chairmen of the Board, Invictus 9074 [1970]

See you tomorrow!

I barely remember this movie, or buying this CD. Huh.

When was the last time you played your Blue in the Face soundtrack album? Goodbye Yellow Brick Road? Or one of the obscure Tears for Fears CD’s, after the hits stopped?

Yeah, it’s been awhile for me, too. Which led to my current musical experiment.

During the Chicago years (my god, I already sound like it was eons ago), I kept some of my less-played CD’s in storage back here in CT, along with all my albums. I’ve already written about rediscovering the joys of vinyl, though truth be told, I haven’t played that many. Actually, over the last few years, I’ve noticed a disturbing trend: I just don’t play music much anymore.

From 1975 - OMG I think I had this one...

A painful admission, coming from someone who has defined so much of his life by the music he bought and played, the concerts he saw, the time he spent as a roadie. That lifelong importance of music was one of the conceits of the heralded solo show that, among other things, set off C?WC? I cherish those vivid memories of bopping to my older sister’s 45s in the living room, playing DJ at grade school and in the neighborhood with my little portable phono, scouring Creem and Rolling Stone and Circus for musical tidbits I could include in my first-ever published writing gig, as musical maven for the Glastonbury High School newspaper. (God, what was it called? Something Indian-themed, I assume, since we were the Tomahawks [“on the warpath, ooh, aah,” as the cheerleaders reminded us]. Any alums reading — help me out here, guys!)

EVerybody's favorite mid-70s band, Sparks!

Then there were the early concerts: Three Dog Night at Hartford’s Bushnell Auditorium – a birthday gift for my sister, with our parents by our side; outdoors at Dillon Stadium when I was 12, the first show sans parents, and the first time I think I ever smelled pot (just smelled, mind you…); the efforts to get the best seats possible the day tickets went on sale, which meant precisely timing my mailed check, since there was no Internet and no way my mother was going to let me camp out; Sparks at the Bushnell, with 246 others who actually knew who these crazy guys were; the abysmal failure of trying to produce a bluegrass show while a member of the GHS student council (and yet I still tried to stage the solo show. What the hell was I thinking…). The list could go on and on.

I noticed my personal music dearth in Chicago, especially on the live side. Oh, I saw plenty of great shows, but over five years – and given the amount of good music so close at hand – the average was pretty pathetic. I tried to at least keep up with new artists, buying CD’s strictly based on reviews, but then found myself drifting back to an ever-shrinking selection of the tried and true. Which shaped the little experiment now underway.

With the stored CD’s added back into the collection, I decided I would play them all, once, in order from A to Z. Now, I made some allowances for previous lapses in taste: If a CD really seemed to suck to me now, I’d play just one or two songs and consider that disc done. But what I really hoped was to find some hidden treasures, especially in the genres I tend to neglect: classical, jazz, blues.

I realize this endeavor is not exactly groundbreaking. Not up there with reading every page of the Encyclopedia Britannica or living for a year like an Old Testament Jew (amazingly, or insanely, both done by the same guy). But it’s not a parody of those efforts either. My goal is to reconnect with “lost” gems, and just reintegrate music into my life on a more regular basis. Of course, I know there are dangers; I imagine one day I’ll scream “Oh my god, why did I buy so much Foghat?! Why did I keep it?!” (Actually, the only album I had was on vinyl, and it was purged from the collection ages ago. But you get the idea.)

I am now amidst the B’s, having just completed Bach. I got to hear my favorite piece, the Brandenburg Concerto #3, and some organ music that sounded like it came from a horror-flick soundtrack. The A’s had some delights – I forgot how much I like Laurie Anderson’s Home of the Brave. But I did wonder, apropos of Foghat, why I have so much Asleep at the Wheel. No, that’s not fair – they’re lots of fun live, and their tributes to Bob Wills, especially the first, are killer. But three or four CD’s in a row is a little much. I should have invoked the one-or-two-song rule, but I let them play through. We’ll see if I’m as generous with some of the older Dylan and mediocre Elvis (I gotta lot of Dylan and Costello…).

This effort might lead me to get rid of some things I have outgrown or bought on some inexplicable whim. I hope it leads to more moments like the one with Home of the Brave, or uncovering something cool I had no clue I even owned. We’ll see. At the least, I’ll hear if there’s anything decent on Blue in the Face, which  should be coming up pretty soon. I’ll keep you posted.

Three Dog Night in 1972

Has it really been 37 years since I drove 230 miles with my friend Vardell to Salt Lake to see Three Dog Night perform at the Salt Palace?  It doesn’t seem possible.  We were a couple of young kids from a small town.  Salt Lake was the big city and we were on our own.  We saw a gay couple walking down the sidewalk… in public!  We were propositioned by hookers.   “uhhh, no thanks, we’re just here to see the concert, Mam.”

In 1972, a gallon of gas cost just 37 cents.  You could buy a new corvette for just over $5,200.  Of course I couldn’t afford one back then.  I was only making about $1.50 an hour working for my dad.

I barely remember the concert, we had crappy seats way over on the side and we could barely see the band behind their equipment.  But I remember that I was experiencing the world… at least as much as I dared.  I was growing up and everything was exciting.

It’s been over 30 years since I’ve seen Vardell.  Today he contacted me on Facebook.  I added him as a friend and looked through his photos.  He looks old; like me,  overweight, less hair, not as arrogant.   He looks sort of like I’d expect him to look.

Well, it’s time to open up the RealPlayer, flip the switch on the randomizer and see what we get for a Wednesday morning Six-Pack pulled from the years 1950-1999. (As is my usual practice, I’ll ignore songs that have been shared here recently. And for today, I’ll also ignore utter obscurities.)

A Mostly Random Six-Pack from 1950-1999
“Sway” by Alvin Youngblood Hart from Paint It, Blue: Songs of the Rolling Stones [1997]
“Wrapped Around” by the Cates Gang from Come Back Home [1973]
“Where Have You Been” by Astrud Gilberto from Now [1972]
“Take It Or Leave It” by Foghat from Fool for the City [1974]
“Hospitals” by Pollution from Pollution II [1972]
“Lady Samantha” by Three Dog Night from Suitable For Framing [1969] 

In the late 1990s, the House of Blues restaurant and entertainment chain issued at least three CDs with a simple concept: Have blues artists interpret the songs of major rock performers and songwriters. Paint It, Blue seems to have been the first of them; the two other House of Blues recordings that I have cover the songs of Bob Dylan and Eric Clapton, and both date from 1999. I know there are other CDs with the same idea; I’ve seen one for the Beatles’ White Album, but I don’t know if that’s from the House of Blues or from another organization/label. And it seems as if determining the label for these can be somewhat confusing; the fine print on the Paint It, Blue CD case mentions Platinum Entertainment and Polygram Group Distribution, but at All-Music Guide, the labels mentioned are A&M and Ruf. Lineage and ownership confusion aside, the three CDs I have are very good, and Paint It, Blue is likely the best of the three: Alvin Youngblood Hart and his versions of “Sway” and “Moonlight Mile” sit side-by-side with work from Luther Allison, Johnny Copeland, Junior Wells, Otis Clay, Taj Mahal, Gatemouth Brown and more. In the liner notes, Hart says, “I was a Stones fan during the Mick Taylor era (1969-76). Not to say I’m stuck on Mick Taylor, but the band as a whole was really cooking from Let It Bleed on. And, I used to do “Sway” in a garage band. That’s how we approached it.” 

I’ve written about my enjoyment of the Cate Brothers and I’ve shared a couple albums before; the Cates Gang recording here comes from work the brothers did before dropping the “s” and calling themselves simply brothers. This track is from the second of two albums released as the Cates Gang, and like the music that came later, it owes a lot to southern soul and R&B, with a touch of southern rock and – I think – the Everly Brothers stirred into the recipe. I found both Come Back Home and an earlier Cates Gang recording, Wanted, at the excellent blog Skydog’s Elysium. 

Part of the attraction of the original version of “The Girl From Ipanema” was the unaffected vocal by Astrud Gilberto, who was either singing professionally for the first time or singing in English for the first time. (I’ve read the story both ways, but I lean toward the first.) The slight tone and the occasional uncertain shadings of pitch enticed one into the Stan Getz/João Gilberto performance. After that debut, Astrud Gilberto made good career out of the breathy vocals and slight tone, but nothing I’ve heard – and I’ve listened to a good portion of her catalog though not all of it – replicates the charm of her first performance. That’s not to say that Astrud Gilberto’s work – the most recent of her eighteen albums listed at AMG was released in 2002 – isn’t enjoyable. It’s just that I find her work – like that of many artists – more suited to hearing in random single doses than in a sustained presence. Of the albums of hers that I have heard, Now ranks pretty well, and “Where Have You Been” was one of four songs on the album that Gilberto penned herself. 

Fool for the City was Foghat’s breakthrough album, with the band’s hard-rocking (for the times) boogie bringing home the group’s first Top 40 hit. (“Slow Ride” went to No. 20 in 1976.) Which makes “Take It Or Leave It,” the album’s closer, an enigma. I know it got some radio play (a hunch of mine confirmed by AMG), but until the closing vocal yelps, the song sounds more like something from Pablo Cruise or the Little River Band – both of which were still two or three years away – than something from Foghat. That’s not a slam at “Take It Or Leave It,” which I quite like, or at Pablo Cruise or the Little River Band, both of which I enjoy in measured amounts. It’s just a comment on cognitive dissonance caused by Foghat’s odd stylistic choice. 

Beyond the fact that I enjoy the music, anything I know about the group Pollution comes from another great blog Play It Again, Max. One thing I did note, after reading Max’s comments about the band and digging a little further, is that among the players credited on both Pollution and Pollution II was Terry Furlong on guitar. Furlong is better known perhaps for his work with the Grass Roots, but he’s recognized in these precincts as a member of Blue Rose, a group for which I have some affection, based on my all-too-brief acquaintance with bass and guitar player Dave Thomson. 

“Lady Samantha” is an album track from Three Dog Night’s second album, Suitable For Framing, a record that went to No. 16 on the album chart and threw off three Top 40 singles: “Easy To Be Hard,” “Eli’s Coming” and “Celebrate.” The intriguing thing about the song “Lady Samantha” is that it was an early piece of work by Elton John and Bernie Taupin, with John’s version released as a single in the U.K., says Wikipedia, six months before the release of John’s first album, Empty Sky. (John’s version of the song was also released twice as a single in the U.S., but failed to chart both times, Wikipedia adds, noting that the recording surfaced as a bonus track on a 1995 CD release of Empty Sky.) AMG says – if I read an amazingly awkward sentence correctly – that “Lady Samantha” was a hit for Three Dog Night, but the record is not listed in the Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits, so I suspect an error. It might have been a good single although the three hits that came from Suitable For Framing were pretty darn good themselves.

It’s Monday again. I know I shouldn’t feel this way about it- but I can’t shake this groovy feeling. My brain soup is all spiked full of endorphins, and I have the perfect song for this kind of a mood.  So I guess  you have to ask yourself one question:

Do I feel groovy?

For I present to you one of my favorite songs for getting funky, guaranteed to put the diggity in your shin-dig. Here for your entertainment for one night only, all the way from 1966- allow me to introduce Three Dog Night’s “Mama Told Me (Not to Come).”

Oooo rah! Lets start off this crazy tilt-a-whirl of fun with a game of truth or dare, elementary school stylez. The truth is I told you a big fat lie when I implied that the credit for this song was to Three Dog Night. In fact it was written by Randy Newman and debuted on Eric Burden’s (of The Animals) solo album in 1966. I made this implication because it is my honest opinion that Three Dog Night made this song better. I’ve heard several versions both before and after, but no one else quite walks the same line they do. As far as I’m concerned, they gave this song it’s nasty razzle-dazzle.  Actually, this is the most famous version of the song- even Randy Newman himself said that he liked their version better than his own when he was a guest on American Top 40 Countdown in 1970 with the legendary Casey Kasem. Newman had released his version of the song on his own album in the same year, but it enjoyed nothing close to its competitor’s popularity.  Three Dog Night’s “Mama Told Me” was the very first number #1 on Kasem’s radio show in August 1970, beating out the Beatles and Elvis (!) I suspect this may be because the Beatles “Long and Winding Road,” and Elvis’ “The Wonder of You” are kind of mellow ballad-y types, and I further speculate that people were in a particular mood in 1970 that this song spoke to.  What makes this song hold a special value is that it still captures that mood nearly 40 years later, even though almost every other thing in the world has changed.

Three Dog Night released their version on 1970’s It Ain’t Easy, and it was noticeably funkier than previous recordings. One of the ways Three Dog Night changed the song was to make it more than a minute longer than Newman’s. They also gave the song a kind of distorted and deranged vibe, such that unlike Burden’s version, the song implies a feeling of terror and disorientation at the party the singer is attending. Eric Burden’s voice is much more innocent, and Three Dog Night also alters the rhythm structure such that where you once had the vibe of a fairly innocent gathering full of squares eating brie when the singer accidentally has too much cabernet, it is now a crazy hippy-fest and everyone’s dropped a few too many gum drops.

The song has been attempted by several other artists, but most of them were covering the Three Dog Night version rather than Newman’s.  Most notable was likely Tom Jones and the Stereophonics, who released a fairly popular version of the song in 2000.  Although this version was popular, it fails to capture the same quality.  Interestingly, the lyrics and original music of the song imply a warning about rampant drug abuse in the era, as it was written about a party that left the singer feeling somewhat askew; yet, somehow Three Dog Night’s rendering of it turned the song into an anthem for exploration and fascination with drugs.

Actually that’s probably why it’s featured in a movie known for depicting the most disorienting and terrifyingly chaotic party experiences ever known to crash journalism: Hunter S. Thompson’s Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. If you listen carefully you can hear it in the trailer:

In the movie the song plays when Hunter (Johnny Depp) wakes up in his trashed Vegas hotel room with no idea what is going on- alarming and disconcerting party? I’d say so. But all the same- there is something seductive and appealing about the song, n’est pas? If we weren’t a society that loved depravity, a place like Vegas wouldn’t make millionaires- think about it…

So why does this song tickle that icky part of our nature? Well maybe it’s the incredibly spine-tingling guitar solo that makes jello out of knees at about a minute and 19 seconds in; doesn’t that make you wish you could do that? Oo aaahh. Maybe it is that weird and funky keyboarding that is the backbone of the song. I have my own theory though- what’s pretty far out and enduring about this song is that it captures that experimental, youthful rebellious spirit of having more fun than you know you should. The very title is part of the reason it appeals to us- don’t we all just kind of love breaking rules on some level? I don’t know about you, but when my mama told me not to do something, I was consumed with obsessive curiosity: well why not?

What about you? Do you like some whiskey in your water, or the smell of stale perfume? Did you ever just have to see what your mama meant when she said you shouldn’t jump from your trampoline into your swimming pool?

Then I suggest you let that fever play:

(Note to You: the video isn’t worth watching- it’s hard to find a quality video for older music, so it’s sometimes sound vs. picture. Judging by this video, I’m sure you know what I prioritized here.)

Bobby Taylor – “Does Your Mama Know About Me,” Pop # 29, R&B # 5

By Joel Francis

North Carolina native Bobby Taylor was working with a trio of Canadian musicians performing Motown numbers in Vancouver when the group caught the attention of Supremes Mary Wilson and Florence Ballard. The pair excitedly contacted Berry Gordy after hearing Bobby Taylor and the Shades in concert, and Gordy signed the group to his Gordy Records subsidiary.

Unfortunately, the excitement over Taylor’s stage shows failed to translate over records to a wider audience, and the group broke up in 1969 after one album and a handful of lukewarm singles. “Does Your Mama Know About Me” was the group’s biggest hit, peaking at No. 29 on the Pop chart.

Although Taylor’s Motown footprint is shallow, he had a hand in scouting and nurturing several well-known performers. While he was never a member of the Shades – later rechristened the Vancouvers by Gordy – Taylor recalled that Seattle guitarist Jimi Hendrix played with the group on several occasions. Shades drummer Floyd Sneed went on to join Three Dog Night. After booking a local band to open for them in Chicago, Taylor recommended Gordy sign the Jackson 5. He went on to produce the majority of the band’s debut album.

The Vancouver to go onto greatest acclaim, though, was the band’s guitarist. The half-Chinese, Scots-Irish born Thomas Chong co-wrote “Does Your Mama Know About Me” and performed on two more Vancouvers singles before being fired for missing a gig – he was applying for a green card – and becoming a superstar as half of the comedy duo Cheech and Chong.

With its sweeping strings and lush orchestration, “Does Your Mama Know About Me” feels more like a Philly soul number than a Motown production. This type of arrangement was used to great effect by Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff on early ‘70s soul hits like “Me and Mrs. Jones” and “If You Don’t Know Me By Now.” Although Gamble and Huff developed their sound independently – though they were no doubt keeping an ear trained on Motown – “Mama” illustrates how Motown continued to be at the vanguard of soul music beyond the departure of Holland-Dozier-Holland and its production-line sound.

A forgotten footnote, the only noteworthy cover of “Does Your Mama Know About Me” was performed by Diana Ross and the Supremes and included on their 1968 album “Love Child.”

You know what I’ve been thinking about lately?  KISS, reunion tours & the death of Rock and Roll.

The other day I was minding my own business and losing myself in the fast-paced world of IReports when an animated ad informed me that KISS would be blessing Seattle with its presence in mid-November.  Just so there’s no confusion, I’m not talking about a KISS cover band or a group made up of KISS offspring.  I’m talking about freakin’ KISS.  That’s right, the costumed, hard rock band whose debut album dropped in the year of my birth (1974), is back on the road.  And they aren’t playing the local Indian Casino either.  They’re playing the 16,000 plus seat Key Arena.

Gene, Gene the blood-spitting machine.

I know what you’re thinking.  “Wait.  Aren’t those guys dead?”  Well, not yet.  Their careers were on life support for a little while, but then in ’96 the two founding members – Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons – decided there might be more money in kicking it old school.  So KISS put the make-up back on, reconciled with the two original members they’d kicked out, and started a reunion tour, which apparently has never ended.

And they’re not the only rock stars with graying hair putting on high-priced reunion tours.  In 2008 the list of top grossing tours was overrun by acts whose best work is far, far behind them; Bon Jovi, Bruce Springsteen, Madonna, the Police, Neil Diamond, and the Eagles.

I thought the Eagles hated each other’s guts.  Now they’re on tour ever three years.  Apparently time (and money) heal all wounds.

What’s truly sad isn’t that these musical giants can still pack ‘em in, it’s that lesser acts – the ones you’re too embarrassed to admit you loved as a kid – are still touring.  Just drive by your nearest casino and read the large, animated sign.  You can’t miss it.  It’s the one right next to the highway distracting the drivers who are flying by at 70 mph.

As I cruised past the Emerald Queen Casino sign on I-5 south of Seattle this week I was brought up-to-date on the parade of has-beens that are making their way to the northwest in the next couple months.

Three Dog Night.  Kansas.  Air Supply.  Blue Oyster Cult.

Blue Oyster Cult?  Really?  The only reason anyone under thirty knows who these guys are, is because of a Saturday Night Live sketch.  And if this band didn’t fear the reaper, then why are they still hanging around?

Look, I guess I can’t blame the musicians.  If someone’s willing to pay them to do the thing they love to do, they should cash those checks.  The fact that there’s still an audience for this stuff is what has me scratching my head.  Are there people out there who think it’s really worth paying fifty bucks to hear the silver-haired members of Kansas belt out a subpar rendition of “Carry on Wayward Son”?  I mean, is there really no other way for baby boomers to spend a Saturday evening?

As a musical genre, Rock and Roll will live forever.  It will carry on in some distorted form or another until the cockroaches retake the earth.  But as a cultural concept, Rock and Roll is as dead as Kurt Cobain.  Because at its core, Rock and Roll wasn’t just about music, it was a movement that represented cultural rebellion in the form or sex, drugs, and disenfranchised youth.  It was supposed to titillate teenagers and scare parents.  But when AARP members start leading the charge, the rebellion is clearly over.

Consider this…

Elvis Presley’s pelvis used to scare the shit out of parents and work kids into a frenzy.  Now the song “Viva Las Vegas” is being used to sell boner medication.

The Who used to sing about their “generation” and hoped they’d die before they got old.  Now they’re cashing the checks CBS sends them for licensing their music to the CSI franchise.

Myrtle Beach Rock City!

KISS used to sing songs about banging groupies while trying to find new merchandise to slap their likenesses on.  Okay, they’re basically still doing the same thing.  They just have reality shows and coffee shops to help them push the product.

The only true Rock and Roll icons left are the ones who died before they had a chance to sellout.  But something tells me if Sid Vicious were alive today, he’d be more than happy to play the Lucky Eagle Casino.  Provided, of course, they paid the acts in high-quality heroin.

ANZ LitLovers chose this book for our October discussion because we enjoyed the discomfiting Three Dog Night so much when we read it in 2006.  Peter Goldsworthy is a notable Aussie author, with some great novels to his credit –  not to mention short stories, plays, opera and poetry and a part-time medical practice. (You can see it all on his website , complete with a rather gorgeous broody photo of the man himself.) He’s won a swag of awards and been shortlisted for the Miles Franklin twice, for Maestro (1989) and Three Dog Night (2003). Now Everything I Knew (2008) has been shortlisted for the Prime Minister’s Literary Awards for 2009.  He’s up against some stiff competition (People of the Book, The Pages, Wanting, The Good Parents) but it’s a terrific book, so who knows? (I’m glad I don’t have to choose between them).

The narrative tone of Everything I Knew is just perfect.  The cheeky over-confidence of 13-year old Robbie Burns exiting primary school gives way to more sober adolescent attitudes as his year in 1A goes by. This boy is funny, naive, poignant, insouciant, and resilient in the face of tragedy.  A flawed hero too innocent to be judged?  Well, we shall see what we make of that idea in our reading group discussion.

 The setting is small town Penola S.A., (home of wonderful Coonawarra wines) which (before tourist traffic on the Mary McKillop Trail) had - back in 1964 – only minor fame as the birthplace of poet John Shaw Neilson.  This turns out to be pertinent, for Robbie’s sexy new teacher is very keen on poetry and too young herself to fully understand how it can turn adolescent heads.  Young Robbie is an aspiring writer of science fiction and fantasy, and I think Miss Pamela Peach, teacher of English, history and Latin, has a fantasy of her own about being the mentor of a new author. What are her motivations for her risky interest in this 14-year old?  Is she as naive as she seems?  That’s another question for discussion, indeed.

Kenneth Cook’s horrific Wake in Fright, (1961) recently re-released as a film, showed the devastating effects of alcohol on a young school teacher posted to a menacing small town in outback Australia.    The catastrophe that befalls Miss Peach as a result of her inexperience with booze is of a different order, but no less devastating.  John Grant’s betrayal of his own values makes him accepted amongst the men, but the consequence is that he is trapped among them.  For the delectable Miss Peach it means rejection and expulsion.  40 years later Old Doc Mckenzie still doesn’t ‘understand the fuss’ (p292)  and Robbie still nurtures naive beliefs about her choices (p293), but did she have any?  Did they? Small town conformity wears its mantle lightly in this book: does it represent country life, or an era?

The ingrained racism of the era is lightly sketched too, but it’s powerful.  Billy’s best mate is Aboriginal; ’Possum’ Currie is able to supply the boys with sweet sherry to fuel their adolscent mischief only because ‘an ex-serviceman who fought in Korea  has an exemption from the Blackfellers Act.’ (p55).  Sancho Panza to Robbie’s Don Quixote, Billy is consigned to the academic scrapheap by the end of primary school and in adulthood turns out to fit the stereotype.  Robbie’s I-told-you-so, blame-him-not-my-son mother is a classic example of low expectations breeding contempt at the first opportunity.  She is the least likeable character in the novel, though the boozy old poetry professor and the buffoon Merv Bailey come close.

All the action comes through Robbie’s perspective, so there are limitations on what we know.  He’s not exactly open-minded about his rivals and those who thwart his fantasies.  Jenny, at Jenny’s Reading Blog, is interested both in the plausibility of the plot and the reliability of the narrator.  (Watch out for some spoilers, you can’t discuss plausibility without them.)  Do we believe all that happens?  Does a peppercorn tree really have such dense foliage?  Does it matter?

There is an excellent review of Everything I Knew at Literary Minded, and an interesting interview with Goldsworthy at the East Torrens Messenger which discusses the moral dilemma at the heart of the story.  (I would be very cross indeed if I had read this article prior to reading the book; professional reviewers should be more careful about posting spoiler warnings.)   

PS In astonishing synchronicity, Big Pond Movies  DVD Rental delivered a copy of The Bicycle Thief on the same day that I read about the film in this book.  (Miss Peach shows it on one of her cultural evenings at the school.) It’s an interesting choice of film by Goldsworthy.  Set in impoverished post war Italy in 1948, it tells the story of a family so poor that they have to sell the household linen to get the father’s bike out of hock.  He needs this bike to get a job putting up film posters, but it’s stolen, and the film traces his distraught efforts to get it back,  Along the way it shows the development of a touching relationship between father and son.  It’s a haunting depiction of poverty and a stark contrast to the life of comfort, plenty and space in Everything I Knew.

I’m listening to a live recording of Three Dog Night Captured Live at the Forum in Los Angeles. I first heard this album as a child, I was going through my sisters’ record collection and the cover looked interesting. Between physical attraction to the singers’ pictured on the album’s cover art and being mesmerized by their rendition of Chest Fever I became a fan.

Over the years their music has stuck with me so much so that when Chuck Negron performed solo at my community’s Summer Jubilee I attended, eagerly anticipating hearing Negron perform live. I posted a poorly recorded video captured via digital camera on YouTube and to date it’s received over 3,000 views which comparatively speaking is miniscule yet, something I never considered could happen.

I checked wikipedia for all three former lead singers of Three Dog Night: Cory Wells, Danny Hutton and Chuck Negron and sadly it seems they still haven’t reconciled. What a joy it would be for fans if the band could settle their egos and differences allowing the music to truly heal.

Den här dagen i musikhistorien:

Black & White med  Three Dog Night toppade Billboard Hot 100 listan i tre veckor. (1972)

She Loves You släpptes av The Beatles. (1963)

Marc Bolan (T. Rex) dog i en bilolycka 29 år gammal. (1977)

KISS släppte albumet Asylum. (1985 -)

Don’t Wanna Lose You med Gloria Estefan låg i topp på Billboard Hot 100 listan i en vecka (1989)

Some songs are just happymaking. This one, again, involves my mother and my brother and me — but only two of us in the car this time.

Because initially, when I hear “Joy to the World,” I think of the cassette tape soundtrack of The Big Chill, and its cracked case, and singing along with all the songs as my mom and I drove around town doing errands in our family’s little VWs (the gray one or the black one with the red racing stripe and the auto-reverse tape deck, so swish). I hadn’t even seen the movie, and wouldn’t for several years. And I’m not sure how we came to own the soundtrack. But that was some fine, fine car music. Aretha! The Temptations! The Stones!

And then a little side note creeps in of my mother telling me how Three Dog Night was such a favorite of my brother’s when he was a teenager … and then “One Is the Loneliest Number” gets connected to another Mom-reported favorite of his, “I Am a Rock,” and then I remember the vague worry she expressed about his adolescence even then, ten or fifteen years on, when he’d emerged from it a healthy and productive person.

My family has a whole complicated past that I wasn’t around for, and music is often the way into it for me — or at least the way into imagining it, since the players aren’t always eager to talk.

I thought about all of this in the car this morning, before I realized I was losing precious time. Because I’d forgotten the most important thing: to crank that song and sing along. Joy to you and me!

Did a little more writing today. Wrote notes for three more poems. Basically
I had a creative day and I loved it.
The songs:

“Shambala” by Three Dog Night. : this poem turned cathardic somehow. washing away the
old and welcoming the new.

“Keep Yourself Warm” by Frightened Rabbit. : I can’t remember where I first heard this
song. It was on TV if I remember correctly. But when I heard it I knew that I needed
to write a poem to it. The poem itself was nice to write. Kind of dark for sure.

“You Found Me” by The Fray. : Another song I heard on television. It struck me when I
heard it so I added it to the list. The poem ended quickly. It feels like an old
break-up poem for an ex.

Here’s more of my photography. I hope you enjoy them and please let me know what you think!
If you like any of them and you want to see more go to my DeviantArt page the link is located under ‘Where
I am’ to your right. I don’t have an official photo webpage yet, but when I do I’ll let you know!
If there is an image that you would like to buy please email me at ernst.wonch@gmail.com.

parking.

spokes

We are friends with the Most Annoying Lesbian Couple 2006-2009…for as long as they’ve been together, a whopping 3 years, they have been calling each other nauseating names like ‘lemondrop’  or ’sunshine’ or the absolute worst ‘kitten’, they are so blissful in there bubble of weird that if one of them farts the other thinks its the philharmonic.  They’ve decided to get married HAHAHAHAHA, ladies just because you can do something doesn’t necessairly mean that you should.  A little background on the ladies, one is a dope, she is the stereotypical softball playing, baseball hat wearing, slightly dumpy Birkenstock wearing lesbian, she has a good job and refers to her girlfriend as ‘my gal’.  Her ‘gal’ is less dumpy, has a southern drawl that drops her iq 50 points as soon as she speaks and is an artist, well she tells everyone shes an artist and honestly shes been in some galleries, but being shown in galleries does not a mortgage pay.  She doesnt work so she can create…the dope informed me of the upcoming marriage

“WHY?” I asked horrified

“We decided it would be a good idea, we’ve talked about it before.” she answered unenthusiastically

“Your excitement is contagious.” I observed

I dont think she wants to marry her ‘gal’ but she will.  Her artist fiance will lure her to the alter with her floppy boobs and the promise of a steady lay.

I repeat

HA

HA

Have a wonderful evening

(091:  Lines, out-in-the-country style.  Photo © 2009 by Robin)

The perception of the beautiful is gradual, and not a lightning revelation; it requires not only time, but some study.

~ Giovanni Ruffini

If all is working well and I scheduled these correctly, my blog should be (more or less) publishing itself these days.  I am on holiday for a couple of weeks, but the blog should keep on posting on a daily basis with some new photos.

I hope you all enjoy what’s left of summer.  I know I will be.  I’ll pop in if/when I can, mostly depending on how exhausted I am by the end of the day.

And just for fun:  The music.

I went and thought it would be stupid.  Stupid in that the band members would have lost their voices after 40 years and would play low-energy sets that would leave the audience dry.  I was freakin’ wrong.

Each act gained in intensity.  By the time Mountain came on, I was ready for anything.  And, man, did they deliver.

I was too young in the 60s to enjoy the lifestyle; of which I’m really sorry I missed.  I wouldn’t have gone to the extreme, but ‘oh’ to have had the chance.  I’m all about natural cures, avoiding toxins, eating healthy, eschewing animal consumption.  Peace and love sound good too.  I could have been the ultimate hippie.

So, who was there?  All the lead singers before Mountain played with the same core band (Godfrey Townsend, Greg Smith, Steve Murphy, Manny Focarazzo), , which didn’t decrease the quality at all.  They were excellent.  From first to last:  Joey Molland from Badfinger, Flo and Eddie from The Turtles, Felix Cavalier from The Rascals, Chuck Negron from Three Dog Night, Leslie West and Corky Laing from Mountain with Rev Jones on bass.

A special word about Mountain.  I didn’t recognize the band name (I really was young in the 60s).  And, at first, I didn’t recognize the music.  But, even if every song was new, it didn’t matter.  They’re as appropriate today as they would have been then.  They play a heavy blend of rock and blues that I want for my own.

It was more fun than expected and the best show I’ve ever been to where the average age was 60.  Special props, though to Rev Jones and Greg Smith.  Amazing skills and great f*in energy from dudes who weren’t there.

Chart Position: 7

• Written by Russ Ballard
• Lead vocals: Danny Hutton
• The echo on the ‘Liar’ refrain was captured by recording the vocal in a bathroom
• Originally recorded by Argent (1970)

http://alphainventions.com
http://condron.us

                               Happy Birthday to Kim Alexis
*Kim Alexis born and raised in Lockport, NY, July 15, 1960*
 ”She quickly made her mark in the modeling industry, earning a stint as Revlon spokesperson, doing countless TV and print ads, and gracing the cover of over 500 magazines, not to mention six appearances in the coveted Sports Illustrated swimsuit issues.
More than just a model, Kim parlayed her good looks and bright mind into other opportunities, including broadcast journalism, where she hosted several television shows, and film and TV acting.
As her career has progressed, she’s never lost her love of fitness. In recent years, she’s focused on health and wellness issues for women, specifically by developing several fitness aids.” (www.kimalexis.com)
          —–
What is was Hip…Tell Me, Tell Me, If You Think You Know
(http://crazyfads.com)
*Fads of the 90’s*
Beanies (caps/hats)
Stoner and slacker humor (Beavis and Butthead, Bill and Ted?s Excellent Adventure, etc.)
Discman
Multi-colored silk shirts
Wide leg jeans                          
Radio Disney
Dr. Martens
Oprah’s Book Club
V-Chips (for TVs)
Overalls
Chat Rooms
Girl Power
Car air fresheners
Street Fighter
What would Jesus do?
          —–
Tu-Wiffic Tweetin’
~ClaytonMorris: “Clayton’s Weird Fact: The only two days of the year in which pro-sports are not played are the days before and after the MLB All Star Game.”
~DrewCurtis: “Tweeting while drunk is not a good idea, but it’s cheaper than ebaying while drunk”
          —–
Late Night Humor
(Conan)
~This is a big deal though — President Obama had a private 35-minute meeting at the Vatican with Pope Benedict. That’s right, the man considered by millions of followers to be infallible had a meeting with Pope Benedict.
~Today, many newspapers around the country featured a picture from Italy where it appears President Obama is checking out a woman’s rear-end. Which is surprising because usually the only ass Obama has to keep his eye on is Joe Biden.
~Of course, the president’s in Africa now. CNN’s Anderson Cooper landed an exclusive interview with President Obama in Ghana. So now Obama’s challenge will be to somehow pick Anderson Cooper out of a crowd of Africans.

The Late Show Top Ten
(Dave)
*Top Ten Signs You’re Staying At The Same Hotel As Osama Bin Laden*
 10. He’s registered under the name Osama bin Johnson
  9. Sign on the door reads: do not disturb, infidel pig dog
  8. The predator drone circling above the pool bar
  7. Clumps of camel hair in the jacuzzi
  6. Guy in the room next door keeps shouting, “Death to overpriced minibar snacks!”
 5. Maid leaves a chocolate-covered goat’s eye on your pillow
 4. Main ballroom is booked for the 9th Annual Jihaddy Awards
 3. You get on an empty elevator, but all the buttons are pushed and that’s so bin Laden
 2. You overhear concierge say, “We don’t offer turndown service for your turban”
 1. George W. Bush can’t find the hotel
          —–
Big Music Notes
~1970 No. 1 Billboard Pop Hit: “Mama Told Me Not to Come,” Three Dog Night. The song is written by Randy Newman.
~1967 Jazz saxophonist John Coltrane dies of liver disease at the age of 40. He is posthumously awarded a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1992.
~1963 No. 1 Billboard Pop Hit: “Surf City,” Jan & Dean. The song is co-written by Jan Berry and Beach Boy Brian Wilson.
~1958 Julia Lennon mother of Beatle John, dies in an auto accident

~1944 Millie Jackson is born in Thompson, Ga. She works as a professional model in New York City and makes her singing debut at Club Zanzibar in Hoboken, N.J., in 1964. Her biggest hits are “Ask Me What You Want” and “Hurts So Good.” Both reach the top five on Billboard’s R&B singles chart.

~1980 Linda Ronstadt makes her theater debut in “Pirates of Penzance” in New York.
~1946 Linda Ronstadt is born in Tucson, Ariz., the daughter of German/Mexican parents. Her biggest hit is the No. 1 song “You’re No Good.” She goes on to win Grammys in the pop, country and Mexican/American categories.
          —–
Oh Dude…Word!
~Oyster (N.), a person who sprinkles his conversation with Yiddishisms.
          —–
Going to wrap it up here; don’t want these getting too long and burdensome to read. Have yourself a smooooth ‘n’ jazzy day…

by Michael

Yesterday was my half birthday.  As everyone knows, this means absolutely nothing. For my mom, this is something worth celebrating. (Note:  She never extended this honor to either of my older sisters.) In honor of my half birthday party, let’s listen to songs about partyin’!

“My Party” – Kings of Leon

“(You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party)” – The Beastie Boys

“Not the Same” – Ben Folds (partying gone wrong)

“Mama Told Me Not To Come” – Three Dog Night

“Flannigan’s Ball” – Dropkick Murphys

“Who Likes To Rock the Party” – Flight of the Conchords

“Party Hard,” “It’s Time To Party” and “Party Party Party” – Andrew W.K

We’ll close this with a triple shot from the leading authority on songs about partying, Andrew W.K.

Chart Position: 29

• Originally recorded by Ray Noble and His Orchestra (1933)
• Written by Harry MacGregor Woods, James Campbell and Reginald Connelly
• Lead vocals: Chuck Negron
• Also recorded by Eddy Duchin and His Orchestra (1933),  Bing Crosby (1993), Frank Sinatra (1946), Mel Torme and His Mel-Tones w/Sonny Burke and His Orchestra (1946), Little Miss Cornshucks (1952), Ruth Etting (1933), Jack Webb (1958), Chris Connor w/Ellis Larkins Trio (1954), Toots Thielemans (1961), Aretha Franklin (1962), Percy Sledge (1966), Tennessee Ernie Ford (1966), Nancy Wilson (1966), Soul Flutes (1968), Bobby Taylor & Vancouvers (1968), Otis Redding (1966), Rod Stewart (1988), Jimmy Barnes (1991), Lee Hazelwood – Al Casey Combo (1999), Shirley Bassey (1995), Andrew Strong (1991), Michael Buble (2005), Cat Power (2004) and others

Teresa Solana

Three more authors, as announced in the last MWF e-bulletin:

Teresa Solana & Peter Bush

Husband and wife team, Teresa Solana and Peter Bush will be joining the festival from their home in Barcelona, Spain.

Teresa Solana is a Catalan crime writer of note with several books translated into English. The latest to be translated is A Not So Perfect Crime, a bitingly funny mystery novel with a backdrop of Catalan politics which won the 2007 Brigada 21 Prize. It is the first in a series that will feature twin brothers, Borja and Eduard, as private detectives with a knack for helping the wealthy and powerful with their ‘dirty laundry’. But a dead politician’s wife and the unpleasant stench of adultery stretches even their formidable skills.

A wonderfully ironic hymn to the city of Barcelona.
Diari de Balears

Peter Bush

Peter Bush is a renowned translator of literature from Catalan, French, Spanish and Portuguese and, no surprises, translates his wife’s crime fiction. He has also translated many other eminent writers such as Pedro Almodóvar, Juan Goytisolo, Leonadro Padura, Luis Sepúlveda and Chico Buarque. He edited The Voice of the Turtle, an anthology of Cuban stories. Peter was Professor of Literary Translation at the University of Middlesex and at the University of East Anglia, and has been director of the British Centre for Literary Translation. He is currently Visiting Professor at the University of Málaga, and has served the profession as vice-president of the Fédération Internationale.

Peter Goldsworthy

In Peter Goldsworthy’s latest novel, Everything I Knew, it’s the year 1964, and 14-year-old know-it-all Robbie Burns is about to discover he still has a lot to learn. The world is changing fast, although the news has yet to reach the small South Australian town of Penola. Poetry means the world to Robbie’s new teacher from the city, the stylish Miss Peach, a sixties sophisticate with stirrup pants, Kool cigarettes and a Vespa scooter. Miss Peach’s modern ways prove too much for the good people of Penola, but they fire Robbie’s precocious imagination and burgeoning sexuality, until what begins as a schoolboy fantasy has terrible, real consequences.

One of Australia most admired contemporary novelists, Peter Goldsworthy grew up in various Australian country towns and, after graduating in medicine he worked for many years in alcohol and drug rehabilitation. Since then, he has divided his time equally between writing and general practice. He has won major literary awards across a range of genres: poetry, short story, the novel, in opera and most recently in theatre. His previous novel Three Dog Night won the FAW Christina Stead Award and he wrote the libretti for the Richard Mills operas Summer of the Seventeenth Doll and Batavia. Five of his novels are currently in development as movies, and two more for the stage.

Episodes of the most uproarious bedroom farce in Australian fiction and of individual tragedy. That he manages to move so surely between these modes is one of Goldsworthy’s triumphs.
Peter Pierce, The Sydney Morning Herald.

  I love a lot of things about this festival.  It is family friendly and, for those you that are in high school, this is the place to go. The social event of the year as one young man called it.  A place where families cane be together. Riverbend is just that, following along the walking path beside the river in the area of the Aquarium and the Imax. The Southern Bell (http://www.chattanoogariverboat.com/www/docs/3.36) of course is running with an average of 6 cruises a day, the last one ending with dinner from 7:00 – 9:30 just in time to see the Headline band. That to me would be the perfect end to the perfect day.

Before we think about the end of the day we should enjoy the stages and the fun of the over all festival.  It is a long walk from one end of the festival to the other. Being a unique festival is a theme carried out even to the stages. The most unique stage designed is under an over pass, where we saw the Bowmans Sing. Fortunately the stages are far enough apart that they don’t compete with each other. On one stage you might have a little folk / rock and the other a little Be Bop. Along the path are sand castles in tribute to the artist who have played or are going to play. Here we see Willie Nelson. (This will change daily so keep looking.)  Along the way we found the Market place which is always my favorite place to be.  Hand crafted or unique items for sale. There I meet Thomas Osborne.www.africator.com A painter who was born just down the road who moved and taught in Ohio.  When he retired from teaching I guess Tennessee called his name so he moved back and you can see his acrylic paintings of Chattanooga and surrounding area.  Moving further down the path we find the Army, Navy and I haven’t seen the Marines yet but I am sure they are here.  Do you want to know what it is like to fly a helicopter you can try the simulator, or maybe flying with the Blue Angle is more for you.  You can also try that in a simulator. One of the most interesting things about this event is that it is a combination of festival a product fair.  Your ticket in gives you access to try new products all up and done the path. Thinking about trying Gillette Fusion Power Razor.  Here is your chance to get a free shave.  It’s not just music, craft and music vendors, it is a chance to try or experience things you wouldn’t other wise have a chance to see. The kid zone is no exception.  Along with the games, rides and prizes, and face painting, you can visit the Oscar Meyer Luncable table.  Which is a great idea.  Most children don’t care for food on a stick unless it is a candied apple.

Well the sun is going down and I am ready for the Train to roll in to Chattanooga. (You know they have to get tired of that.)  I love that classic Zeppelin crazy rock and The Train delivered.  If you have doubts about having a good time because you cannot see the stage, no worries.  The have brought the Tram to new height. Of course this festival has been going on since 1981 and they have plenty of experience bring good music and fun to families. All those who are young and single a chance to meet friends and hear some of the greatest music there is.    Yesterday I heard great music saw the Southern Bell (http://www.chattanoogariverboat.com/www/docs/3.36), Took a tour of Texas @ http://www.traveltex.com/texasontour. Yes I did.  I can see a bike trip in my future. Come with me to see what today will bring.

Jayne

I forgot to give a big shout out to the Soddy Daisy High School Band Soddy Daisy High School Band  officially opened the River Bend Festival by marching thru the main gate at Chestnut and Second Streets on Friday at 4:30 p.m. Then like all good bands they marched down Chestnut Street and up Riverfront Parkway all the way to the Unum Stage. Where the band was scheduled to perform on the Unum Stage at 6:30 p.m. I missed the grand entrance. Not intentional but late.

Congratulations S.D.H.B.on your invite to participate in the 120^th Tournament Roses of Parade. I know it to a lot of hard work and dedication on the part of the band and the parents to even be considered. If you would like to help one of our Tennessee High School Bands go to the 120^th Tournament Roses of Parade donate to: www.sdhsband.org

Besides we need to help Soddy Daisy to keep producing such local Favorite Bands such as Stone Line www.myspace.com/stoneline