This is from Dan Kelly's excellent classic rock blog you can find here or permanently on your right.
The Countdown is over - and the best market for radio is: Chicago! "A huge, eclectic variety and still the best morning-show slate anywhere."That according to Sean Ross and the staff at Edison Media Research - who have been counting down their list of the ten best markets for radio over the past several weeks in their excellent "Infinite Dial" blog.
Let's face it, this stuff is very subjective (any top ten list is) but I, like Dan, thought Denver would do better. Denver is (and has always been) one of the bright spots when it comes to radio
If you are not from Kansas City, this post won't mean much to you, but to those of us who know Jack, he is as about as quirky as an icon can get for a major metropolitan area. Jack has pretty much made his fame a lot of his fortune by reviewing movies for Kansas City media outlets. I met Jack in about 1978 when I first arrived in KC from a much smaller market (Quad Cities). At the time he was filming a semi-pornographic movie that featured a giant penis running down the streets of Kansas City. Nice. First impressions as they say.. At that time on KY 102 every night at 5:50, we ran a feature called "Nighttime Magazine" which basically brought you up to date with everything going on in the city. For the next ten minutes or so, someone; whether it be Ted Nugent, Alan Carr, Pee Wee Herman, etc or the local bar owner or client that had something going on in the city was on that night. It was our chance to stop the station for about ten minutes and have some fun with whoever it was. "Nighttime Magazine" was one of the most popular features ever and it was just the station being local, topical, entertaining and fun without playing music. What a concept! Anyway, Friday night was "Jack Goes To The Movies Night" when that ten minutes would stretch to twenty because Jack brought real good shit to the party. Like the time he brought producer Alan Carr on the show becasue Alan was in town for the (shitty) remake of "Where The Boys Are". Alan takes a seat, the interview begins and Alan decides to drop his hand right on my leg. The audio is brilliant and Jack has it somewhere. The concept was brilliant, sure...let's get a guy with a German accent and have him come in every week and review movies...sure. Max Floyd was a friggin genius with that move. Jack has been just about the face of KY over those years. Jack and I have known good times and bad and ups and downs, he remains a guy of great class and dignity. I have never seen him drive anything but a Mercedes. His weird fetish for "Mama Mia" aside, Jack is a guy you can really have a good time with just sitting and drinking. I know because I have. Many times. As his show gets ready to celebrate it's 30th anniversary (on one station, pretty much uninterrupted), I am proud to consider him as a good friend. Here's the link to his website.
This was in Cincinnati during the lost weekend 1984, I believe. We ate at a German restaurant and dined with Randy Micheals. Got really really really trashed. Left to right: Jack, Paul Fredrocks, Skid Roadie, me. Jack at his other job with Sheldon Travel. He is a great travel guy, also.
We know the kids in this video. This band is very good and is doing very well. The edit job is by someone who was taught to do this by the wife. I think he learned very well. I think you'll enjoy this tune.
I must say, I grew up in a great time in the USA. In the early 70's, Saturday afternoons were full of cool stuff to do. If I wasn't working, riding my bike, going to the head shops or bowling I was watching "ABC's Wide World of Sports." Every six months or so would come on this flamboyant man dressed in a cape and he would jump over cars with his motorcycle. Sometimes he'd crash! Cool. If you were in your teens at that time, Evel was about as cool as it got. He had a beautiful wife and jumped junk for large sums of money, how great it would be to earn a living doing that, huh? Evel passed yesterday at the age on 69. My first response was how lucky he was to make it that far. My friends we are at a time in our lives when all of the people we followed in our youth (whether they are our "heroes" or just people we had a passing interest in) are leaving for the next life. My mother said that was her first inclination she was getting old. Evel represented to me all the stuff I could never do (a future post will detail the time I tried to jump a motorcycle at Arrowhead Stadium) Thanks Evel for one of my most forgettable interviews, too. He came through KC in about 1984 and while he was at the studio, he hit on my girlfriend so mercilessly that she finally had to leave the room. He was a bit hammered, too. I am sure he had his share of painkillers (legal or not) in his life. For doing all the things I could never do, here's to you, Evel.
BILLY JOEL has passed along his latest composition, "CHRISTMAS In FALLUJAH," to emerging artist CASS DILLON. DILLON's rendition of the song -- produced by TOMMY BYRNES and JAY BAUMGARDNER and recorded with members of JOEL's ensemble -- will be available for purchase exclusively on the ITUNES STORE beginning TUESDAY, DECEMBER 4th. Net proceeds from "CHRISTMAS in FALLUJAH" will be donated to "Homes For Our Troops," a nonprofit organization that builds specially adapted homes for service members returning from IRAQ and AFGHANISTAN with severe disabilities. BILLY JOEL is an avid supporter of the organization. JOEL wrote "Christmas In Fallujah" earlier this year as a response to letters he's received from soldiers in Iraq, men and women who've found solace, inspiration and comfort in his songs. "I didn't feel I was the person to sing this song," said JOEL of the decision to work with DILLON, 21. "I thought it should be somebody young, about a soldier's age. I wanted to help somebody else's career. I've had plenty of hits. I've had plenty of airplay. I've had my time in the sun. I think it's time for somebody else, maybe, to benefit from my own experience."For more information, please go to www.homesforourtroops.org .
Damn, how cool. Way to go Billy, you have just cemented my respect. His time is done and he passes the torch to the next generation. I salute you, Mr. Joel.
Bud Light Presents: Real Men of Genius(real men of genius)
Today we salute you, Mr. Excuse Ridden Over-Confident Kansas Football Fan. (Mr. Excuse Ridden Over-Confident Kansas Football Fan) Eleven straight wins, you wore that classy “Muck Fizzou” shirt like you meant it (Pinch me, I'm dreamin'!) A season of bloated statistics and over-hyped wins against Junior Varsity competition (Serve another cupcake!) Losing to a superior team with better players is no match for your what-if scenarios and could-have-been dreams (The field goal missed by inches!) So crack open an ice-cold Bud Light you emphatic engineer of excuses. After all, you would’ve won the game if it was played somewhere else! (Mr Excuse Ridden Over-Confident Kansas Football Fan.)
From Wikipedia: Crabby Appleton was an early 1970sband who scored a Top 40hit with their first single, "Go Back". Though nearly everybody in the group was from a LA based band called Stonehenge, the group was re-vamped with the introduction of Michael Fennelly to the line-up. Although Fennelly was the final addition to the group, he was the group's leader, writing all of their material and being the sole guitarist and vocalist. Fennelly had previously been one of the principal vocalists and songwriters in The Millennium, whose sole album (Begin, 1968), is considered a classic of sunshine pop. In addition to Fennelly, the group's members included Felix "Falco" Falon (percussion), Casey Foutz (keyboards), Hank Harvey (bass), and Phil Jones (drums). The group was signed to Elektra Records, probably at the insistence of JacHolzman, who was a big fan of Begin, and was later responsible for Curt Boettcher being signed to Elektra. The group recorded their first album for the label, and things looked promising when their debut single, "Go Back", climbed to #36 on the Billboard Hot 100chart. However, the album, Crabby Appleton, stalled at #175 on the Billboard Hot 200 chart, which would mark the extent of the group's chart success. Their second (and final) album, Rotten To The Core, as well as their subsequent singles, all missed the charts, and the group disbanded. Fennelly went on to attempt a career as a soloartist and studiomusician, though none of his later efforts as a solo musician were successful. Both Crabby Appleton albums have been reissued on CD by Collector's Choice Music, and "Go Back" has been released on many "Hits of the 1970s" compilations. The group is apparently named after the character of the same name from the Tom Terrific cartoon.
The first time I heard this song was (of course) on late night radio. I was blown away. Just the tome of the song and that monstrous sounding drum kit along with that tasty guitar hooked me big time. I immediately went and ordered the song from my hometown record outlet,(Cummins Electric, whose proprietor and I became great friends) took it home and proceeded to drive my family crazy. I was a master air guitar and air drummer and this song fulfilled my needs. After all these years, whenever I hear the song, I get out the old air guitar and completely embarrass my family. Micheal Fennelly went on to sing with Steely Dan on the song "Boston Rag" and had a solo career featuring two "KSHE Classics" including "Touch My Soul" and "The Day of The Fire".
This post was originally to be about Kevin DuBrow passing, but instead turned into video tribute to Slade, a band I saw in Davenport friggin Iowa in the late 70s. They rocked me out of the house and so now you know how this post became so ADDish. Here's Quiet Riot's bio. Kevin DuBrow was found dead today at the age of 52. He was the lead singer of Quiet Riot who basically, on the strength of two awesome Slade songs got their fifteen minutes of fame. Every time I met this guy, he was not a pleasant person. I met him three times in five years and each time I wanted to say.."do you really believe that you are that important?" He pretty much pissed off his fans, his band, any connection with radio and ultimately, the band known as giving Randy Rhoads his start slipped underneath the radar for good. It's not good karma to talk about the dead this way, so I will give him credit for exposing a whole new generation to the power that was Slade.
Noddy Holder rocks! How much? check this out: "While Slade's attempts at cracking the United States market were largely unsuccessful, they left their mark on a several US bands who cite Slade as an influence. Kiss bassist Gene Simmons readily admits that his band's early songwriting ethos and stage performance style was influenced by Slade. In his book "Kiss and Make-Up," Simmons writes on page 85, "the one we kept returning to was Slade," and "we liked the way they connected with the crowd, and the way they wrote anthems... we wanted that same energy, that same irresistible simplicity. but we wanted it American-style." Tom Petersson of Cheap Trick has said that his band went to see Slade perform, and that they used "every cheap trick in the book", thus inadvertently coining his group's name. Quiet Riot had a U.S. hit with their cover of Cum on Feel the Noize."
My video tribute to Slade starting with their great reunion drinking song:
Man, I am in sad shape today. On Thursday and Friday, I played basketball full out, as fast as I could go. Today, my shoulder hurts and on Friday, I had someone roll up on my leg, twisting my knee and knocking me on my ass. So, I have a deep hip bruise and another shoulder that I need to watch. The moral? There is none, I'll be back in the gym on Monday night. I can't help it, I'm addicted.
This could be a disaster tonight, although I really hope not. 77,000 screaming, out of their mind football fans will descend upon Arrowhead stadium rooting for either Kansas or Missouri. These two schools really don't like each other. There will be alcohol served and the students have all been integrated with each other instead of having their own sections. Football, college students, rivalry, alcohol....this could get ugly. I am hoping cooler heads previal. this will be the biggest game in the history of the two schools; KU is 11-0 but really hasn't played the level of competition Mizzou has. Mizzou has the propensity to choke in the big ones. I will be front and center in front of the bigscreen (which, by today's standards isn't really that big) and I will be hoping that all the excitement will be on the field, not in the stands.
My prediction...Mizzou 42 KU 28. So, I have just jinxed them by rooting for them. Place your bets on KU.
At the Muny, if I remember right. Also if I remember, he wanted nothing to do with any of us. I brought on the opening band which was...oh, nuts. I forgot. Maybe someone will remember. Anyway, ahem...this is number 14.
Rant...Mac and Cheese bites. Are you f-ing kidding me? Mac and cheese isn't full of enough fat, now, you are going to deep fry them? As a man who lived on mac and cheese for the first half of my life, I can tell you how incredibly tasty mac and cheese is. However, that fat content is somewhere around nine thousand calories, deep frying them is definately the answer. Damn things look good on TV, that's for sure
Rave...soda and slushie happy hour from 2p-4p every day. Very nice idea and one I will take them up on. Now, if only they would do that with the smoothies, that would be very nice
From Jerry Del Colliano's Inside Music Media November 20, 2007 In a way radio was an iPod long before Apple invented iPods. After all, radios were portable analog music devices that allowed baby boomers to carry their music around with them 24 hours a day. The iPod of today gives the listener total choice -- the music they want, when they want it and in whatever (or no) special order. Back then, the predecessor to the Apple iPod was a transistor radio and an entire generation grew up with their radios to their ears -- just as today, ear plugs and all. The forerunner to the "iPod" lacked the level of choice that today's Apple device has, but it had something even more valuable to young baby boomers -- air talent. DJs were personalities and, arguably, even after Bill Drake cut the clutter from the top 40 format they were still personalities -- just the kind that didn't run at the mouth so much. My friend Jack Taddeo, the consultant, describes format radio as a merging of science with art. Transistor radios may not have allowed the listener to program the device but it entertained in a way that Apple's iPod can't. Of course, today's iPod doesn't have to entertain other than play music. That's because the radio industry has been asleep at the mike for a long, long time. Hey, I've been in this business for a while and I take my share of the blame, too. Long before consolidation in 1996 radio stations began what I think led to its demise. Before I get to it, keep in mind that radio has always been adaptable. Before television was available to the general population in the fifties radio was television without pictures. When the new medium took off and consumers could afford sets, radio found that it could no longer thrive in the same way with just the audio.So, radio reinvented itself. It became a jukebox. Then a talk and information source. Later a sports station. Radio saw its finest day when its owners and talent knew their main mission.But I believe in the late 1980s radio programming began to go stale. The digital, Internet and mobile revolution was only a gleam in the eyes of Bill Gates, Steve Jobs and Al Gore (didn't he invent the Internet?). Radio stations simply stopped developing new formats. I've said it before but it deserves repeating that if Westinghouse didn't stubbornly stick with 24 hour all news the money format wouldn't be available as a radio staple today.Can you imagine a consolidator today making that commitment and losing money for as long as Westinghouse did in the 60's? The kinds of formats that radio developed were niches of niches. For example, the offshoot of top 40 was Superstars classic rock which gave birth to classic hits and classic just about anything else. It was as if radio ran out of ideas and just kept fine tuning the handful of formats that worked -- with the help (I think) of researchers and consultants looking to deliver big ratings on small budgets with less risk. I have never been a fan of consolidation which ultimately sealed radio's fate but radio's problems today started before greedy owners, Wall Street money people and Steve Jobs. Now, radio is in its twilight -- as are its most ardent fans, the baby boomers. The iPod was inevitable because once technology paved the way, radio had already become an iPod -- a portable jukebox with a lot of baggage. Music with little personality. Too many commercials, promos and clutter. Before I switched formats at one of the Philly stations I worked for right out of college, it was automated -- Shafer automation. We were trying to kill radio off that early but our memories have become clouded. Yes, the radio industry was not satisfied dodging the bullet of a new medium -- television -- it wanted to be an iPod long before it was possible. Radio news got stashed on the all-night show. Then less news and finally no news. The all-night show went. First on weekends. Then to network syndication. The cost cutters were at work decades ago. Local radio became less local -- more national syndication and eventually voice tracking. The last hurrah was the morning "Zoo" personality programs and Howard Stern. Radio's legacy may be that Howard Stern was its last great personality who ironically defected to its arch enemy satellite radio. I get into all this because 2008 is going to be another year of change and great disappointment for radio. Radio will not recover its listeners or advertisers. In fact, it is going to lose more of both. How do I know? Clear Channel which goes private in a few months is already taking more and more stations away from live personalities and implementing voice tracking. The formula Clear Channel station is being developed for these geniuses at Lee and Bain.Clear Channel has done a lot of things to help bury the radio industry and they are not through. Major dayparts in small cities like New York are going with voice tracked personalities. And you can't even use the word personalities and voice tracking in the same sentence because voice tracking is boring radio. Just what you need when the next generation is leaving you. Brilliant! Many remind me that radio survived television so it will survive the digital revolution, too. I imagine anything is possible, but don't bet on it. For radio to find a place on the entertainment spectrum it needs to not be a poor imitation of an iPod. An iPod is better. Your own library. You control it or don't control it. And it's no worse than voice tracking. As I said, it's better. Radio must challenge itself to be something very non-iPod. One of the things I do for radio companies is to help their people brainstorm new formats. You know what happens? They can't seem to come up with any? Surprised? I'm not. But Gen Y students -- the next generation --- have no problem. It's just that you won't like what they come up with.Because it isn't radio. Radio stations want to be in charge of programming but the next generation also wants to make user-generated content (i.e., YouTube, mashups, etc). These two things are in conflict. Radio still works with boomers and Gen X, but there's no growth without the digital generation. To put it in perspective there are approximately as many Gen Yers as there are baby boomers. That's how important the next generation is.Which leads me to my point.For radio to have even a small chance -- it can no longer be radio.
Absolutely right on. I have stated it before, we in radio have thrown in the towel, called it a day and basically has handed the next generation on a silver platter to the Ipod. We did it and have no one to blame but ourselves.
What are we doing to our kids? It seems that parents these days want their kids to be stimulated everywhere and anywhere they go. Gone for a ride? Well there's the DVD player in the SUV that will do the trick. What about being in their rooms? The computer is there along with a TV, Ipod, CD player, etc etc. Where and when will these kids ever be alone? How will they ever get used to being alone if there is this constant stimulation that seems to be driving this generation? Kids are not ever allowed to use their imagination. They can't "think" of things to do because things are already supplied. I hate to sound old, but when I lived on the farm in my formative years, there was "nothing" to do. We had a TV that got two stations (on a good day), a radio that picked up AM stations and a little reel to reel recorder that allowed me plenty of time to bug my sister. Funny, I was rarely bored. I got outside, rode my bike, hiked, camped and pretty much did all the stuff by myself. Chores in the morning and chores in the afternoon. How could these kids today ever survive in that world? My parents would take long trips and there was little to occupy my time, so I would make up stuff. I did it. I figured out how to stave off bordom. Me. Not a macnine or anyone else. It built character. Wait, you mean you would actually leave the kids alone, by themselves to finish a task? Won't happen. Instead of GPS machines, I folded the map and navigated a long trip. Without the GPS, I could tell you how far the next town was, what turn to make and usually where the best cheeseburgers were. We're missing a very important component to growing up in this day of immediate stimulation. The ability to think for oneself, to solve problems, to be creative, to make friends, to be alone, to make up fun things to do without relying on machines is now lost on this generation. The simple pleasure of completing a jigsaw puzzle, completing a crossword puzzle, pondering the universe or our future, to think independently without outside stimulation is now a lost artform with these kids. They need constant supervision and constant stimulation. How sad for them, how sad for us.
I am continuing my count up to my top 100 releases of all time. This is just my list, please feel free to comment about yours. We are doing this in revese alphabetical order. Last LP was David Wilcox "Home Again". Here are the latest:
This is the ultimate masterpiece from a band who was never better than at this time. Can you name any better album? Every song is killer and of course, this contains "Baba OReilly" and "Won't Get Fooled Again" along with "Goin Moblie", "Bargain" and more. This LP set the bar so high for anyone else. To me, this is about as perfect as it can get. The production, writing, arranging and the timelessness of this makes it about as good as it gets. They could never duplicate this and very few releases have acheived the status or the heights as this one did. A+ across the board. At fifteen, this thing just about knocked me out. How loud did I play this? What?
This release got me through high school. It came out when I was a sohomore and the teenage angst involved with this allowed me to channel my negative energies into a beautiful 12" virgin piece of black vinyl, two of them, actually. Sonically not on par with "Who's Next" but about as important to me as "WN" was. "Love Reign O'er Me" remains as one of my favorite from these guys. Can you see "The Real Me?" is something I asked many years ago. Late nights, under the headphone with Dr, Jimmy, the punk and the godfather, trying catch the 5:15, wondering if I would have classified as a mod or a rocker. As far as importance in my life, this ranks a very close second to "WH". A very fine ending to the trilogy that began with..
This was the make it or break it release from The Who. At this point, the record company wasn't happy with the sales and challenged The Who for something that would define them as a band. They got it. Peter Townshend's tsory of a deaf, dumb and blind kid was one of the very first double albums I ever purchased. After hearing "See Me Feel Me/We're Not Gonna Take It" on late night radio somewhere, I thought this was an interesting concept from the band that gave us "Magic Bus" "My Generation" and others, I knew they had grown up. This became a staple on my turntable over the very hot summer of 1970 I went through two copies and now two different CD forms.
Oh, so now they tell us. It wasn't turkey and cranberries and pumpkin pie and people who wore funny hats, big belt buckles and shiny shoes. It was deer meat, pumpkin pudding (probably underdone) and the natives brought corn. I don't believe it. The next thing you'll try and sell me is that Christopher Columbus wasn't the first foreigner to set foot in North America. Hah!
James Brolin's Ex Recovering After Naked Traffic Accident The ex-wife of Barbra Streisand's husband James Brolin is recovering in hospital after a bizarre traffic accident. Actress Jan Smithers, a star of beloved TV sitcom WKRP In Cincinnati, was driving naked when she stopped for help after her car broke down on a remote California highway in the middle of the night. She was hit by a truck after the driver caught sight of the 58-year-old waving him down too late. She has been recovering from her injuries ever since the September accident, but family members fear her health issues might be more than a few broken bones. A family friend tells the National Enquirer she fears Smithers suffered a mental breakdown following the death of her father. The pal says, "Everyone thinks Jan felt abandoned and snapped - a complete meltdown." Ironically, police called to the scene of the accident found nothing wrong with her car and are puzzled as to why the actress stopped for help. Smithers can't remember anything about the accident or why she was driving naked in the middle of the night. She and Brolin wed in 1985 and had one daughter, Molly, together. They divorced in 1995, three years before the actor wed Streisand.
I always thought this was one of the most beautiful women I have ever seen. I pray for her and her family. Apparently, losing her daughter to college and the death of her father was pretty hard on her. I can relate. Here's hoping she's OK.
`The term "Nantucket Sleighride" was coined by the whalers to explain what happened after they harpooned a whale. The first harpoon was not intended to kill the whale but only to attach it to the whale boat. Then the whale would take off... pulling the whale boat along on a "Nantucket Sleighride". The whale would tire itself out, then the leading officer in the boat would use a lance and stab the whale until dead.''
Goodbye, little Robin-Marie Don't try following me Don't cry, little Robin-Marie' Cause you know I'm coming home soon
My ships' leaving on a three-year tour The next tide will take us from shore Windlaced, gather in sail and spray On a search for the mighty sperm whale
Fly your willow branches Wrap your body round my soul Lay down your reeds and drums on my soft sheets There are years behind us reaching To the place where hearts are beating And I know you're the last true love I'll ever meet
Starbuck's sharpening his harpoon The black man's playing his tune An old salt's sleeping his watch away He'll be drunk again before noon Three years sailing on bended knee We found no whales in the sea Don't cry, little Robin-Marie 'Cause we'll be in sight of land soon
It's an interesting time to be in St. Louis. The Blues have a chance to put together a fine season. Effort is the biggest trait that will get you a great base of fans around here. I see the effort this year with the St. Louis Blues. They are hanging with and beating the big boys this year. That's good. Scottrade will be loud and full this winter, although I miss the good old sweaty Arena about this time of year. The Billikens are on the rebound (so to speak, ya know I kill me), Rick Majerus has one of the best recruiting classes coming in next year. There's Wash U basketball (number one division III), that will highlight the winter. SIU, etc etc. But the stories of the year around here concern the Illini (awesome year, beat number one and will go to a major bowl) and the hard to fathom Missouri Tigers. Just think of this Mizzou fans, three games...three games hold the key to the national championship. 1) Beat KU
2)beat the south champ
3) play for the championship
That's it. Three games and the national championship will reside 90 miles from St. Louis. Wow!
I saw this kid play in high school. Jeremy Maclin went to school with my daughter. As a sophomore, he put a move on a kid that made me stand up and notice. He ran as fast as he could for twenty yards, stopped and took off again. The other kid had no chance. I saw him do that again and again and now, this kid from Kirkwood is ready to play on a national stage as a frigging freshman. This is what sports is all about. MU vs. KU at Arrowhead in front of 77,000 people. This will be the biggest game in either schools more than one hundred year history. I keep waiting for Mizzou to screw up, but so far, they look real. I have not seen KU play but being undefeated, they deserve it. Number two vs. number three in the nation. And we are but just witnesses to history.
He was a member of the Cincinnati Bengals offensive line, so therefore, his credentials as a broadcaster are solid. I never wished for a different color analyst more than I did today while watching Mizzou. I understand that your job is to tell us the most minutiae of detail but please can you just shut the hell up? Please? Can there be just one play that you don't wax poetic over until the quarterback snaps the ball? "You can't start the play until you start the play." What the hell was that? Really? Everybody was being punched in the mouth and on and on and ...zzzzzz. Why is it ordained that in order to do colour work in football you must have played the game? Can't real broadcasters broadcast while former football players do what they do best? Not sure what that is but it ain't being broadcasters. And more unemployed radio people wonder why...
At one time in my life, I was a loan officer. When I was sick, my good friend Glen took me under his wing at his mortgage company, allowed me to work to collect insurance. God bless him, I don't know what would have happened if he didn't. In ALL of my dealings with poeple, I steered them away from the adjustable rate mortgage. Why? At the time of my being in the business, rates were historically low. Unbelievably low. I refinanced my house at about 5 1/4 percent. I knew that if the rates were historically low, they weren't going to go much lower, only higher. My line was, "you'll love me now but in five years, you'll hate my guts." I wanted their business again and in order to that, I was completely honest. Some didn't listen, some did. Those who did are still paying about 5 1/2% and are building some decent equity. Those who didn't are probably in the throes of foreclosure. I feel very strongly about this...when dealing with something as important as your biggest expense ever, ya might want to do a little background work to a) find a reputable lender and b) read the doggone fine print. I feel bad for those who have put themselves in this position but buying a house with no down payment or buying too much of a house is entirely their fault. What would our parents have done? Probably buy a starter house, (or, what we did which was rent until we could afford a house we liked) then when you have the down payment saved, finding a house you can afford. But no, not this generation. It reminds me of an old Queen song "I want it all and I want it now!" About five years ago, there was a massive building boom around my house when all these Mcmansions went up. I thought to myself, who is buying all of these expensive houses? Five years later, 70% of them have for sale signs up. Now I know who was buying them...people who couldn't afford them.
A Manhattan restaurant that unveiled a record-breaking $25,000 (12,200 pounds) dessert last week has been forced to shut its doors temporarily due to an infestation of mice and cockroaches. Serendipity 3 on the Upper East Side failed its second consecutive health inspection in a month on Wednesday night after health officials found a live mouse, mouse droppings in multiple places, flies and dozens of live cockroaches, the Heath Department said. "We're rectifying it as quickly as we can," said owner Steven Bruce, adding the restaurant would then be allowed to reopen. Serendipity 3 set a Guinness world record on November 7 for the most expensive dessert when it partnered with luxury jeweller Euphoria New York to create "Frrozen Haute Chocolate," a blend of 28 cocoas fused with 0.2 ounces of edible 23-karat gold. It comes with an 18-karat gold bracelet with 1 carat of white diamonds at the base of the goblet. The sundae is topped with whipped cream covered with more gold and a side of La Madeline au Truffle from Knipschildt Chocolatier, which sells for $2,600 a pound. The desert is a more decadent take on Serendipity's $8.50 "Frrrozen Hot Chocolate," which the talk show host Oprah Winfrey once endorsed by saying it made her want to "dance on the chandeliers." Bruce also has a $1,000 ice cream sundae on the menu called Golden Opulence.
"Reflections of my Life" by the band Marmalade was released in December 1969. Probably heard on the radio in the beginning of 1970. I was getting ready to turn 14. My brother was in Vietnam, I was living in the middle of nowhere. I think this song may have helped save my life. Is that possible? The haunting, melancholy vibe of the song was plugged on to what I was feeling. The incredible backward guitar solo only enchanced it's reputation with me. I heard it on the radio for the first time and ordered the song from Cummin's Electric the next day (the only other place to buy 45s was at the drug store and all of their records skipped or weren't the latest on the charts). I played this song over and over and to this day, remains one of my all time favorites. Here's a very cool video of the band doing the song live (not lipsynching it). This is probably in my top 30 of all time. Funny the stuff you take from youth, huh? It's always the good stuff.
Word reached me that Danny Billings passed. Most people don't know who Danny was, but for a brief shining moment, Danny was doing what I dreamed of doing...playing drums in a rock and roll band. Danny was the second drummer and a part of the most successful incarnation of the band Missouri.
Danny is the guy all the way to the right...think he had any problems with the ladies? He was also one of the first guys I met when I moved to Kansas City. I welcomed them on stage at Worlds of Fun right after I got there(at that venue I also announced Sammy Hagar and Mucheal Stanley) but,I digress. We became good friends and he was one of the nicest, most down to earth people I have ever met. Apparently, he was killed in a car accident. He was 51.
Here's another in a list of bands that released just one song I liked. Made up of Charlie Farren on guitar and vocals along with David Heit on bass, combine the two and bingo, and you have "Ferrenheit". Cute. In 1987, KSHE played the song "Fool In Love" for about two weeks. I fell in love with it and enjoy the lush harmonies. The CD was produced by Keith Olsen (Fleetwood Mac, Journey) and mastered by Bob Ludwig. Excellent song, that was it, bye, they were gone after less than a month. Very nice pop tune. I enjoy good pop songs and this is a good one.
Thanks to my friend Steve K., here is the video: It's a bit grainy and dark and you need to turn up the speakers, but hey, here they are:
Noddy Holder rocks! How much? check this out: "While Slade's attempts at cracking the 
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