http://www.rockhall.com/
One of my all time favorite bands, Lynyrd Skynyrd*, will be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as part of the class of 2006. This is a long overdue honor. Skynyrd set the gold standard not only for southern rock but for rock in general. Two of my least favorite Skynyrd songs are probably the two everyone knows: Sweet Home Alabama & Free Bird (if I leave here tomorrow...). I've always been partial to their lesser known songs and especially the Gimme Back My Bullets album.
While it's widely acknowledged that Gary Rossington & Allen Collins were great guitarists, lead singer Ronnie Van Zant never got a whole lot of attention as a songwriter, yet it was the lyrics that hooked me. Skynyrd's reputation was that of hard-drinking, hard partying wild Southern boys, but alot of their songs were about such weighty topics as gun control (Saturday Night Special), the enviroment (All I Can Do Is Write About It), anti-drug (Needle & The Spoon, That Smell) -- not your typical "redneck" fare. I liked that the songs had a message but not delievered in a preachy way.
I'm glad to see that the Rock Hall is finally acknowledging their contributions.
Simple Man
(gary rossington - ronnie vanzant)
Mama told me when I was young
Come sit beside me, my only son
And listen closely to what I say.
And if you do this
It will help you some sunny day.
Take your time... don’t live too fast,
Troubles will come and they will pass.
Go find a woman and you’ll find love,
And don’t forget son,
There is someone up above.
(chorus)
And be a simple kind of man.
Be something you love and understand.
Be a simple kind of man.
Won’t you do this for me son,
If you can?
Forget your lust for the rich man’s gold
All that you need is in your soul,
And you can do this if you try.
All that I want for you my son,
Is to be satisfied.
(chorus)
Boy, don’t you worry... you’ll find yourself.
Follow you heart and nothing else.
And you can do this if you try.
All I want for you my son,
Is to be satisfied.
* I am totally referring to the original Lynyrd Skynyrd, not the re-incarnated version.
Saw this over on the Blacklist at Black Table & had to share.
http://www.blacktable.com/blacklist051123.htm
LITEFM JUMPING THE GUN ON CHRISTMAS MUSIC: Bill Buchner. Valerie Smaldone. Christine Nagy. Karen Carson. These are just a few of the DJs on suicide watch now that 106.7 decided to play All-Christmas-All-The-Time (the famed ACATT format). Usually in this market, such a move means your station is hopelessly lost in a sea of failed formats (see WNEW/FM Talk 102.7/Blink 102.7/Mix 102.7) or it's exactly 10 seconds after Thanksgiving. This year, however, Lite FM has decided to torment DJs, listeners and dental office employees alike by switching to holiday melancholia not on Black Friday and not in December, but LAST WEEK. That's right, more than a month of solid Christmas with nary a note of "Christmas in Hollis," "Father Christmas (Give Us Some Money)" or that Christmas song Slade did when they were drunk. Call me a humbug, but I'm going to guess that somewhere in the second week of December, some poor store clerk who's been subjected to nearly 168 plays of Whitney Houston's overreaching "Do You Hear What I Hear?" is going to snatch up a customer in a Ultimate Fighting-style guillotine choke and not let go until the station's programmers start playing All 4 One's "I Can Love You Like That" again. This stuff may pass as easy listening now, but it's going to be damn hard not to turn the dial after Satan-incarnate Andy Williams starts in on "Most Wonderful Time of the Year." May satellite radio steal all the presents from under Clear Channel's tree this year: F -- Jason Notte
have i shown you pictures of my house (& couch and bed) mates?
honi is the black & white one, who is as sweet as her name.
the gray striped one is tiger and he can be such a beast. but really deep down? he's just a big ole furry ball of love.
Everyone has their Thanksgiving traditions; this one is mine. At some point today I'll be listening to Arlo Guthrie and the saga of Alice's Restaurant.
Happy Thanksgiving internet!
You can get anything you want, at Alice's Restaurant
You can get anything you want, at Alice's Restaurant
Walk right in it's around the back
Just a half a mile from the railroad track
You can get anything you want, at Alice's Restaurant
is there anything sexier than a man (especially a good looking one) with a southern accent?
This Monday marks the 5th anniversary of my fathers death. Instead of writing about how sad I am (I am) and how much I miss him (so much) I want to celebrate his life. Write about what a remarkable man he was. Remarkable in the sense that he did everything to make sure his family was taken care of and loved day in and day out, and put their needs ahead of his own. Remarkable that in addition to working 2 jobs, he made time to volunteer and give back to his community. Remarkable that if something or someone needed anything, my dad was there. He never hesitated to help out, he always believed that it was your obligation as a human being to help another human being. Remarkable that a man who was neither rich or famous could touch so many lives in a positive way.
Today's post was going to be about how much I hated the movie "ET" but I just received an email about something that disturbs me even more than that stupid ET voice.
I am a HUGE Todd Rundgren fan and have been for a long time. That being said, there has been some stuff of Todd's that I'm not such a big fan of (Power Trio anyone?) And guess what? If I don't like it, I don't buy the music, or see the tour. Simple as that. But apparently some people don't grasp this concept. This is his reply to those were not happy to hear about the "New Cars" band he'll be recording/touring with.
Todd's message on the "New Cars"
For the screamers:
Now that the cat is out of the bag, or rather 'car is out of the garage', I should address the issues I would have dealt with had someone given me a heads up before we went public.
There is a new cadre of 'fan' who has taken to constant second guessing of my motives and decisions. Their responses are usually Cassandraesque, rife with predictions of career death and loss of core audience. If results are not to their satisfaction, they threaten... what? To actively campaign against playing my music on the radio?
Here are the facts. I don't know what kind of job you have, but I imagine that if you want to keep it you have to adapt to changes in your job description and to changes in the job market itself. And I don't know if you've heard, but musicians have notoriously brief careers. You can't do the job well on a part time basis, so you had better make a living at it. And if you want to keep the job, you better take advantage of whatever opportunities you have to work.
You would have thought that 2004 was a big year for me careerwise, and in many ways it was. But the effort to bring the tour to the widest audience was not a profitable venture and I am still paying it off today. You would have thought that 2005 has been a nearly disasterous followup, and in some ways it has. But I erased the debts of last year, got caught up on my taxes and even vacationed for a couple weeks. Oh yeah, and I supported my family.
So now an opportunity has arisen for me to pay my bills, play to a larger audience, work with musicians I know and like, and ideally have some fun for a year. The catch is, a lot of people have been counting on something else. Let's make this clear: the possibility of a Utopia reunion of any kind has always been extremely remote. We disbanded for specific reasons that a previous reunion attempt only exacerbated. Despite whatever enjoyment we got from playing the music for our fans, the reformation left a sour taste. It would be ludicrous to Spinal Tap our way through a tour so fans could be satisfied that we simply showed up on the same stage. That's a redefinition of Utopia I can't personally handle. No 'magic date' is so magical that it can transform such an ingrained relationship. It's not happening and we'll all have to live with it.
The rest of the equation is obvious. I can take out a band of my own and slide inexorably into debt, or I can go out solo and take my chances. Except that's no choice. Most of my recent material doesn't translate to the accoustic guitar (let alone piano), so the act has become stale to the point that I won't accept any more gig offers for solo shows.
So you see, if someone gives you an opportunity to make a good living for a year without violating your musical ethics (or HAVING to play Beatle songs), and throws in the ability to retain your own identity and perform your own material and possibly create new fans, well, what choice do you have, really? The schedule even gives me plenty of time to record a new solo project, so what's the problem? If my working musician's decision offends you, start calling the DJs and beg them to stop playing all that TR music that's in such heavy rotation. Otherwise, me and Kas and Prairie and Elliot and Greg will be playing parts of the country we'd never get to otherwise, and hope to see you all there when we do.
While it's cool that Todd even bothered to address the "screamers" it pissed me off that he even felt he had to. How could someone critize Todd for doing whatever he has to? or wants to for that matter? People act like Todd should be held to a higher standard. I love how the part where he says:
If results are not to their satisfaction, they threaten... what? To actively campaign against playing my music on the radio?
Quite the sense of humor, no? Listen up people. Leave Todd along. Go get a life. Go watch ET.
That's me with the sweet-est and best-est niece & nephew in the world!!
So I'm back at work which totally sucks. Cause really? All I want to do is lay on my couch and poop. Well poop & then lay on the couch. My innards are still all screwed up and it's ruining my life. What amazes me is my food intake is so minimal at this point but that doesnt seem to make any difference in the amount of output. Whoever told me I was full of shit was apparently correct. Seriously, I'm really scared of being away from a bathroom for more than a 1/2 hour or so. And this? Is creating havoc with having any kind of a social life. And speaking of social life, now the BF is having "the gang" over for dinner on Sun. & hasn't invited me? Hmm....
Back to the couch. So after a long day of work and then some pooping all I want to do is hit the couch and watch my current obssession, the first season of "Lost". I'm halfway through, now I see what the fuss is all about!! My one problem with the show? Matthew Fox character name -- how can I not think of him as Charlie Salinger? So whenever they address him as "Jack" I'm all like ??? and then there is a Charlie which just adds to my confusion. And the when Charlie & Jack are in the cave together? Forget about it!!
Rodriguez gets a $1 million bonus for winning the MVP
During the last week or so of the season there was a huge debate raging: who was more deserving of the AL MVP -- A Rod (.321 with 48 homers and 130 RBIs) or Big Papi ( .300 with 47 homers and a 148 RBIs). Since both players put up fantabulous #'s the debate centered whether A Rod was more deserving of the MVP since he produced on offense AND defense, whereas Ortiz was the DH & didnt contribute in the field. The award was announced today with a victory by A Rod.
But that's not what this post is about really -- what's its about is he gets a MILLION DOLLAR bonus for winning the award. Hello! People! Like he's not getting amply rewarded for doing his job already? That's why he's making all that money, because he can put up those kind of #'s. This is not George's doing, George does not believe in giving incentive bonuses because he's giving them enough money in the first place.
Believe it or not the same thing happens here at the TCTPMS. Sales people get BONUSES for reaching their sales goals. In essence, they get a bonus for doing what they are paid to do in the first place. Yeah I get a bonus for doing my job - it's called keeping my job.
To honor Neil Young's 60th Birthday here's my top 10 favorite NY songs (in no particular order)
1. Sugar Mountain
2. Harvest
3. Needle & The Damage Done
4. Everybody Knows This is Nowhere
5. Down by the River
6. Walk On
7. Four Strong Winds
8. Don't Be Denied
9. Don't Let It Bring You Down
10. Birds
I'm a General Hospital-aholic. Yes, there I said it. Loud & proud. GH & I were born in the same month, in the same year, although we didn't become acquainted until the mid-70's -- before the whole Luke & Laura craze.
The lust! The intrigue! The drama! Through the good (Frisco & Felicia, Robert & Anna, Ned & Lois, Carly) the bad (Ice Princess, Brenda & Miguel, Brenda & Sonny, Brenda & Jax), the incredibly sad (BJ dying, Robin & Stone), the funny (Lucy & Sigmund) and the incredibly stupid (the entire PCPD), I've been there day after day. Month after month, year after year.
My recovery is going well -- I'm referring to the recovery from my sisters visit. I'm not going to bore you with all the gory details -- again I'm referring to my sisters visit, not the actual surgery. The surgery itself was uneventful, and I'm feeling fine, thanks for asking. As it turned out I didn't have to spend the night in the hospital, for that I'm very grateful. And I'm also grateful to all my friends for checking up on me (including the BF). I'm even grateful to my sister, WHO I WOULDN'T TRUST TAKING CARE OF A PLANT, MUCH LESS SOMEONE JUST RELEASED FROM THE HOSPITAL, for making the effort (AS MISGUIDED AS THAT EFFORT WAS).
When you volunteer (and I stress volunteer) to take care of your sister after she's had surgery involving general anethesia and sharp pointy instruments inserted her body please consider the following do's & don't's:
DO offer to hold her bag upon leaving the hospital
DO help her into the cab instead of jumping in before her
DO NOT crititize your sisters house/lifestyle/choice of tv show/cats or ANYTHING.
DO NOT expect her to want to go to a restaurant upon arriving home
DO get out of bed the next morning, go the pharmacy to get the antibotics she needs
DO NOT ask her if she needs you to do something after she's come back from the pharmacy with the antibotics (and the milk).
DO get off your ass and offer to make her a cup of tea.
DO leave. Understand your sister has to rest and is not able to do so with you in her house critizing EVERYTHING.
between not feeling well & not having anything to do at work each day has just d r a g g e d o n. every minute goes on for about an hour and is pure torture.
my surgery is all set for monday. i'm not really nervous about the actual surgery just the general incomptence of the people in the health care industry. yest. one woman from the hospital called & gave me one set of instructions and today a different woman called, with a totally different set of instructions. now i'm a smart cookie so i ask lots of questions and dont stop until i feel like i have all the info. but what happens to those who are elderly or really sick and don't have the werewithall to get to the bottom of things?
i consider myself a very independent person, i don't like to rely on other people for anything (since they usually dissappoint anyhow). that being said, it would be nice if someone, besides the girls at work and LB, actually asked if they could do anything for me. ok, in all fairness, one of my sisters has volunteered to take me home from the hospital so she's not in the doghouse. but my other sister? my best friend? yes i'm being all brave and nonchalant and shit but you should know me better than that. my supposed best friend? could you have changed the subject any faster when i told you i was going into the hospital? and my sis? acts like she can't be bothered -- and i haven't even asked for anything other than a sympathetic ear.
on a totally different note, i took today's quiet time to finish "under the banner of heaven". i originally picked it up 'cause i like true crime stuff -- (stranger beside me-ann rule, search for the green river killer-carlton smith, fatal vision-joel mcginness to name some of the best ones) -- but it was really the religion aspect of the book that got me. i didn't know really anything about mormonism so this view into the religion was totally fascinating. and scary. very scary. did you ever notice in how most religions it's the men that run things, dictate how things should be and the woman are just servants? if not worse?
it's supposed to be a beautiful sunny warm blue sky kind of late autumn weekend here in the big apple. the marathoners are carbing up, the leaves are finally changing. if you can get out and enjoy. and if you can't ... don't feel bad my life sucks too!
I still feel like shit but my blog looks awesome!! BIG BIG thanks to Maddie at Girliebits for the excellent job. She knew just what I wanted, even if I didn't!!
If you're looking to snazz up your space she's is so your girl.
When I was 7, I had to have my tonsils out. I don't recall being in the hospital, I just remember all the attention and special treatment I got from my family. There were two things in particular I remember: my sisters made me a "Barbie" closet and gave me all their Barbies & clothes in a special case. Considering my sisters at that time were 14 & 11, Barbies weren't a big priority for them anymore but for me it was like SCORE! And then there's Squeaky. Squeaky was a cute little brown teddy bear that, when you squeezed his tummy, squeaked. I slept with that bear pretty much every night until I moved in with my boyfriend. And even then Squeaky was never to far away. To this very day, Squeaky, with his tired body -- scarred by the various operations performed by Dr. Mom -- sits atop of my armoire watching out for me.
