My 900th post??!!

Yeezus. If you count the 225 posts I wrote at my old vanished website at the end of 2008 and through most of 2009, this is my 900th post since I started doing this stuff a little over eight years ago.
I'm averaging about two posts a week since I started doing this. That's surprising enough, considering the long gaps and breaks I've taken over the last few years. But I'm still here.
And though I'm more into it now than I have been in awhile -- it's still the gift that keeps on giving -- what I'm mainly thinking about lately is how many bloggers are no longer posting.
Check out that list of "Followers" down at the lower right. Except for one, every single one of those people has "retired" from blogging, moved on with their lives, have stopped talking, or maybe have moved to Facebook full-time. This bugs me, because I like to read about how people feel about things, how music fits into their daily lives -- I like knowing I'm Not The Only One, sometimes.
My buddy Crabby is still crankin' em out, Ghod bless him. He threatens to pack it in occasionally, but he keeps going despite his disgust with current music ... and almost everything else.
2000 Man has been busy with other things and posts every few months or so, which I think is a loss to music-blog fans.
But everybody else has disappeared. Gardenhead was off writing novels, last I heard. Rastro has vanished without a trace. Groove Sandwich went off to be a gigging musician. Layla/Barbara was blogging about things other than Classic Rock for awhile. Vegas Linda Lou has officially retired, though she may still be doing her standup comedy act -- she urged me to publish my first memoir through Amazon/Kindle. Lex Dexter was depressed a couple years back, then went quiet. Drew seems to have a happy family life.
And there are others who've been and gone. I miss them. If I could find someone to replace them, I'd let you know.
The Girlfriend started writing a blog back in December. I think she does good, but if politics and current issues isn't your thing ... well, she hasn't written about music yet. The best music blog I've found lately stopped posting in 2010.
This is all probably normal. Blogging is so 2007. But hey, I'd like to read more good new folks. I just can't find them.
Plus lately I've been a little more ... uh ... politically involved than usual.
Anyway, thanks for your support. I've got more planned -- more Prog reports as I continue slowly to try to get that Strange Music Guide finished. I actually did an hour's worth of work on the book yesterday....
And for tomorrow, I plan to play at least a couple hours of totally new-to-me Strange Music. This Sunday no-coffee reviewing thing is still working for me.
Thanks again to my son for giving me the best Christmas present ever. He got this thing rolling more than nine years ago, and I'm still having fun with it.
More soon....

The former home of Really Bad Prog

Hey, recent news got you down? Worried about the fate of the world? Thinking about emigrating to Canada? Need some laughs? Check out The Progressive Rock Hall of Infamy, here. If you're a big Prog fan, these guys are freaking hilarious. And even if you're not.
At their blog, you'll find hilarious (and REALLY long-winded) reviews of some of the worst Prog albums ever, their readers' choices for The Five Worst Prog Bands Ever (and the bloggers' 20 nominees for this ultimate dishonor), long reviews of obscure Prog albums no one's ever heard of, lots of hilarious cheap shots, and even reports of death threats the writers received for their reviews. Really great fun, and they're even from Seattle.
Only one problem -- they stopped writing in 2010. But don't let that stop you. Their blog shows clearly that being devoted to Prog is A Mission. And it's amazing how much crap they listened to in order to carry out a public service.
Plus they're funny as hell, besides.
Yes, they love King Crimson and Van der Graaf Generator. Yes, they hate Yes. And ELP. And Styx. And Camel. Don't let this stop you. If you're a Prog fan, you need to check 'em out. And you can thank me after you finish laughing. That may take awhile....

Your daily birdcage-liner

It shouldn't be a surprise, and I'm sure someone's pointed it out way before me, but it's really pretty amazing how quickly the Internet has replaced the morning newspaper -- in just the way science-fiction writers predicted that computers would Totally Change Our Lives, years ago. These days if I'm too groggy even to try reading a real book, I can still pop open the laptop and suck up the latest news feeds.
Makes me wonder how I ever thought "published on the Internet" was a contradiction in terms.
Now, by the time I see a newspaper at work, I hardly ever look beyond the headlines. I've usually heard all the front-page stories on the radio or seen all the latest updates over the Internet.
Of course, newspapers can provide some DEPTH to the big stories -- or provide some opinions and humor with their columnists -- but thanks to blogs and all the people expressing opinions or joking around on-line, the Net's pretty-much got newspapers beat there, too.
So I wonder how long it'll be before all newspapers go on-line only, like the SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER did, and NEWSWEEK magazine.
Probably not long.
I can't remember the last time I read something in a newspaper that really surprised me. Not in this 24-hour world, where you can get The Latest on your TV, smartphone, laptop, through texts, etc etc. Really pretty amazing. And addictive.
This past week I got back on Facebook after figuring it wasn't worth the trouble six months ago. And now that I've finally discovered (and figured out how to work) the SHARE button, I'm spending a few minutes each day trying to find OUTRAGEOUS news stories to share with my seven(?) Facebook followers worldwide.
It's addictive.
And luckily, outrageous news stories haven't been that hard to find lately.
It's pretty amazing, this multi-media behemoth we have all around us these days. Word about happenings spreads quicker than ever before, reactions come in faster, the hype builds up bigger. It's hard not to get carried away by all of it. Even if it would be better to sit back and take a breath and try to figure out what it all means.
I'm as guilty of this as anyone, and Ghod knows there's a lot to talk about these days. (Still haven't found any evidence that there are demonstrations and riots in Seattle EVERY DAY -- though it must sometimes SEEM like it, if you live there. If there's something to protest, Seattle people will hit the streets to do it. And there's been lots to protest, lately.)
...No deep thoughts here, just surprising to me that things have changed so quickly. Sometimes you get pushed into the High-Tech Space Age before you're even aware of it.
...By the way, have you re-read 1984 lately...?

Check her out

Hey, The Girlfriend just started a blog. It's called THINK and you can find it here. She said she's wanted to start blogging for years. Well, now she's started.
This is not exactly Strange Music- and books-related -- The Girlfriend has some strong opinions about the recent election and how we treat people in this country. After living through the Civil Rights Movement and the Feminist Movement, she's concerned about the drift of this country right now, and her background and travels give her a range of experience I certainly don't have.
Her opinions and how she views Reality were among the things that first attracted me to her. This is the woman who got me to vote in a presidential election for the first time in almost 20 years.
So naturally, I hope she keeps going. Check her out if you feel so inclined....

#724: A few new additions....

Hey there. Been doing most of my on-line writing lately over at Guaranteed Great Music!, where there are 4 posts up so far with more coming soon.
Posts so far include a little bit about my book, some of the stuff I forgot to get into the book, a dozen items I somehow left out of the playlist/discography that goes with the book, and one album review (of The Shoes' great PRESENT TENSE). Coming soon will be reviews of albums by Split Enz, Spider, The Records, The Headboys, Tarney/Spencer Band, New England, Grace Slick, Group 87, Sky, and many more overlooked albums from back in the day.
As of 17 November, 39 folks have picked up free copies of RECORD STORE DAZE, my 20-page detailed record-store-era playlist, and that's flattering. But only three folks have bought copies of my 190-page record-store memoir GUARANTEED GREAT MUSIC!, which I think is the more important part. If you think the playlist is intriguing, please check out the real book, available now at Amazon.com's Kindle Store for a measly $2.99 -- where you'll get the stories BEHIND the playlist....

I'm already started on my next book, which I hope will be a longer memoir about the 20 years I wasted in the newspaper-reporting business. I'm already 4,000 words into it, and I'm aiming to call it THE CONFESSOR. I'll keep you posted....

Meanwhile, on my last "weekend," I hit my favorite local second-hand store, Jen's Attic in Bremerton, and scooped up a few things. On vinyl I grabbed Cream's HEAVY CREAM best-of (so I can hear "Deserted Cities of the Heart" and "Those Were the Days" again -- and "Badge," of course), Dave Edmunds' TWANGIN', Teena Marie's STARCHILD (is this her album with all the heavy guitars on it? Hope so), and Van Morrison's SAINT DOMINIC'S PREVIEW.
Looked at Lou Reed's NEW YORK so I could get some idea what all the fuss about him was, but it was warped BAD. So he'll have to wait 'til later.
Haven't had a chance to test-out any of these yet.
On CD I was able to score some stuff I've wanted to get in the house for years, like the Eagles' "Outlaw Man" and Paula Abdul's "Blowing Kisses in the Wind." Hadn't heard "Outlaw Man" since about 1974, and it still sounds great, not a letdown at all. And I don't even like the Eagles much....
Also grabbed Split Enz's HISTORY NEVER REPEATS best-of, for the title song and "Hard Act to Follow," "Six Months in a Leaky Boat," "Message to My Girl," "I Hope I Never," and the cosmically silly classic "Poor Boy."
Also bagged Don Henley's ACTUAL MILES best-of, mainly for "The Heart of the Matter," which strikes me as the most human thing he's ever done. Though it's a little long, I love The Message. Always was a sucker for his "Boys of Summer." And when I'm in a really grumpy mood I almost like "Dirty Laundry," the theme song for reporters and former-reporters all over the world. Other than those, I never liked Henley that much....
Also: Bruce Springsteen's best-of, for "Brilliant Disguise" and "Born to Run" of course, and "Born in the USA" and "Dancing in the Dark." Just one question: Why isn't the marvelous "Rosalita" on here?
Oh, also grabbed ... SOME old Garth Brooks CD, just so I can hear the great "Ireland" again.
I've been inflicting all of these on customers at work ever since. Junior Walker and Booker T and the Temptations and Stevie Wonder and old Motown hits are still working too, and getting good responses from customers. Plus they keep me moving on nights when I'm draggin', which is most nights....

Hey, my thanks to Crabby, who put up a link to my e-book at his blog, RS Crabb's Music Review and Top Ten Site. Crabby has been one of my most-regularist readers and commenters since back in the day, and you should be reading him if you aren't already. Thanx, Crabbster!

Have a new post for THE GAS NAZI! about half-written in my head, so that should be coming along in the next day or so....
...So, if I'm not around here I'll be busy posting overlooked 1979-1981 music greats over at Guaranteed Great Music!, or working on my next book. I've discovered that this book-izing stuff is as obsessive as blogging -- even if it's not as fast or as immediately gratifying. Too bad I wasted so many years before I figured this out....
I'm not done here. I'll be around. So until next time, be good to yourself and grab a copy of GUARANTEED GREAT MUSIC!, would 'ya? Help a feeble old man gather some funds for his fast-approaching Retirement....

#718: Something different

Everybody knows self-published books are usually garbage. God knows you've seen me go on and on about several of them in this blog. Usually a self-published book (meaning one not issued by some established publisher) indicates that the writer had a great IDEA for a book ... but just couldn't bring it off.
Self-published books are usually Just Barely in English, were never proofread, and are usually a mass of typographical errors, mixed-up punctuation, and sentences that you can barely make sense out of.
A few of these "masterpieces" have been chopped-up in this blog over the years -- look up such stunning works as Jerry Lucky's PROGRESSIVE ROCK FILES, Joe Benson's UNCLE JOE'S GUIDE TO PROGRESSIVE ROCK, or that Moody Blues COMPANION I reviewed earlier this year.
But there are always exceptions....
Linda Lou's memoir BASTARD HUSBAND: A LOVE STORY is a big exception. It's vivid and funny -- and a bit scary, in places.
I admit I read BH because I'm in the middle of writing a memoir myself, and I wanted to see how someone else did it -- and if a "life story" memoir by someone I'd never met could hold my interest through 250 pages.
That definitely wasn't a problem here.
If you've read Linda's blog, Linda Lou, Live from Las Vegas!, you know she's always direct and funny, and when she writes, she knows exactly what she's doing.
What she's doing here is writing about how her marriage fell apart. There are worse places to end your marriage than Vegas, but Linda shows clearly that Vegas ain't such a party town when you're alone and lonely.
Here's what happens: While traveling for work, Linda meets a guy who seems to be her soulmate. They hit it off, they spend all their time together, they seem to be Cosmically Meant To Be Together. They get married, and as part of following his career as a college professor, they move around The West.
That's when Linda learns that her soulmate husband is an angry, scary drunk. There is an ugly, scary scene in their home in Laramie, Wyoming, that shows how frightening he can be. When they move to Vegas, it becomes clear he has a gambling problem, too.
There's an emotional showdown -- in a swimming pool, of all places. And it becomes clear that Linda can't "rescue" her husband. She can't save him from himself. All she can do is get out of his way.
So she does. He goes on with his life. And while she's looking for work, Linda makes friends, learns about the Vegas nightlife, meets a series of unforgettable characters while serving as a hospice volunteer, and starts doing stand-up comedy at age 46.
There are other good things. Almost every section of this book has some laughs, no matter how serious things sometimes get. Some lines will have you laughing out loud. There is a scene late in the book with Linda's family around the dinner table at Christmas that has GOT to get into some movie someday.
The ending may dribble away just a little bit, but Real Life is like that, and Linda gets something positive out of it. As a survivor's story, it's a winner, and it will make you laugh.
And this book avoids one of my big problems with self-published books: There are VERY few typos. Maybe only two or three in the very last section, which means someone actually proofread it before it was published. That's a definite bonus. You won't be jolted out of the reading experience.
Linda Lou makes writing a memoir look easy. I trust that it wasn't. Especially the ugly parts.
And believe me, these days when I can't get through most novels, anybody who can write about her life and make me hang on every word is worth checking out.
You should check out her blog, too....

#615: 4 years blogging!

It was somewhere around this time 4 years ago that I started posting music & book reviews on-line at my old dead website. My son ADD got me started -- we talked about it 4 over a year B4 I finally jumped in & just DID it.
& after I had 3-dozen reviews posted, I hit-up a couple of my on-line reviewing buddies -- Mark Prindle, the Godfather of us all; & "Don Ignacio" Michael Lawrence -- 2 C if they'd B willing 2 post links 2 my new site. Thank Ghod, they jumped right in.
Things were a little diffrent back then. I was a lot more DRIVEN during my 1st year -- I posted 225 reviews & rants & humorous pieces in 8 months. Mostly, I was pretty serious. I think I wanted 2 establish where I was coming from, what my outlook was, how I was diffrent (IF I was....).
Then the old website broke down repeatedly & I got fed-up with it & moved over here 2 Blogger, where things have mostly been pretty smooth ever since.
I think I'm still driven sometimes -- this post-a-day thing should B evidence of that. This stuff is still pretty compulsive 4 me. If I don't post something every few days, I DON'T FEEL RIGHT. (Obviously, that isn't gonna B a problem this month....)
Thank Ghod 4 the Internet, so at last I can get my uncensored views out there, get my daily fix in, & maybe even turn you on 2 music you haven't heard or books you haven't read.
Things have been getting a little sludgy here recently -- can't remember the last time I did something just 4 the pure silliness of it. But I'll B working on that.
This is still fun 4 me, & it keeps me off the streets late at nite -- & it's helped get me thru a depression or 2. Tho there've been some slow spots, this blogging stuff has never let me down. My thanx again 2 ADD, 4 the gift that keeps on giving, the best Xmas present I've ever had.
I still want 2 do some pieces on what being a reporter on a daily newspaper was like; what it was like 2 schlog away 4 10 years in the Air Force; & I've got some more Nostalgia things I wanna do, tho I can't think of what they R right at the moment.
I also have more music & book reviews coming -- & I DEFinitely wanna do a piece on "Slopping the Hogs," a look at the WORST best-of collections of all time. Submit your nominees in the Comments section below....
Just wanted 2 say thanx 2 all you who read here. I'd keep doing this even if you didn't, but thanks 4 dropping by.
& I'm gonna keep doing this as long as the World's Smallest Laptop holds out. If nothing else, the writing exercise has been good 4 me -- & the regular dates with the computer have helped me re-connect with some parts of my past that I didn't know I could still remember.
& if I can get thru this post-a-day thing without Mbarrassing myself 2 badly, it'll B time 2 re-attack that rock group novel....

#601: Last man standing...?

Is music blogging Over With? Is the blog as we know it dead? Are these even important questions? (And I was just getting rolling....)
Today I read that my buddy Crabby over at Crabby's Music Review and Top 10 Site is seriously considering retiring at the turn of the New Year. He won't be the 1st. But if he hangs it up, I'll miss his cranky ranting about local radio & his Xcellent Weekly Top 10 lists of the Overlooked.
But there've bn a LOT of music bloggers dropping out over the last year or so. Maybe the newness wore off. Maybe they didn't get enuf feedback. Maybe they have Real Lives 2 devote themselves 2 -- a much better choice than spending all your free time stuck in front of a computer.
Last time I checked, Groove Sandwich had become a working musician and college student. Layla hasn't posted in over a year at her formerly-very-popular Classic Rock blog. Drew has a family life, & tho he'll pop up every couple months with a nature/photo update, I guess you could say he's semi-retired. He's not even doing Green Bay Packers updates this year! (Go with the family thing Drew -- & Thank Ghod 4 the visitors you keep sending me....)
Perplexio hasn't posted 4 awhile at either of his websites. Seano at Circle of Fits has been taking a lot of breaks over the past year, most of them due to health issues. Lex Dexter at The PrisonShip is taking a LONG break over problems that I think he could maybe write his way out of -- it worked for me awhile back.
Even Mark Prindle -- the Godfather of us all, without whom I wouldn't be doing this -- hung it up awhile back.
A few R hanging in there -- Rastro is still posting stuff at his Tumblr site, & we R continuing 2 wreak comedy havoc on Hunter S. Thompson & Larry Niven at Fear and Loathing in Known Space 2x a week, but with the World Series & the prez election, R's bn a busy guy.
Gardenhead is continuing 2 post great stuff at Asleep on the Compost Heap -- he just recently posted a review of his favorite album of 2011! The NERVE! I don't see him ever stopping, either....
As 4 me, there R LOTS of things I still wanna talk about, time & energy permitting. I still have a box of weird CDs from Crabby I'm trying 2 get thru, & more stuff stacked-up that I hope 2 listen-2 someday. I still have Air Force stories & Newspaper stories I wanna write-up. I still have stories & novels I wanna read & talk about. & there's sure 2 B more fits of Nostalgia I'll B posting here without prior warning, & Ghod Knows what might set them off.
I'm still having fun here. But then, I've been a compulsive writer since age 10, & it always makes me Feel Better to have written something, no matter how meaningless & silly.
So I'm gonna keep going, as long as me & the World's Smallest Laptop hold out. Thanx 4 dropping by -- & for gosh sakes will all you good folks from the U.K. & Russia & the Ukraine & the Netherlands & France & Canada & Germany & wherever-else please leave me a comment so I can figure out what the heck you're all reading?
Take care, all You Out There. More soon!

Letters from home

Indian Summer here, temps in the mid-80s, 90s predicted by Sunday. For us, that's HOT. Summer finally got here, just in time 4 back-2-school....

Currently re-reading Kathe Koja's THE CIPHER (1991): really creepy, & as abrupt & painful & involving as NE of her work -- & Tom Wolfe's THE RIGHT STUFF (1979): hilarious, especially in his overuse of the phrase "burned beyond recognition," among other things. The chapter "The Lab Rat" is a classic. Great how Wolfe can joke about this stuff (the gathering & life-histories of the 7 Mercury astronauts) & still get across all the basic info 2. Never really liked Wolfe that much, but this & THE ELECTRIC KOOL-AID ACID TEST are both pretty great....

This is probly gonna sound a little sentimental, but so what....
I wish there were more good music bloggers out there. Because I'd like 2 read them.
Ghod knows I've tried. I've found a dozen or so bloggers whose writing I can enjoy, relate-to, or at least have fun disagreeing with -- & I check-in with them almost every day.
I urge You Out There 2 read Rastro (at www.lahistoriadelamusicarock.blogspot.com/ and at www.lahistoriadelamusicarock.tumblr.com/), Crabby (at www.rscrabb.blogspot.com/), & Gardenhead (at www.onavery.blogspot.com/). Not only R they all more musically obsessed than I am, they know their stuff. & they're funny.
This new guy Groove Sandwich is pretty funny too (www.groovesandwich.com/) -- he's also a musician & knows his music theory.
There's also some good folks out there who've started posting a little less-often recently 4 various reasons: Drew (at www.drewsoddsandsods.blogspot.com/) has posted some real good stuff in the past, + some Xcellent reviews of albums I'd overlooked. But recently he's developed a Real Life separate from blogging, & who can blame him if that's where his attn goes? You go, Drew! (& I'm not just saying this cos Drew's sent me more readers in the past year than I can even believe....)
Layla (at www.laylasclassicrock.blogspot.com/) recently went back 2 work after being unemployed 4 awhile, so you can see where her attn might B going. B4 that she posted a TON of Classic Rock news at 1 of the longest-running & most popular blogs of its kind. She also sometimes writes more personal stuff at her other blog, "Writing from the Inside Out."
Perplexio (at www.perplexio76.blogspot.com/) has posted some great stuff in the past, tho he seemsta have slowed down recently. 1 of his best reviews led me 2 grab Nick Hornby's rock&roll novel JULIET NAKED awhile back, & you should too....
Tonal Memories (www.tonalmemories.blogspot.com/) has posted some intresting stuff in the past, but family matters seemta B eating up his time these days.
The grandaddy of all web-reviewers, Mark Prindle (www.markprindle.com/) is still as hilarious as ever, despite some recent upheavals in his life. His recent reviews of the Complete Works of a band called Anal Cunt made me laff until my head hurt. (Jeez, 1st the Butthole Surfers & now this?)
Eoin Butler (www.eoinbutler.com/) only occasionally posts about music, but as a working journalist over in Ireland he's posted some amazing -- and often hilarious -- stories at his blog "Tripping Along the Ledge."
Adam at "There Will Be Blog" seems 2 have retired....
...& at 92, longtime science-fiction writer & editor Frederik Pohl is still showing the rest of us how to do it at www.thewaythefutureblogs.com/.
...I think what grabs me about a lotta these people is that they don't just blog about music or books or current events or whatever -- they talk about their jobs, their lives, the thots that go thru their heads during an avg day, how they get thru each day, what their lives are like. I feel like I know some of these people & that's pretty neat.
It ain't always pretty. But it's always REAL. & reading someone who speaks from the heart -- even if they're angry -- is as involving 2 me as any music review.
There used to be more. Now I can't even FIND the wildman in Orlando who's every progressive-rock review ended with the music descending like a "caterwauling cacophany into the very bowels of Hell." Sure he could barely write in English, but he was 1 of a kind! & his spooky review of Van der Graaf Generator's PAWN HEARTS finally convinced me 2 grab that scary album awhile back -- suprised I had enuf nerve 2 finally put it on the CD player! Xpected 2 get scared out of my wits....
I've tried a bunch of other bloggers & there R a few I haven't quite made up my cluttered mind about, but I wouldn't mind finding more good 1's. In fact, I'd love it.
Problem: Try punching in "good rock music blogs" at Google & see what happens. I got 249 MILLION results. Life's 2 short 4 that -- tho I did look at a couple dozen.
I've also tried "music blog aggregators" like Digital Meltd0wn, & that didn't narrow stuff down much either.
So here's the deal: If you're a music blogger doing something diffrent or adventurous or personal or funny, drop me a line, I'll check you out, review you here, & point my dozen-fans-worldwide your direction.
Or if there's some1 you're reading who's absolutely freaking brilliant & hilarious, lemme know. I'll appreciate it, & I'll let other folks know 2.
I don't even havta "agree" with you, musically. But if you hate all the stuff I love, you're gonna at least havta B entertaining about it....

Rastro goes Tumblr -- great stuff!

Hey, B sure & check out Rastro's new LA HISTORIA DE LA MUSICA ROCK Tumblr site at www.lahistoriadelamusicarock.tumblr.com/ -- it's punchy & funny & quick, & summa the photos he's posted R freakin' GREAT -- some of them R even sorta scary, Hank Williams Sr., 4 1....
Anyway, it's all good 2 C cos 4 awhile I thot Rastro was gonna take the Summer off. So B sure & check out his wit & musical knowledge in a new, quick & easily digestible format. Really, he does more with a photo & a few well-chosen words than I can do in a 2,000-word essay.
...& I'm not just saying this because of the great women-guitarist photos he's been posting....

Update 14

Currently reading Patti Smith's JUST KIDS, the 2010 National Book Award-winning memoir about her early days in New York City, living with photographer Robert Mapplethorpe, getting her poetry together, & meeting folks like Todd Rundgren, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Sam Shepard, Salvador Dali, Allen Ginsburg, Lenny Kaye, Jim Carroll, Johnny Winter, etc. So far it's vivid & involving & at times beautifully written. Smith makes being hungry & homeless in New York sound almost ... fun. I promise a full review when I'm done.
It's not music-related, but Robert Graysmith's ZODIAC UNMASKED (2002) is pretty good if you're into true crime or police-procedurals. Graysmith -- who was an editorial cartoonist with the San Francisco Chronicle when the Zodiac murders started in the late '60s -- does not know how to keep himself out of the story, & he doesn't always completely identify the people he quotes -- the book coulda used a little more editing; they shoulda hired me -- & he sometimes hypes things just a little.
But the MASSIVE amount of detail included about how the police homed-in on one suspect as the possible killer is quite impressively presented by Graysmith. There was a lot of material to keep track of. I've got about 100 pgs 2 go & I don't want any1 2 spoil the ending 4 me....
I've started posting again over at THE GAS NAZI!, beginning with my recent efforts 2 cut back on my massive caffeine habit, which was messing me up at work & probly everywhere else 2. Not sure if any1's intrested, but there it is. & if there's $$$ in it, I am of course available 4 public appearances & talks about How Too Much Caffeine Screwed Up My Life.
More soon....

Double yr pleasure, double yr fun....

If U feel really brave & daring, I've started -- yes -- another blog, called THE GAS NAZI!, located at www.thegasnazi.blogspot.com/ -- in an effort 2 confront some of my work-related Issues thru the power of comedy.
Some of my whining about work had bn taking over here recently, so I thot I'd Xorcise my work frustrations by making fun of them -- elsewhere. + I guess I needed a new challenge. Or a new Xcuse 2 write. Or something.
I'd bn wanting 2 do this 4 awhile. I was gonna create a new identity 2 ("THE GAS NAZI!" -- couldn't wait 2 make comments w/ that name attached), but somehow I missed the boat on that 1.
NEway, I'm sure U'll all wanna play along. I THINK it's funny. That's what I've got in mind NEway. Either comedy or outrage. Real Life can B pretty funny & pretty outrageous sometimes. & I've got some pretty good stories 2 tell after 6+ yrs of putting up w/ where I work.
& meanwhile, I'll try 2 get back 2 reviewing more music & books here. Really. Whether the sun comes back out or not. Which apparently it has Dcided NOT 2 do....
I should also note that THE GAS NAZI! is written in something MUCH closer 2 Real English....
More soon! -- TAD.

Coupla great bloggers U should B reading

Once again I take laptop in hand & urge U 2 check out the writings of:
* Naomi McArdle, Ghod's Gift 2 Ireland's Indie Rock Scene. Nay took some time off from blogging about a yr ago, about 3 days after I discovered her old blog & raved about it (at my old website). She said she was gonna take a break & mayB try 2 write novels. But obviously she couldn't stay away. U can find her now at "Run Into Thunder" (http://harmlessnoise.wordpress.com/), where she continues 2 write passionately about the music that moves her. Her March 5 post, "Mix: Cloud Nine," about the dozen or so Irish rock albums over the last yr that have moved her the most, is some of the best music writing I've read in months -- vivid, intensely visual, Nthusiastic, heartfelt & generous. Of course, I don't know NE of the artists she writes about, but thanx 2 her raves, I'll B looking. Bsides, she's a pleasure 2 read. She writes beautifully.
And....
* Eoin Butler's hilarious blog "Tripping Along the Ledge" (http://www.eoinbutler.com/) just celebrated its 1st birthday, which is hard 2 Blieve Bcos Eoin Cms like such a natural at this blogging stuff. (The post about his 1st anniversary includes a ton of hysterical comments that R way more about the artwork he chose 2 go along w/ the post, rather than the fact that he'd actually made it a yr -- this sorta thing Cms 2 happen a lot w/ Eoin.) He writes a lot about music, but also about current events, whatever funny stuff he trips over in a day, workplace relations & politics, hilarious sorta-reviews of various pubs around town, his budding standup-comedy career, LOTSA stuff. He can even Get Serious -- he's bn 2 Gaza & Auschwitz, & survived 2 write about them. As a blogger & full-time reporter, he's busy writing his ass off over in Ireland. & when he gets onna roll U will laff til U cry.
...Both of these bloggers have WAY more readers than me, & I've blabbed about both of them B4. What is it w/ me & Irish bloggers NEway? Their sense of humor? Their clarity & snappy wit & way w/ the words? No matter: Good writing is good writing. Check 'em out....

But Seriously, Folks....

You folks who read here know that I joke around a lot, that even when I'm serious I tend to make feeble jokes, even if I'm trying to convince you to take a chance on a new album or the best book I've ever read.
But now I'm being serious, pretty much. If you haven't checked them out already, I urge you to read some comments on current music by a guy named Sadler Vaden, posted Nov. 30 at Seano's "Circle of Fits" blog (http://seanoandjefe.blogspot.com/). Sadler is a working musician, a singer-songwriter-guitarist with a band called Leslie. His comments were posted after he watched the recent Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 25th Anniversary Concert.
Sadler's opinion (posted under the title "Rock and Roll is Not a Joke") is that most current music sucks -- that it's way more about presentation and shock effects and way less about talent and soul -- that little of it's memorable, that very little of it will last, that the commercialization and celebrity-ization of it has taken over, and that the music has suffered.
His feeling is that older, "classic" rockers (Springsteen, U2, Stones, CSNY, Simon and Garfunkel, etc.) are the only ones who got it right -- that VERY few current or "newer" acts can hold a candle to the Greats.
And maybe he's right. But while I agree with many of the points he makes, I also think some of the things he says make him sound even crankier and more out-of-touch than I am.
So, tonight's topic is: DOES MOST NEW MUSIC SUCK? AND IF IT DOES, IS THIS SOMETHING NEW? AND IS IT WORTH WORRYING ABOUT?
Now, I'm the last person to stand up for most new music. I agree with Sadler that little of it's memorable -- at least, most of the stuff you hear on the radio or TV. I'd say 95 percent or more of it's crap.
But. I think Sadler's maybe looking in the wrong places.
It's such a big musical world now -- so much larger than when I was growing up, and there are so many different ways to track down new music now: Internet Radio, MySpace sites, through amazon.com and other places -- there are TOO MANY websites where you can download all kinds of new music and try it out.
But Sadler seems to mainly focus on what he's been seeing lately on TV, and I think that's definitely the wrong place to go to find out what's new and good -- and I don't think radio's much better. Sadler's disgusted by AMERICAN IDOL and recent antics at the American Music Awards. I wonder why he should care about either. Awards have never been a very good barometer of musical quality -- the Grammy Awards have stepped a little closer to reality in the past few years, but they were a joke for AGES -- the Beatles only won four minor Grammies, one for SGT. PEPPER: for "best engineered album." The AMA's are chosen by fans -- but who knows how old those fans are? And neither AMERICAN IDOL nor most of the music featured on the AMA's are anywhere near what Sadler or most of us would consider "real rock and roll."
Before even mentioning current acts that I think are worth listening to, I think maybe Sadler is mis-remembering his musical past. It wasn't all golden. It just seems that way now, because he hears so little good stuff these days.
Here's the thing: Millions of people buy crap. Musical junk food. They always have, and I don't see any way that's ever going to change. All you can do is hope their tastes expand and that they trip over the Good Stuff someday. But don't hold your breath.
Today's empty "Flavor of the Month" (whoever it is) will be gone by next year. And five years from now, no one will remember or care who they were. Remember David Cassidy, Shaun Cassidy, Donny Osmond, Leif Garrett, Debbie Gibson, Tiffany ... Britney Spears?
Consider: When I first started listening to the radio in the fall of 1970, musical greats like the Beatles, Stones, Who, Doors, Led Zeppelin, Hendrix, Joplin, CSNY, Simon and Garfunkel, and others were being played heavily, and some were in their absolute prime.
But at the same time that these folks were all over the radio, "music fans" were buying millions of records and filling the bank accounts of "artists" like the Archies, Bobby Sherman, the Osmonds, and the Partridge Family.
Now don't get me wrong. "Sugar, Sugar" was a great piece of bubblegum pop, and I treasure my old Partridge Family albums. But I don't play them much, and in no way do I consider them "real rock and roll."
There will always be crap -- lots of it. Science fiction fans are familiar with Sturgeon's Law, which says that 90 percent of everything is crap -- books, music, movies, TV, people, relationships, everything. There are only going to be a few that you'll remember forever. Only a few are worth it.
Some of this "new music vs. old" stuff maybe boils down to matters of taste, which are pointless to argue about. Sadler has his views and his favorites, and I have mine, and God bless both of us -- and ain't it great that we live in a country where we can compare notes and comment on each other's views?
But some of what Sadler says makes ME look open-minded. And I try to be, but I don't think I AM. (I'm still wrestling with a couple fairly recent albums, one released earlier this year, trying to decide if they're crap or ... not-crap. And until I decide, I won't be reviewing them here.)
If only the greats of your younger days can make the music of your dreams, what's the point in listening to new stuff? Won't that just frustrate you? By the same token, after however-many years of listening, do you still expect an album or a piece of music to change your life? (That would be great if it happened, but I sure don't EXPECT it.)
It's easy to have an album or song change your world at age 12, or even at 18 -- you haven't seen or experienced that much. Later on it gets harder. Much harder. I've had BOOKS alter my reality a couple times over the last 20 years (Kathe Koja's SKIN, Lewis Shiner's GLIMPSES), but I can't remember the last time an album or a song had that kind of impact on me. (Nick Drake's BRYTER LAYTER, maybe?) And maybe that's sad. But I don't blame today's music for it, as bored or frustrated as I may get when I'm forced to listen to some of it.
Besides, I don't think it's ALL crap -- and with the many ways available now to learn about and hear new artists, I think it's unfair to paint all new music with the same negative brush, to say that it's all crap, that it lacks heart and soul. With an outlook like that, Sadler's not going to be able to hear the next example of Good Stuff when it finally appears.
Recent music that I think is worth hearing (over the past few years):
* Jordin Sparks' first album was superb -- a solidly-produced, catchy, immediate piece of urban/R&B/hip-hop with a few excellent ballads. She has a great voice and isn't just a front -- she co-wrote a few songs. "Now You Tell Me" and "Tattoo" were painful and brilliant, and Sparks co-wrote the best ballad, the gorgeous and intimate "Worth the Wait."
* Fleet Foxes' first album was pretty cool, sort-of early-'60s folk meets the Beach Boys. When I first heard it, I played it all the way through three times in a row. Been awhile since I've done that with any album.
* Keane's first album HOPES AND FEARS had a few excellent songs on it, the gorgeous "Bend and Break," "Somewhere Only We Know," "This is the Last Time," and the dreamy "Your Eyes Open."
* Norah Jones' first album was OK, and she has at least one GREAT song, "Shoot the Moon." "The Long Day is Over" ain't bad, either.
* Coldplay has done a few good songs, including the gorgeous "Clocks" and "Talk," and "Viva La Vida" is growing on me. But I admit a lot of their stuff has no effect on me at all.
* Coheed and Cambria's "The Road and the Damned" is one of the prettiest heavy-guitar ballads I've heard in ages, with a gorgeous, mournful melody. C&C's "Feathers" is an excellent, catchy, rockier number with GREAT choruses -- but a weak ending.
* That high-speed remake of Cyndi Lauper's "Time After Time" that came out a couple of years back was pretty great, but I couldn't tell you who performed it....
* I didn't even realize until the past couple weeks that I'd actually HEARD anything by Taylor Swift -- that song about her being a princess or Juliet, with the chorus that ends "Just say yes," is pretty great. (That is her, isn't it?)
* Avril Lavigne did some great stuff -- I'm especially a sucker for "I'm With You." (But where is she now?)
* Vertical Horizon's "Everything You Want" was a classic....
* Sarah McLachlan's "Stupid" rang all the bells for me a couple of years back -- it's like she took the drama of "Angel" and added the tunefulness of "I Will Remember You," only with 10 times as much melodrama! I liked it a lot. But she can also be dull ("Angel") and lazy ("Sweet Surrender").
* Outkast's "Hey Ya" was joyous and silly, "I Like the Way You Move" and "Roses" were both pretty good, and some of the other tracks on SPEAKERBOXXX/THE LOVE BELOW are also interesting, including the comedy bits between songs....
* My Chemical Romance's "Teenagers" is hilarious, and not at all what I'd expected from them....
* Panic! At The Disco has some interesting stuff -- their song where the groom learns his bride is a whore ("I Write Sins Not Tragedies"?) is pretty good until it starts to repeat itself endlessly. But the lead vocal is amazing!
* Fall Out Boy has a few good songs -- "Thanks for the Memories" is pretty funny, and "Sugar We're Goin' Down" and "Dance, Dance" are pretty grabby.
* Good Charlotte's "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous" was pretty funny, but I haven't heard anything else by them that grabbed me....
* Anna Nalick's "Breathe" was pretty great, but I don't know what she's done since....
* Even John Mayer has done some good stuff -- there were several above-average songs on his first album for Columbia (the one with the puzzle-pieces cover), but "Bigger Than My Body" was the last thing of his that grabbed me....
* Five for Fighting's "100 Years" was pretty great, and he's done some other interesting stuff....
* Beyonce's "Irreplaceable" was a good mellow R&B ballad with interesting lyrics....
* A fairly recent, mellow R&B ballad about cheating and breaking-up as a performance ("Take A Bow"? "It's Over Now"?) had a pretty great vocal by whatever woman sang it. (I am SO out of touch....)
...I guess maybe that's not so much, and little of it's probably what Sadler would consider "real rock and roll." I'm sure there's a lot I've forgotten, and I know there are many songs I've liked where I never heard a title or who sang it. But maybe this newer stuff isn't meant for someone my age. People much younger than I am will decide what good stuff will last -- they'll decide what the good stuff IS, period. There will always be something good to listen to.
"Rock and Roll is Not a Joke." No, it isn't. And yes, it does need to be nurtured, and we do need to be reminded about the greats of the past -- God knows I do that a lot here. But rock and roll is definitely also a business -- for some it's a long-term career.
Because he makes an issue of older rockers' integrity, I think it's worth noting that some of Sadler's heroes sold-out early. The Who's Pete Townshend sold some of his songs for use in commercials and TV shows YEARS ago. I remember being disappointed when I first heard "Love, Reign O'er Me" in a soft-drink commercial. But by the time "Who Are You" became the theme for CSI, it wasn't too bad a shock.... The folks at Michelob heard Steve Winwood's "Don't You Know What the Night Can Do?" before his album was even released, and the commercial quickly followed....
(There are exceptions: Brian Wilson's '60s classics for the Beach Boys were sold for commercials at the end of that decade, allegedly sold-off by Brian's father when he thought they wouldn't be worth anything anymore. When we heard "Good Vibrations" used in a Sunkist orange soda commercial or "California Girls" in a Clairol Herbal Essence spot, that wasn't Brian's fault.... Michael Jackson sold-off the Beatles' songs for commercial use -- remember hearing Lennon's "Revolution" in a Nike commercial?)
The thing is, it's a whole different world now. Music fans will never again be as united in agreement as they were about Elvis, the Beatles, Stones, Who, Supremes, Jackson 5, Elton John, Bruce Springsteen, U2, Prince. Things have expanded too much now. There are so many different musical approaches and so many different tastes. Anyone who could unite almost all music fans now would have to be an INCREDIBLE artist.
And remember: There was a time when even U2 was considered too dangerously new and scary. When I worked in a record store, we couldn't GIVE AWAY U2's first album, the brilliant BOY. (But millions of people bought The Knack....) Springsteen was considered too much of a throwback to the late-50's and early-'60s for awhile. Even "Born to Run," brilliant as it was, didn't break down all the opposition. It wasn't until "Hungry Heart" or possibly even "Dancing in the Dark" and "Born in the U.S.A." that Bruce could really be said to have "arrived." And some of us are still trying to figure out what all the fuss over Nirvana was about....
Memories can be a tricky thing. Most of Sadler's heroes were once sort of dangerous, daring young artists, and there's always resistance to that sort of thing. But maybe Sadler missed that part -- because he adored them from the start. These days, if someone dangerous and daring DID come along, Sadler might miss them -- because he'd be too busy being turned-off by their "antics." But apparently, in his opinion, nobody good is ever going to come along again -- or at least the chances of it are vanishingly small. And that's maybe the part that gets me most.
Rock and roll has been through some bad and boring times before and always survived. Take for instance the late '50s and early '60s -- Elvis in the Army, Chuck Berry in prison, Jerry Lee Lewis and Little Richard silenced, the return of the empty Teen Idols.... Or take the late-'70s/early-'80s: Disco dominant, Donna Summer and Olivia Newton-John as Queens of the Airwaves (though Donna had some talent), Punk Rock stillborn in the U.S., New Wave making a little more headway.... And in both these droughts there was still good music -- there always will be. It's just a question of finding it....
This isn't intended as a (lengthy) assassination of someone I've never met. Sadler's comments just got me thinking about a lot of things -- about why I'm so often closed-minded about new music ... until it grabs me by the throat and won't let go. About the fallacy that just because something is old, that makes it good. It doesn't. I don't see time improving the music of Debbie Boone. Or Pat Boone, for that matter. Just because something's brand-new doesn't make it good, either.
But I'd submit that if a lot of new music is "surfacey," as Sadler feels most of it is (and I'd agree), it may be because a lot of LIFE has become kind of surfacey, because we've all allowed it to become that way -- and maybe we should dig a little deeper to find the Good Stuff, to keep in mind what it all means, to get the most out of each minute, to not let it slip by.
I'd also submit that anyone who seems to feel that most of our lives have turned into little more than "financial woes and cheap fear" has more to worry about than what kind of music is being played on radio and TV....

The power of "I"

The 1st personal journal-style writing I remember ever Bing impressed by was a series of columns called "Language at Midnight," written by an Oregon guy named Bill Wolfenbarger, in a mid-'70s science fiction fanzine called OUTWORLDS, published in Ohio by a guy named Bill Bowers. I woulda discovered these columns around late 1975.
Wolfenbarger was the 1st person I ever read who could make recounting the mundane activities of an average day fascinating, filled with wonder & magic. He made something as commonplace as a tugboat blowing its horn late on a foggy nite sound mysterious & wondrous. Don't know whatever happened 2 him; I don't remember ever Cing his name again NEwhere. MayB he Bcame a starving poet.... (Strangely enuf, 4 1 of my last newspaper jobs, I recorded weekly 1-min radio commercials with a broadcaster named Bill Wolfenbarger, & it never even OCCURRED 2 me 2 ask if he was the same guy -- his age was just about right ... MayB I've had Alzheimer's even longer than I thot.... What was I saying...?)
I'd discovered science fiction about 5 yrs B4 that, falling 4 the sense of wonder & the cosmic scale & the poetry of writers like Ray Bradbury, George R.R. Martin, Roger Zelazny, Samuel R. Delany, Robert Silverberg, James Tiptree Jr., Harlan Ellison. But Wolfenbarger's very personal, subjective writing took me in another direction Ntirely. (This was at least a yr B4 I started keeping my own journal -- not sure I'd even THOT of it by then, tho I'd bn writing short-stories since I was 12.)
Up til then, when I bought & read science fiction magazines (there were at least 1/2 a dozen of them publishing back then), I picked them up 4 the STORIES, I was in it 4 the fiction. I didn't even read the book reviews -- I thot they were a waste of space. Essays? Who needs essays? Essays R those boring things U couldn't get thru in high-school English textbooks....
Around this same time I discovered music critics, thanx 2 a thick paperback called THE ROLLING STONE RECORD REVIEW VOLUME II. The personal approach RS's writers took 2 music criticism not only tried 2 put-across a feel 4 the music, they were also damn subjective & personal about their feelings about it. & some of them were brilliant: the amazing & anarchic Lester Bangs, the hilarious John Mendelssohn, scholarly Greil Marcus, tough-guy Dave Marsh. & others -- some of the work that sucked me in fastest was on my heroes the Beach Boys. Arthur Schmidt's gorgeous review of the Boys' SURF'S UP album (1971) was a mind-Xpander & an eye-opener (& still a favrite 2 re-read), & Stephen Holden's marvelous look back at the Boys' PET SOUNDS (1966) is -- I still think -- the best essay ever written on that groundbreaking album.
From this, I turned 2 book reviews in the SF magazines & found there were a few guys who really knew what they were doing, who had this essay form DOWN: Algis Budrys in the pages of FANTASY & SCIENCE FICTION could crack great jokes & let U know what a writer's life was REALLY like (constantly looking back & 4th from the calendar 2 the checkbook), & when he felt a writer was sluffing he really lowered the boom. In GALAXY, Spider Robinson was always funny, & wasn't afraid 2 admit it when some supposed piece of SF-novel-as-art went right over his head. & there were other greats: cranky John Clute, angry Joanna Russ, miserable Barry N. Malzberg, hyperactive Harlan Ellison, forceful Norman Spinrad. I STILL go back & re-read their reviews, & some of their stuff is over 40 yrs old....
I learned essays, reviews, opinion pieces & "reportage" don't havta B boring, & I found writers who R masters of the form -- the brilliant John McPhee, the hilarious Tim Cahill; & I found ROLLING STONE, THE NEW YORKER & a few other mags printed long essays or "reportage" that didn't shy away from getting personal & Xpressing an opinion.
I already loved 2 write, & reading this stuff probly helped push me in2 my 4mer career -- I already thot other people's lives were more intresting than my own, & I always Njoyed listening 2 people talk. 4 20 yrs I wrote about other people's lives & listened 2 them talk. & 4 much of that period I kept my own journal. There R gaps in it -- up 2 5 yrs in some places, & I wish I had that time back, or at least a Dscription of what I was doing during it. But when I go back 2 late 1976 & read the 1st few journal Ntries by the 17-yr-old I was then, I mainly just wince at that guy who thot he knew EVERYTHING. I know so much more now, & I am certain of so much less....
Really good writing leaves me speechless. Some of the other blogs listed on this pg under "You'll Like These" include some really amazing work. I especially recommend "Asleep on the Compost Heap" & "There Will Be Blog," both of which feature funny, vivid, moving writing about music, movies, books, pop culture in general, & sometimes just off-the-wall silly stuff.
& I'll B searching 4 more great blogs. Tho I've really gotten back in2 fiction lately, I still think really good, direct, personal writing is tough 2 beat. & I know from my Xperience that writing here (& at my old website) has pulled some stuff outta me that I never knew was in there....