Author: Renfield

I’d forgotten all about this song; it popped up on my YouTube home page.  It must have gotten some decent airplay in the day, or I wouldn’t likely have heard it.  It wasn’t as big as Little Willy, Ballroom Blitz, FOTR or LILO, but it might be as good as any of them.  Although it gets a little busy in places, it has a great hook in the chorus.  Verses are strong as well.  I’m wondering if John Lydon got his Anarchy in the U.K. snigger from the opening.

You’ve all probably heard this, but you may not have seen this genuinely creepy video.

I’ve been here five hours, made six bad decisions …
I’ve been kicked out of Sweden, I’ve been busted in Spain
And New York I don’t care to discuss
But the things that I find fit to do in this town
Would turn my poor mammy to dust

Pretty much. The soul of this town was created early on by riverboat workers and whores. It can be repressed here and there, but it’s always lurking somewhere. You can hear it in everything from Sun rockabilly to Big Star 3rd.

We have a right to know.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tsvUPxGg-QQ

… but maybe not lately.

The Grateful Dead’s Legacy of Awful Music

A good summary of the anti-Dead perspective.

On a personal note:  back in the 80’s I found myself in a short,  ill-advised relationship with a neo-hippie chick.  Because I will listen to anything once, I allowed myself to be subjected to a fair cross-section of their live and studio recordings.  What I heard was not one, but TWO drummers who couldn’t keep time (where else but in 60’s San Francisco could two such creatures be found?), a bass player who aimlessly noodles when he should be anchoring the song, meandering guitar solos (see article for a good description of those), silly-sounding harmonies, and songs that were either watered down country–country without the requisite redneck element–or jazz without the requisite improvisational talent.  In short, to my ears, they couldn’t play, sing, or write.  Other than that, great band.

And while it’s true that I was prejudiced because I hate jam bands, it’s also true that I at least respect ones who can play.  I never liked the Allman Bros., but I’m forced to admit their musicianship was top-notch.  Hell, Duane Allman even worked as a session guy in Muscle Shoals.  I believe Jerry Garcia would have been laughed out of the room.

I’m pretty sure this was the Walker Brothers’ biggest US hit, maybe their only one.  Catchy chorus.  I heard this quite a bit growing up.

They’d bettter not fuck this up.

I almost want to be single again, just so I can ask a woman for her phone number and watch her expression as I enter it into my data-bank/calculator watch.

This might be your ticket.  Best comment: “that lady is actually 5 inches tall.”