August 30, 2018June 5, 2019 // 8 Comments

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.

August 29, 2018 // 6 Comments

Johnny’s Dead

Johnny Thunders: Thy Will Be Done

The Death of Johnny Thunders

by Bob Mehr

The guy who wrote the Replacements Book.

Free Registration Required, but woith it.

August 28, 2018August 28, 2018 // 1 Comment

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.

August 21, 2018June 5, 2019 // 2 Comments

Still The Greatest Obituary Ever

Written by his (then) 18-year-old daughter.

Maybe you guys saw this a few years ago when it made the rounds on social media. My favorite joke in the whole thing is the one in the first sentence – I missed it the first time around.

August 20, 2018June 5, 2019 // 3 Comments

Al Jaffee At 95

Inventor of the Fold-In, creator of Snappy Answers to Stupid Questions. Still sharp as a tack.

This Snappy Answers to Stupid Questions is a classic.