I’ll make the usual excuses re: no blogging, and the excuses are true. Too busy, etc. I’ve also suffered from a type of blogging malaise lately where I wonder why I’m even doing this. I read over some old posts though and reminded myself that my original reason for doing this is just to keep an on-line journal….and I still want to do that. If I didn’t want any interaction, though, I could just keep a journal as a word document. That’s not the case – I like the comments and feedback.
Although I didn’t blog for awhile, I kept making little notes about things I would post, if I ever got around to it. So, here is my compilation for the last two to three weeks:
Lou Gramm is the former lead singer of
Foreigner. A billboard announcing his headlining status at this year’s Smoke On The Water festival in Pine Bluff had been prominent in Monticello for the past several weeks. I like Foreigner okay, even though their name got tossed around with Journey, REO Speedwagon, etc as the type of soulless corporate rock popular in the late 70’s and early 80’s. Valid criticism, I guess, but I still listened to them and went to see them around 1981 or so in Jackson, Miss. I usually go see classic rock bands when they are nearby. This concert was on a Saturday night and admission was a whopping ten bucks. This time, I wasn’t even “older guy who goes to concerts alone” – my wife was a Foreigner fan and she wanted to go, too.
First things first, the billboard in Monticello had a large photo of Lou circa 1978 or so. When Lou came out in Pine Bluff, it was immediately apparent that the years had not been so kind to Lou. He had gained a lot of weight, too. My description to my wife (who looked horrified when he came out) was that it looked like Jennings Osbourne was fronting a rock band.
Musically, it was hit-or-miss. Foreigner actually had a LOT of hits. Some songs sounded great and were faithful to their recorded versions. Other songs suffered – particularly those where the key had been changed because Lou couldn’t hit the upper notes so well. (According to some research I did, Lou went through brain surgery a few years ago, which may account for some of his apparent physical problems). Two of the guys in the band are Lou’s brothers. Unusually, the bassist and lead guitarist occasionally switched instruments; when this happened, the music suffered noticeably.
All in all, merely an okay show. One last thing: Lou had a solo hit in the mid-80’s called “Midnight Blue.” I never thought much of the song; I thought it was too “poppy” and didn’t rock hard enough. However, when I saw R.E.M. in Little Rock around 1985 or so, they covered the song and said it was a great song! Oh, well. (They covered Aerosmith’s “Toys In The Attic”, too.)
Weezer’s “Beverly Hills” – definitely not my favorite Weezer song, but my kids like it. The reason I find it notable, though, is because of my fondness for Billboard chart trivia. This song just inched its way into Billboard’s Top 10 singles this week – Weezer’s only top ten single to date. Not that big a deal in and of itself, but it went top 10 in its 26th week! It took HALF A YEAR, but this little-song-that-could kept climbing. Admirable.
Disturbed’s new album debuted at #1 on the album charts this week. It is the 666th #1 album of the rock era. Had to be a metal band!
I continue to despise
3 Doors Down and
Nickelback.
Switchfoot may be joining the list.
WinMX, a popular file sharing site, shut down after reportedly getting a cease and desist letter from the RIAA.
Rolling Stones – I wasn’t going to go see the Stones in LR this time around; I’ve seen them once before. I like the Stones, but I’m not fanatical about them. However, even though the concert is not until next March, I got notice this week that I will be required to attend a work-related seminar in Little Rock on the day of the concert. Can’t fight fate. I guess I will pony up $100.00 for one of the “cheap seats” in the back of the arena. Opening act not yet announced. It could be Merle Haggard and that would be great. It could also be Alanis Morrissette, Jason Mraz, or the Black Eyed Peas. That would NOT be great.
Two singles I currently like:
Avenged Sevenfold’s “Bat Country” ( the singer sounds a lot like Mike Patton of Faith No More) and
HIM’s “Wings Of A Butterfly” (goth rock lives!). I’m listening to more country music these days than usual because, frankly, a lot of the country songs that are out right now are more interesting musically than what’s on pop radio.
Mike Myers as
Keith Moon in a film biography? I don’t see it.
I saw a
Neil Young video on MTV the other morning – unusual because (a) it was Neil Young on MTV and (b) MTV was actually playing a video. The video was a clip of Neil singing Fats Domino’s “Walking To New Orleans”, apparently taken from the hurricane benefit show (that I didn’t see). It was a touching video.
Neil recently suffered from a brain aneurysm. My sister-in-law is currently going through the same thing. She is the mother of two of my bandmates / nephews from
Midnite Sun. She gave us quite a scare last week, but, thanks to the folks with the ambulance service, Ashley Memorial Hospital, and UAMS, she seems to be recovering nicely. (This was a major factor in my lack of recent postings, by the way)
Last night, I came to the conclusion that
“Desperate Housewives” is no longer “must see” for me. My wife has not, however, reached that conclusion.
This should make you laugh: My wife was involved in a minor fender bender with a
Fed Ex truck sometime back. It was entirely the fault of the Fed Ex driver, but it took us awhile to reach an agreement on the damage to Carrie’s car. Get this, though: when we finally reached an agreement and they sent all the appropriate documentation, etc,
Fed EX sent the settlement packet via
UPS!
I continue to experience vehicle woes – lately, it seems that I get something repaired only to have something else go wrong. I’m very stubborn regarding vehicles, though – I like to drive them until they fall apart.
Class Reunion – I did dj duty for a
“Class of ’75” the other night. I think I’ve mentioned before that I prefer 20- and 30- year reunions to 10- year reunions because the older folks tend to be less reserved and less conscious about who has prospered and who hasn’t. This reunion was no exception. It started out slowly, but after several of them formed a circle and appeared to pass a tequila bottle, it quickly turned into a party! There was some unpleasantness between the
Deep Purple/ Pink Floyd crowd vs the
James Brown/ electric slide crowd as to what we should be playing, but we ultimately found common ground in old
Motown songs – I was a little surprised by this; most of those songs date from the mid- to late 60’s. These folks would have been in grade school or junior high then. Also, not that she’ll read this, but my apologies to the person who kept insisting that we play
Rascal Flatt’s new song “Skin (Sarabeth).” I never played it. Yes, it is a sweet and touching song, but it is also a (a) waltz! and (b) is a song about a teenager with cancer! My assessment was that that song would be a party killer. She didn’t take kindly to my suggestion that she get in her truck and tune in to a country station and that she would hear it in 15 minutes or so…..sorry…..I said it politely....
Maybe this “little” posting gets me out of blog purgatory for now?
