On June 12, 1970, Dock Ellis threw a no-hitter for the Pittsburgh Pirates. In 136 years of baseball history, only 276 no-hitters have been recorded. Dock is the only pitcher to ever claim he accomplished his while high on LSD.
Sex Pistols At Winterland
Recorded January 14, 1978, at the Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco, CA.
Setlist:
0:00:00 – God Save The Queen
0:04:13 – I Wanna Be Me
0:08:19 – I’m A Lazy Sod
0:10:42 – New York
0:14:25 – EMI
0:18:09 – Belsen Was A Gas
0:20:22 – Bodies
0:25:15 – Holidays In The Sun
0:29:19 – Liar
0:34:15 – No Feelings
0:37:18 – Problems
0:41:56 – Pretty Vacant
0:45:14 – Anarchy In The UK
0:49:00 – No Fun
The Winterland Ballroom, originally called the New Dreamland Auditorium, opened on June 29, 1928. It initially served as a venue for boxing, opera, and tennis matches, but sometime in the late 1930s, it began to be used as an ice skating rink too – hence the name change.
In 1966, world-renowned asshole Bill Graham began renting the 37,675 square foot space for the rock ‘n’ roll, and it hosted concerts by artists including Bruce Springsteen, The Rolling Stones, The J. Geils Band, The Who, Queen, Slade, Boston, Cream, Yes, Kiss, The Doors, Jimi Hendrix, Steppenwolf, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Styx, Van Morrison, The Allman Brothers Band, Big Brother and the Holding Company with Janis Joplin, Jethro Tull, Pink Floyd, Ten Years After, Rush, Electric Light Orchestra, Genesis, Jefferson Airplane, Traffic, Golden Earring, Grand Funk Railroad, Humble Pie, Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band, Robin Trower, Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Loggins and Messina, Lee Michaels, Heart, Journey, Deep Purple, J.J. Cale, Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention, Foghat, Mountain, B.B. King, Elvis Costello, and the incomparable Sha Na Na.
Legal capacity was 5,400 souls, so the Winterland was decent-sized but cozy. It was where Zeppelin first performed “Whole Lotta Love,” Scorsese shot The Last Waltz, and parts of “Frampton Comes Alive” were recorded.
Unfortunately, it also served as a sort of home base for The Grateful Dead, so it had to be torn down. Okay, not really. It was purchased by Consolidated Capitol Inc in 1978, demolished in 1985, and replaced with apartments.
The Public Image Is Rotten
Thanks to Renfield for the heads-up on this documentary. I would love to see it in the theater but it’s not looking likely.
After the breakup of the Sex Pistols, John Lydon / Johnny Rotten, formed Public Image Ltd (PiL)– his groundbreaking band which has lived on nearly 15 times as long as his first one. He kept the band alive ever since, through personnel and stylistic changes, fighting to constantly reinvent new ways of approaching music, while adhering to radical ideals of artistic integrity. John Lydon has not only redefined music, but also the true meaning of originality.
Former and current bandmates, as well as fellow icons like Flea, Ad-Rock and Thurston Moore, add testimony to electrifying archival footage (including stills and audio from the infamous Ritz Show). With his trademark acerbic wit and unpredictable candor, Lydon offers a behind-the-scenes look at one of music’s most influential and controversial careers.
Mike Judge Presents: Tales From The Tour Bus
I think I need Cinemax.
https://youtu.be/Jy8_Ge1RZVU
It’s Just Not Labor Day Weekend Without Jerry
So here’s some highlights from the 1976 MDA Telethon, including Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, and Buddy Rich.
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Is Rock Becoming The New Jazz?
It’s an interesting question, although Rick Beato’s rambling and boring video is more a diatribe against artists who don’t allow their videos on YouTube.
I say rock is obviously becoming the new jazz. it’s still valid, of course. (I’m sure y’all have seen the deluge of clickbait articles the last few years announcing rock’s imminent death.) I mean, yes, it had its moment in the spotlight as the dominant form of popular music – a nice, long run – just as jazz did before it. But it’s not going anywhere.
Rock has taken a backseat as niche music now, and I’m okay with that. I’m curious to know what you guys think.
The Short-Timers
This novel was the source text of Kubrick’s Full Metal Jacket. It follows the career of the sardonic narrator from the organized sadism of Marine basic training to an assignment as a combat reporter in Vietnam to his experiences as a platoon commander after the Tet offensive, portraying the descent into barbarism that marked America’s intervention in Vietnam.
The Short-Timers has been out of print for a while, so used paperbacks are going for as much as $430.00 on Amazon (the cheapest is a mass market paperback for about $46.00). Luckily, the author’s family made it available for free as a PDF. There are some typos, but it’s a fair trade. Read the first sentence and you won’t be able to put it down.
The Short Timers (This is the PDF.)
I did a little research on Hasford, as is my want. Although he sounds foreign, he was an Alabama boy. Sadly, he got into some trouble for stealing books from several libraries. Like, $20,000 worth of books, and died broke off the coast of Greece from untreated diabetes. 45 is way too young.
The Sex Pistols Story In 10 Minutes
Steve Jones is the uncle I could listen to all day. If I remember correctly, these videos were to help promote Lonely Boy: Tales from a Sex Pistol, his book from last February.
BONUS! The Great Rock ‘n’ Roll Swindle and after.