Damn It

I really wanted to hate this song, I really did, but doggone it, this is an excellent Eagles song.




I am still pissed about the WalMart thing, but it IS a great song. Damn it.


But, hold on, it gets better. It's NOT a new Eagles song, just re-worked. Presenting "How Long" circa 1972 with Randy Meisner on the vocals and Bernie Leadon on lead guitar.


Thanks wes.

More Top 100

We are one post away from having three Who albums in the mix.

But first a CD that grabbed me by the short hairs in about 1994

A 1991 release from David Wilcox. This was one of those CDs at the right time in the right place. Great songwriting, great songs. "Farther To Fall". ""(You Were) Going Somewhere" is another great one along with an ode to turning 30 "Top of The Roller Coaster" right behind. A song about your tenth high school reunion "Last Chance Waltz" that is bitter sweet. Gret stuff, this one for the collection. Another Raley top 100 album in my collection.

I Don't Normally Do This But...

This is a great idea.
When you are making out your Christmas card list this year, please include the following:

A Recovering American Soldier
c/o Walter Reed Army Medical Center
6900 Georgia Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20307-5001


If you approve of the idea, please pass it on to your e-mail list.

Thanks KK

Ugly Mickey

Here's a Brazilian blog for the 'International Ugly Mickey Contest'. It's in Portuguese, but it's really great to see the terrible, amazingly ugly versions of Mickey Mouse. The contest is over now, but the blog will keep posting the ugly mickeys people send from all over the world. Link

The State of Radio Today (for my radio friends)

On the Stlmedia.net website, this entry was put up for discussion:
Last week I had lunch with a radio friend who was passing through town. He brought up this blog and a comment another radio person made to him about it: Why does John Gorman hate radio so much? He doesn't hate radio. He loves it. What he doesn't like is what has happened to it. If you don't know who Gorman is, he programmed one of the five most important rock stations in the US back when rock radio mattered.In fact, WMMS and Alan Freed are the two main reasons the R&R HOF is in Cleveland. And if you're in radio and don't know who Alan Freed is, you should be working at Burger King.

My response is delivered thusly:

John Gorman built a dynasty in Cleveland. With an airstaff of guys like Kid Leo, etc., WMMS had the entire package. The music was constantly fresh, the jocks talked with you not at you. There was a live person answering the phone 24/7. What has changed? Radio then was run by broadcasters who understood their audience and super served them. There were very few consultants who could know Cleveland better than Gorman. He was a guy who went to just about every event, concert and function to observe the audience. They were promotionally proactive and spent the money required on jocks, marketing and promotion to make the station head and shoulders above anything else in that city ratings wise. Then they had great sales people to sell those numbers. That was then. Today, radio is run by the people who answer to the shareholder and there is only one statistic that matters...the bottom line. Cut, cut and cut some more until we have produced a stale, cookie cutter industry that now has cannibalized it's youth. Where will the next JC, Guy Phillips or Frank OPinion come from? There are no minor leagues anymore and with the spread of the syndicated morning show (Bob and Tom are on over a hundred stations, over a hundred stations that will not cultivate NEW morning shows), the prospect looks very bleak. The radio business keeps wringing it's hands over the lack of talent, but one of the first things that the chairman of Citadel talked about after hiring Imus back was the thought of syndicating him. That'll fix the problem for sure. Think about this, you can count the number of music stations in St. Louis on one hand that have live people on the air after 6pm. Even less overnight. We took our audience for granted and they are now showing their approval by rejecting radio in favor of new technology. At the exact moment radio should have been fighting for it's survival with more money to fight the internet, Ipods, mp3's etc, we cut the budget and ran. One example, I was listening to a Saturday night program a few months ago where the person who was voice tracking left a pot open somewhere and his voice sounded like it was in an echo chamber. Unlistenable. Three hours later, when I tuned in again, it was still like that. We don't care about the product as long as the budget is made. Why should the audience care, either? I didn't mean to be this long winded but it makes me sad to see what has happened to the business that I truly love. Visionaries like John Gorman wouldn't get past the HR person today.

And I stick by those comments

Vanna White

I got it bad for her. I do. I met her about 20 years ago and she was very sweet and fun. I interviewed her and she is very aware of how lucky she has been. Great sense of humour and I was smitten big time. I watch Wheel of Fortune to see her walk across the stage and then I turn the channel. I think she still looks great today. One of my favorite interviews.

More Top 100

Here's where we are: In a previous post, Audio/Visual Revolution posted their list for the top 100 rock LPs of all time. Here it is. The Spinal Tap Soundtrack mad the list, but no mention of the Moody Blues, Doobies, etc. The movie was a very funny joke, and so was the music. To be considered in the top 100 LPs of all time is nuts. So, I have decided to come up with a list of my own. MY list.


In previous posts, I started from the back of the alphabet and here is the list so far...
Stevie Williams-4 a.m.
Edgar Winter-They Only Come Out At Night
Steve Winwood-Back In The Highlife
Wishbone Ash-Argus
Yes-90125
Yes-Fragile
Neil Young-Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere
Neil Young-Harvest
Tres Hombres-ZZ Top

these releases are worthy, but just under the top 100
Johnny Winter-Still Alive and Well
Steve Winwood-Arc of a Diver
Jesse Colin Young-Song For Juli
Yes-The Yes Album
Gary Wright-The Dream weaver
Frank Zappa-Apostrophe
ZZ Top-Tejas.
Next part of the list coming tomorrow.