Old Guy Radio - Bamboo House of Dolls

Hear me out.

There is a series of novels by Richard Kadrey centered around the character James Stark (aka Sandman Slim) and his various acquaintances (and enemies). The novels are urban fantasy noir, I guess. They’re like Raymond Chandler crossed with Charlaine Harris? But all of that is beside the point. The point is that one of the frequent locations in the stories is the Bamboo House of Dolls. To quote from one of the novels:

"A little east of home is Bamboo House of Dolls, the best punk tiki bar in L.A. Old Cramps and Germs posters on the walls. Plastic hula girls and palm trees behind the bar. An umbrella in your drink if you ask nicely. There's also a brilliant jukebox. Martin Denny. Arthur Lyman. Meiko Kaji. I don't think there's anything on there less than forty years old."

I first started reading the Sandman Slim novels in 2010. I didn’t really pay attention to the music mentions back then, mainly because there was no way to find any of it. Pandora was still in its infancy, and its universe of music, though broad, was not very deep. It wasn’t until recently that Spotify even had some of these artists. For example, when I posted the Tribute list in January, they only had one Takeshi Terauchi album. Now they have dozens! And there are still songs that Kadrey name checks that I can’t find.

So lately, when I come across an artist’s name, I go straight to Spotify and listen to them while I read. It’s fun. And I decided to spread the love. What I did first was to go back through every Stark novel I have read (yes, I have actual copies) and find all the artist mentions. In addition to stuff played in Bamboo House of Dolls, Stark and his girlfriend Candy have an interesting taste in music. All of that is here. The playlist is exceedingly long. Just put it on shuffle and enjoy the ride.

By novel, here are the mentions (the playlist includes the albums and songs in bold):

Sandman Slim: Martin Denny, “Alice” by Tom Waits (not in the playlist because Stark doesn’t like it, since Alice is the name of his murdered girlfriend)

Kill the Dead: “Swamp Fire” by Martin Denny (Afro-Desia), “City of Veils” by Les Baxter (Ports of Pleasure), “Bali Hai” by Tak Shindo (from the compilation Mondo Exotica, also added M’ganga)

Aloha From Hell: none, but then, a good portion of the novel takes place in Hell

Devil Said Bang: Some devil themed songs at the beginning, which also mainly takes place in Hell, then back on earth: “Chuncho” - Yma Sumac (Inca Taqui), “Blues for Dixie” - Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys (doesn’t fit the theme), “Balloon Waltz” - Les Baxter (can’t find it)

Kill City Blues: Martin Denny, Les Baxter, “Yadokari” - Meiko Kaji (Yadokari or ヤドカリ), “Was It Really Love” - Martin Denny  (Exotic Moog)

Getaway God: “Winter Wonderland” - Martin Denny (can’t find it), “White Christmas” - Martin Denny (can’t find it)

Killing Pretty: “Exotic Night” - Martin Denny (a tiki version of “Greensleeves” on the compilation Christmas Cocktails, Part 2), “Limehouse Blues” - Esquivel (Infinity in Sound, Volume 2), Martin Denny

Perdition Score: Martin Denny, Arthur Lyman, Meiko Kaji, Takeshi Terauchi (Rashomon), “Oasis of Dakhla” - Les Baxter (Tamboo!), “Sakura” - Arthur Lyman (Taboo 2), “Beyond the Reef” - Frankie Carle (Tropical Style of Frankie Carle)

Most of this stuff is from the 50’s and 60’s. Today it smacks a bit of cultural appropriation, but that’s probably not fair. The Polynesian and African rhythms are real enough, sure, but the instrumentation and arrangements just seem imagined, rather than copied. Does that make sense? I am not an anthropological theoretician, just a guy who likes all kinds of music. 

And here’s a little bit about the artists:

Martin Denny - Kadrey mentions Denny in almost every novel, but only specifically names a couple songs. Denny is often considered the father of exotica (or tiki) music. His 1957 single “Quiet Village” (a cover of a 1951 Les Baxter original) actually reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100. I’ve put his albums “Afro-Desia” from 1959 and “Exotic Moog” from 1969 in the playlist.

Les Baxter - Baxter was more of a composer and soundtrack artist than he was a pop music sensation, but his contribution to the overall style of exotica can not be overlooked. Included in this playlist are his albums “Tamboo!” from 1956 and “Ports of Pleasure” from 1957.

Tak Shindo - Shindo was a Japanese American musician, whose interests lay more in jazz and incorporating Japanese elements therein. But he jumped on the exotica craze with his album “Mganga! The Primitive Sounds of Tak Shindo” in 1959, which became a hit and is included in the playlist.

Yma Sumac - Sumac was a Peruvian singer with a reportedly five octave range. She embraced exotica early on, working with Les Baxter on her first album “Voice of the Xtabay”, released in 1950. Her 1953 album “Inca Taqui” is the choice for the playlist.

Meiko Kaji - One of the outliers, Kaji is best known as an actress. But she also had a successful recording career, mainly in the 70’s. Her 1973 album “Yadokari” is included.

Esquivel - Juan Garcia Esquivel was known throughout the 50’s as one of the foremost purveyors of lounge music. He even opened for Frank Sinatra in Las Vegas several times. I have included his album “Infinity in Sound, Vol 2” from 1961.

Takeshi Terauchi - Another outlier. Terauchi is not actually mentioned as being in the Bamboo House of Dolls jukebox, but his album “Rashomon” was presented as a gift to Candy in “The Perdition Score”, so that’s what you get.

Arthur Lyman - Lyman was actually the vibraphonist for Martin Denny on his 1957 debut album “Exotica”. He left soon thereafter to form his own band. Apparently, they didn’t speak to each other for decades. Anyway, you get “Taboo 2” from 1959

Frankie Carle - Last but not least we have Frankie Carle. Carle was a pianist, composer, and bandleader, who began his career nearly a hundred years ago. He was recording under his own name by the early 40’s. He was never really associated with the exotica movement, but did capitalize on the trend with his 1966 album “The Tropical Style of Frankie Carle”, which is what we have.

So that’s that. Over six hours of chill music. I actually tweeted about the playlist and tagged Kadrey. He retweeted it, and the playlist has accrued a few followers because of that. Fun times!

Old Guy Radio - Tribute 2021

Following the OGR tradition, January’s list is a tribute to those that have left in the preceding year. As the Classic Rockers continue to age into their 70’s and 80’s this list will get longer and longer, until it will ultimately get shorter. Just like all the Baby Boomers who decided to retire en masse last year (over 70% of the reduction in the workforce in 2021 was Baby Boomers packing it in), eventually there won’t be any Classic Rockers left. Except Keith Richards, who will live forever.

One of the things I really like to do with these Tribute playlists is to highlight a lot of folks that weren’t exactly A-listers, and hope that maybe you discover something new (to you) that you like. And unlike Spotify’s Discover Weekly, this playlist should actually have stuff you’ve never heard before. Spotify thinks that since I listen to Classic Rock on occasion, that I need to “discover” more Classic Rock. Hey Spotify, if I haven’t listened to Traffic, it isn’t because I’m unaware of them, it’s because I don’t like them.  Moving on.

The list is generally organized chronologically by the music, except when it isn’t. It is also fairly long. As is the writeup. Not sorry.

Stephen Sondheim - Composer 1962 “Comedy Tonight”. Before he got the chance to score his own musicals, Sondheim first provided the lyrics to “West Side Story” (music by Leonard Bernstein) and “Gypsy” (music by Jule Styne). “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum” was his first Broadway score. The story was based on old Roman farces. This is the opening number sung by Zero Mostel in the character of Pseudolus. Other Sondheim works include “Sweeney Todd”, “Into the Woods”, and “Sunday in the Park with George”. This seems like a good place to start.

Don Everly - The Everly Brothers 1957 “Bye Bye Love”. Don and brother Phil were incredibly popular and massively influential. The Beatles claimed them as an influence, with John and Paul even billing themselves as the British Everly Brothers for an early talent show. Graham Nash also recognizes their influence in his autobiography “Wild Tales”. Just listen to the Hollies “Bus Stop” featuring the close harmony of Nash and Alan Clarke.

Bonus Tracks:

The Beatles - Please Please Me

The Hollies - Bus Stop

Jimmie Rodgers - Self 1957 “Honeycomb”. Had to include this song, as it was the No. 1 song on the charts on the day I was born. Admittedly, I don’t like it very much, but what can you do?

Phil Spector - The Teddy Bears 1958 “To Know Him is to Love Him”. Actually, no. Fuck Phil Spector. He was a monster and a murderer. Best known for the ‘Wall of Sound”, a production technique that sounds fine on a tiny transistor radio, but sounds horribly  muddy on any decent stereo system. You want Spector, you’re on your own. He gets no bandwidth here.

Bunny Wailer (Neville O’Riley Livingston) - The Wailers 1963 “When the Well Runs Dry”, Self 1976 “Dream Land”. Wailer, along with Peter Tosh and Bob Marley formed the Wailing Wailers in 1963. “When the Well Runs Dry” is from their eponymous debut album and reportedly features Livingston on lead vocals (some sources say it’s Tosh). Nevertheless, Wailer left the Wailers in 1973 after “Catch a Fire” (so later did Tosh) and began a successful solo career. “Dream Land” is from his solo debut “Blackheart Man”. The bass on “Dream Land” is played by Robbie Shakespeare, another member in this year’s tribute.  

Mary Wilson - Supremes 1964 “Where Did Our Love Go”, “Someday We’ll Be Together”. Wilson was the only constant member of the Supremes, from their founding as the Primettes in 1959 to their ultimate dissolution in 1977. She also became a New York Times Best Selling author with the publication of her autobiography “Dreamgirl: My Life as a Supreme” in 1986. There were lots of songs to choose from, so I went with their very first No. 1 hit in 1964 and their last No. 1 with Diana Ross from 1969.

David “Jay” Black - Jay and the Americans 1964 “Come a Little Bit Closer”, “Cara Mia”. When Jay Traynor left the original lineup of Jay and the Americans, singer David Black was asked to take his place, but only if he would adopt the stage name Jay Black. Well, duh. Black and the group went on to record several Top 40 hits.

Roger Hawkins - Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section (drums) 1966 “Mustang Sally” “Respect” “Take a Letter, Maria”. The Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section was a popular group of session musicians based in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. They performed on many pop and R&B hits of the 60’s and 70’s. So you get some Wilson Pickett, Aretha Franklin, and R.B. Greaves. On a related note, expect a lot of this kind of tribute in the coming years. Most of the Wrecking Crew are well into their 80’s, and their output was prodigious.

Mike Nesmith - The Monkees 1967 “You Just May Be the One”. Nesmith was already a professional singer/songwriter when he was chosen as one of the Monkees. In addition to songs he wrote for the Monkees, Nesmith penned others that were recorded by the likes of Linda Ronstadt and the Paul Butterfield Blues Band. After the Monkees, Nesmith was a pioneer in the genre of country rock (“Joanne”) and an innovator in music video (see “Rio”).

Bonus Tracks:

Linda Ronstadt - Different Drum

Paul Butterfield Blues Band - Mary, Mary (also covered by Run DMC)

Tim Bogert - Vanilla Fudge (bass, vocals) 1967 “You Keep Me Hanging On”. Bogert was one of the founding members of Vanilla Fudge, a band best known for extended psychedelic jams of current hits. He and fellow Fudge founder Carmine Appice later joined up with Jeff Beck to form Beck Bogert & Appice (duh). I wanted to go with the seven-minute version of “You Keep Me Hanging On”, but the original is not on Spotify. So you only get the three-minute single edit. To make up for it, I’m throwing in BB&C’s version of Stevie Wonder’s “Superstition”, because we can.

Ron Bushy - Iron Butterfly (drums) 1968 “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida”. If we want a long song, what is better than the side-long “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida”? Bushy is well represented here, because of his extended drum solo, of course.

John Drake - Amboy Dukes (vocals) 1968 “Journey to the Center of the Mind”. Back when Ted Nugent was just a crazy guitarist, his band had a Top 40 hit with the psychedelic “Journey to the Center of the Mind”. So here you go.

B.J. Thomas - Self 1969 “Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head”. If Thomas is remembered at all, it is because of this Oscar-winning song written by Burt Bacharach for the soundtrack to “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid”. By the way, he was also the first performer to record “Hooked on a Feeling”, although the 1974 version by Blue Swede is best known today, thanks in large part to Ally McBeal and “Guardians of the Galaxy”.

Graeme Edge - Moody Blues (drums/poetry) 1969  “Higher and Higher”, “After You Came”, “You and Me”. Because I really liked the Moody Blues, three songs! Edge was one of the original members of the band. When they began their progressive period with “Days of Future Passed” in 1967, Edge provided the various spoken word passages that often turned up on their albums, like “Higher and Higher” (although read by fellow band member Mike Pinder). Edge also wrote or co-wrote many songs over the years, including the other two presented here.

Franco Battiato - Self 1971 “La Convenzione”. Battiato was an odd duck. The first part of his career was spent making experimental electronic and progressive music. Like this track. Later, he abandoned the trappings of progressive music and took a solid pop turn (Phil Collins, anyone?). Anyway, I’m also including his pop hit “La Cura” from 1996, anointed in Italy as the best song of the year. So there you go.

Commander Cody (George Frayne) - Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen 1971 “Hot Rod Lincoln”. This is actually a cover, believe it or not. The original was released in 1955 by Charlie Ryan and the Livingston Brothers, as an “answer song” to Arkie Shibley’s 1950 hit “Hot Rod Race”. Of course, Commander Cody’s is the more popular recording, reaching No. 9 on the charts. One of my very favorite novelty songs.

Takeshi Terauchi - Self 1971 “Kuroda Bushi”, “Symphony No. 5”. In the early 60’s, surf music, and the Ventures in particular, took Japan by storm. So guitarist Takeshi Terauchi formed his own surf band, the Blue Jeans, and proceeded to release dozens of albums in the ensuing years. Considered the King of the Electric Guitar in Japan, most of Terauchi’s output is not available on Spotify. But there is one album. According to the little I can find about it (not much), it was recorded in 1971, then remastered and finally released in 2020. Apparently, the first half is surf versions of traditional Japanese folk songs, and the second is surf renditions of what might be called popular Classical pieces. It’s pretty good. 

Alan Cartwright - Procol Harum (bass) 1972 “Conquistador”. Procol Harum crashed onto the scene in 1967 with their unusual hit single “Whiter Shade of Pale”. They went through multiple lineup changes over the years, with Alan Cartwright becoming their third bass player starting in 1971. He first appears on their live album with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, released in 1972. That album featured a new version of “Conquistador”, which also went on to become a hit single. Cartwright stayed with the band through 1975’s “Procol’s Ninth”, then retired from music altogether. Don’t panic if you don’t hear anything right away. There is nearly a minute of relative silence before everyone is in place and ready to go.

Rick Laird - Mahavishnu Orchestra (bass) 1973 “Birds of Fire”.  Prior to being one of the founding members of Mahavishnu Orchestra in 1971, Laird was sort of an itinerant bass player, playing with lots of other jazz performers as a member of Ronnie Scott’s house band in London. He performed on the first three Mahavishnu Orchestra albums (as well as the studio version of “Between Nothingness and Eternity”, recorded in 1973, but released in 1999). This cut is the title track from “Birds of Fire”, a fusion classic.

Sylvain Sylvain (Sylvain Mizrahi) - New York Dolls (piano/guitar) 1973 “Personality Crisis”. The Dolls were a glam-punk band from New York (duh) founded in 1971. They played hard rock and dressed in drag. Much like the Velvet Underground, they probably inspired more bands than they sold records. One of the DJ’s on Deep Tracks always lobbies that they should be in the RRHOF, which OG thinks is ludicrous. When was the last time you heard a New York Dolls song on a Classic Rock radio station? The answer is never.

Paul Jackson - Herbie Hancock (bass) 1973 “Chameleon”. Jackson was a jazz bass player and composer who enjoyed a long-term working relationship with keyboardist and band leader Herbie Hancock. This is from Hancock’s groundbreaking jazz funk fusion album “Head Hunters”.

Charlie Watts - The Rolling Stones 1974 “If You Can’t Rock Me”. Often described as the quintessential rock drummer, Watts was certainly more understated than many of his counterparts. While many drummers of the age played hard and lived harder (see Keith Moon, Ginger Baker, John Bonham, etc.), Watts preferred to play in a more laid back jazz style. And he always dressed sharp. “The band's on stage and it's one of those nights. The drummer thinks that he is dynamite.”

Dusty Hill - ZZ Top (bass/vocals) 1975 “Heard It on the X”. Hill was one of the three founding members of ZZ Top in 1969, along with guitarist Billy Gibbons and drummer Frank Beard (who did not wear a beard). Hill played bass and generally sang backing vocals to Gibbons’ lead. Occasionally, as with this track, he took co-lead.

Tom T. Hall - Self 1975 “I Like Beer”. Hall was a very popular songwriter and country singer. He wrote “Harper Valley PTA”, “I Love” (the little baby ducks song), and “The Year That Clayton Delaney Died”. In the mid-70’s, while I was leaning hard into progressive rock, both of my brothers had succumbed to country music. Jack was old school with Hank Williams Sr. and Dolly. But Ray was more into the then current pop country, like Tom T. Hall. Riding with him in his truck was non-stop Tom T. I know lots of his songs. To me, the word that best describes Hall is maudlin. We might throw in saccharin as well. And alcoholic. But then again, it is country.

Bob James - Montrose 1975 “Let’s Go”. James took over as the lead singer in Montrose after Sammy Hagar left the band. He appeared on two albums, 1975’s “Warner Brothers Presents” and 1976’s “Jump On It”. The metalheads in my dorm had both. This track is from the latter. 

Chick Corea - Return to Forever (keyboards) 1976 “Medieval Overture”, “The Romantic Warrior”. Corea had already achieved fame in jazz circles having played with Miles Davis from 1968-1972, when he formed the jazz fusion band Return to Forever in 1972. Both of these selections are from the band’s sixth studio album, “Romantic Warrior”.

Robby Steinhardt - Kansas (voice/violin) 1976 “Miracles Out of Nowhere”. Steinhardt typically shared vocals with Steve Walsh, but frequently took lead. He gets the lead here. The interplay of Steinhardt’s violin playing with the keyboards and guitar helped define the “Kansas sound”. 

Paul Mitchell - The Floaters (baritone) 1977 “Float On”. Of course, there is a single edit clocking in at only 4:13, but OG always goes with the epic album cuts. 11:49 baby! “Leo, and my name is Paul”

Jim Steinman - Composer for Meat Loaf 1977 “Paradise by the Dashboard Lights” and Bonnie Tyler 1983 “Total Eclipse of the Heart”. Steinman wrote music from the time he was in high school (class of 1965 at Hewlett High School in Long Island, same as Tony Kornheiser, BTW), with a leaning toward cinematic or theatrical music. He wrote the entirety of “Bat Out of Hell”, sung by Meat Loaf. As Meat became more famous (or should I say “Loaf”), he and Steinman drifted apart. Steinman continued writing dramatic music, including “Total Eclipse of the Heart”, for Welsh singer Bonnie Tyler. He even story-boarded the quite odd music video. 

Robbie Shakespeare - Sly and Robbie. Shakespeare was a sought after reggae bass player and half of the reggae production duo “Sly and Robbie” (with drummer Sly Dunbar). Together, they worked on albums by Jimmy Cliff, Peter Tosh (“Soon Come” 1978), Black Uhuru, the Itals (“Brutal” 1982) and even Grace Jones and Bob Dylan. 

Rusty Young - Poco (guitar, vocals) 1978 “Crazy Love”. Poco arose from the ashes of Buffalo Springfield. Stephen Stills and Neil Young went their way, Richie Furay and Jim Messina went theirs. Along with Rusty Young, Furay and Messina formed the seminal Southern California country rock band, Poco. This was their biggest hit, written by Young.

John Goodsall - Brand X (guitar) 1979 “Rhesus Perplexus”. In 1974, Goodsall was one of the founding members of the UK jazz fusion group Brand X, which also included Phil Collins on drums and Percy Jones on bass. The members rotated in and out, especially Collins, since he had other commitments. This track is from the 1979 album “Product”. 

Michael Stanley - Michael Stanley Band 1980 “He Can’t Love You”. MSB were your basic Midwest Arena Rock band from the 70’s, in the style of REO Speedwagon or Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band. Very popular in their hometown of Cleveland, they never really broke nationally. This is their only Top 40 hit, from the 1980 album “Heartland”.

Louis Clark - Self 1981 “Hooked on Classics”. Clark was an arranger and conductor, rather than a performer per se. Beginning with “Eldorado”, he was the arranger of the strings, orchestra and choir for Electric Light Orchestra. On some tours, he even joined to play synthesizer for the band. In pop circles he became well known for disco era hit “Hooked on Classics”.

Emmet Chapman - Inventor of the Chapman Stick. The Chapman Stick is a twelve string instrument, generally designed for “tapping”. The six strings on the “bottom” are basically tuned like guitar strings; the six on the “top” are basically bass strings. The instrument has a distinctive sound, and it has been adopted by a lot of notable bass players, Tony Levin foremost among them. Levin used the Stick extensively with King Crimson (“Elephant Talk” 1981) and almost exclusively with Liquid Tension Experiment. I have also included a very nice cover of Phil Collins’ “Roof is Leaking” (2021) by another Stick master, Kevin Keith.

Or just go watch this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYKB6Lag-wg

Richard H. Kirk - Cabaret Voltaire (guitar/saxophone/synthesizer/clarinet) 1982 “Yashar”. Cabaret Voltaire were a post-punk industrial band formed in 1973. Their peak years seem to be in the early 80’s, not that I am a judge of experimental post-punk music. This is from their fourth album “2X45”.

Pat Lupo - John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band (bass) 1983 “On the Dark Side”. In the early days of HBO, they showed the same movies over and over. One of these was “Eddie and the Cruisers”, a movie about the rise of a bar band and the subsequent disappearance of its lead singer Eddie. While the film had some elements of the story of Jim Morrison and the Doors, the music was more in line with Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band. John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band provided all the original music for the film. This one in particular became a hit. 

Prince Markie Dee (Mark Anthony Morales) - Fat Boys 1987 “Wipeout”. The Fat Boys were a hip hop trio out of Brooklyn who helped popularize rap in the 80’s. In addition to their music career, they also appeared in movies, most notably the screwball comedy “Disorderlies”. This track is their collaboration with the Beach Boys on a cover of the Surfaris’ 1963 hit single. 

Joey Jordison - Slipknot 2004 “The Blister Exists”. What little I know about Slipknot comes from Jacklynn and Wikipedia. Jordison was the original drummer and one of the founding members of this metal band from Des Moines. He and the band parted ways in 2013 after he was diagnosed with acute transverse myelitis, rendering him unable to play drums. This is from the band’s third album, aptly titled “Vol 3.” 

Anita Lane - Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds 1996 “Death is Not the End”. In addition to an esoteric solo career, Lane collaborated with many artists in the 80s and 90s, in particular Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. She wrote lyrics for a few of their songs, and contributed vocals (along with Kylie Minogue and several others) for this version of Bob Dylan’s original on the band’s 1996 album “Murder Ballads”, which OG heartily endorses.  “O’Malley’s Bar” is worth the price of admission. Anyway, I thought this would be a more than appropriate closer to this Tribute playlist. And so it is.

Thanks for your patience.

Old Guy Radio - Anywhere But Here

A couple weeks ago, I was out on my walk. It was one of those really cold, gloomy January days. Ugh. I was shuffling my “Liked” songs on Spotify (roughly 9,000) and this came up:

Last night it snowed for the first time

Everything's covered in white

How many months till the springtime

It's a long winter's night

The song, of course, is “Mexico” by Firefall, which leads off the playlist. But I thought, what a great theme for a February playlist: other places, most of which would be nicer than here right now. Especially with the Indy weather this past week.

The Spotify link follows the write-up.

Mexico - Firefall. Mexico is the country just south of the United States and north of Belize and Guatemala. Mexico is one of the cradles of civilization, with the Olmec culture dating as far back as 1500 BC. Since the country basically straddles the Tropic of Cancer, the southern half is by definition tropical, and the weather is usually quite nice. 

Firefall were a country-tinged soft rock band from Colorado. Their biggest hit was “You Are the Woman” in 1976. I actually saw them at the height of their popularity as the opening act for Leon Russell. Surprisingly, to me at least, about a third of the crowd left after they finished their set, apparently only coming to the show to see them.

Montana - Zappa. OK, so maybe you wouldn’t want to go to Montana right now. Actually, it really depends which side of the Continental Divide you are on. East of the Divide, it’s a deep freeze. West of it, not so much.

This is from Zappa’s most rock-accessible (although occasionally puerile) album “Over-Nite Sensation”. By the way, the female backup singers are actually Tina Turner and the Ikettes. They are uncredited, because Ike didn’t like the music.

Alta Mira - Edgar Winter Group. Altamira is a cave complex in northern Spain, famous for the many prehistoric paintings found there. The weather in the region right now is in the high 50’s, low 60’s. It is possible that the song actually refers to Altamira in Mexico, which is a port city on the Gulf of Mexico. But let’s go with the world famous site of prehistoric cave paintings, shall we. 

The Edgar Winter Group has appeared in OGR before, with their No. 1 instrumental single “Frankenstein”. This is from the same album “They Only Come Out at Night”, most of which doesn’t hold up that well.

Kansas City - Wilbert Harrison. Confusing schoolchildren for generations, Kansas City is the largest city in Missouri. I probably wouldn’t want to be there now, either, since their weather is just as bad as ours. Maybe worse.

There are a gazillion versions of this song (OK, maybe 200), but here’s Wilbert Harrison’s 1959 version which topped the Hot 100.

Chung Kuo - Vangelis. Chung Kuo (literally “Middle Kingdom”) is another expression for China. Depending on where you choose to go in China, the weather is OK. I mean, it’s a BIG country.  It's cold in Beijing right now, but mild in Guangzhou.

Vangelis is best known for his soundtrack work, having scored both “Bladerunner” (possibly my favorite soundtrack) and “Chariots of Fire”. As an electronic artist, he is distinguished from other practitioners in that I would consider his music “romantic” (in musical terms) rather than “ambient”. Of course, I don’t know anything about musical theory, so that’s probably just BS.

Viva Las Vegas - Elvis. Vegas is actually pretty nice in the winter. As I write this, it’s forecast to be 60 today in Vegas. Although, with sports gambling now legal in Indiana, there’s really no other reason to go. Unless you want to see a Cirque du Soleil show, or Britney.

I’m not going to tell you about Elvis, except for this grisly little tidbit of trivia. Elvis died because he had a condition called “megacolon”. Google it if you dare.

Tupelo Honey - Van Morrison. Elvis was born in Tupelo in northeast Mississippi. In 1936, when Elvis was a baby, most of the town was destroyed by a tornado. The weather there in the winter is mild-ish, with lows in the 30’s and highs in the 50’s. Please note, the song title refers to honey made from the flowers of the tupelo tree. As far as I can tell, there was never a honey industry in Tupelo, although they do make furniture there.

Morrison has been in OGR before, most recently in the Irish list last March. Sad to say, but the noted Belfast-born curmudgeon is something of a covidiot.

Indianola - Robben Ford. While we are on the subject of musical towns in northern Mississippi, Indianola is where B.B. King was from. He wasn’t born there, but he considered it his home. The B.B. King Museum is in Indianola, and the great bluesman is buried there. Its weather would be similar to Tupelo’s.

Prior to compiling this list, Robben Ford was completely off my radar. When I looked him up, I was amazed. He has played with acts as diverse as Miles Davis, Joni Mitchell, George Harrison, Barbra Streisand, and KISS! Wow. The list goes on and on. Anyway, this is from his 2002 album “Blue Moon”. I’m not sure if the song is about the Indianola in Iowa or the one in Mississippi, but we’re going to claim it’s the latter.

Goodnight Vienna - Sir Richard Starkey. Vienna is the capital of Austria. Located on the Danube River in eastern Austria, it has been home to an incredible contingent of composing giants, including Beethoven, Mozart, Haydn, Schubert, and Brahms. The weather there in February isn’t great, but it’s freaking Vienna!

The song was written by John Lennon for Ringo, and you can hear Lennon count the song in. He also plays the piano on the track and adds backing vocals. The big hit from the album; however, was Ringo’s cover of the Platters’ “Only You”.

Rio - Duran Duran. Rio de Janeiro is the largest city in Brazil, where it’s currently summer. So yeah, it’s probably pretty nice there.

John Taylor of Duran Duran said the song was about the city, although Simon Le Bon’s lyrics refer to a woman named Rio.

Budapest - Jethro Tull. Budapest is the capital and largest city in Hungary. Like Vienna, Budapest also lies on the Danube. And shockingly enough, it’s winter weather is quite similar to Vienna’s.

This song is from the Grammy-winning “Crest of the Knave”, which beat out Metallica’s “... And Justice For All”, much to the consternation of Metallica fans worldwide.

Riding Into Jaipur - Sir Paul McCartney. Jaipur is a city in the north Indian state of Rajasthan. Also known as The Pink City (for its architecture), Jaipur is a popular tourist destination. If you’re going to go, now would be the time. Highs in the high 70’s, and generally dry. But by April, it gets uncomfortably hot.

The song is from Macca’s 2001 album “Driving Rain”. I was previously unfamiliar with this album, as I pretty much gave up on McCartney after “Venus and Mars”.

One Night in Bangkok - Murray Head. Bangkok (or Krungthepmahanakhon Amonrattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilokphop Noppharatratchathaniburirom Udomratchaniwetmahasathan Amonphimanawatansathit Sakkathattiyawitsanukamprasit, which is its full Thai name) is the capital and largest city in Thailand. It sits astride the Chao Phraya River delta at the northern end of the Gulf of Thailand. It is hot there all year long, with highs in the 90s. But at least in February, it is mostly dry.

Believe it or not, but this was a big hit in 1985, reaching No. 1 in many countries, and peaking at No. 3 in the U.S. Because of the lyrics’ dismissive attitude to the city, it was banned in Thailand. Head is probably best known as Judas from the original recording of “Jesus Christ Superstar”. For Buffy fans out there, Murray Head is Anthony Stewart Head’s brother.

Kokomo - The Beach Boys. Kokomo is the county seat of Howard County, Indiana. Known for manufacturing, the city was hit hard by the recession of 2008. It has bounced back significantly since. The Kokomo that the Beach Boys are singing about doesn’t actually exist, although the other places they name check do, and almost any of them would be great to visit right now.

This song was written expressly for the movie “Cocktail”, which is an absolutely dire story of feuding bartenders, starring Tom Cruise.

San Tropez - Pink Floyd. San Tropez is a town on the southern coast of France, also known as the French Riviera. The winter there is mild, with February temperatures in the mid 50’s.

The song is from the grossly underrated album, “Meddle”, which frankly everyone should listen to. I know the 23 minute long space rock epic of “Echoes” might be a bridge too far for some.

Istanbul (Not Constantinople) - They Might Be Giants. I know it says it’s nobody’s business but the Turks, but the name “Istanbul” is a conflation of Greek words basically meaning “The City”. So there. Istanbul straddles the Bosporus, a natural strait connecting the Black Sea with the Sea of Marmara, so the city is in both Europe and Asia at the same time. The weather in February is moderate, but not exactly warm. Watch out for lake effect snow, though.

This song was originally recorded by the Four Lads in 1953, eventually climbing into the Top Ten. Because OG likes TMBG, that’s the version you get.

Up the ‘Pool - Roy Harper (yes, LZ fans, that Roy Harper). Blackpool is a resort town on the west coast of England. The weather there is nicer than it is here, but it’s still winter. Fun note, it is across the Irish Sea from Dublin, which happens to be Gaelic for “Black Pool”.

This song is actually a cover of a Jethro Tull original, first appearing on the compilation album “Living in the Past” in 1972. I just kind of like the Roy Harper version from the 1996 Tull tribute album “To Cry You a Song”.

Bonus Track - Double Agent - Rush. Not a place, but the opening lyric is the whole point of this playlist, so I had to include it.

We and our partners use cookies to personalize your experience, to show you ads based on your interests, and for measurement and analytics purposes. By using our website and our services, you agree to our use of cookies as described in our Cookie Policy.

Embed Block

Add an embed URL or code. Learn more

Old Guy Radio - Tribute 2020

I for one, am glad 2020 is finally over. And that means a Tribute playlist, commemorating some of the musical talents who died during the year. It has been a very stressful year, for many reasons. What with the pandemic, election chaos, grocery store panic, etc. Not to mention Murder Hornets. Because you know the First Rule of Murder Hornets.

There were some giants who left this year, so they will get their due. In addition, I always like to highlight some of the more obscure talents as well, and maybe expose you to something new. Tribute playlists tend to be eclectic, since Fate doesn’t provide themed playlists. Like the song says, “Death doesn’t discriminate between the sinners and the saints. It takes and it takes and it takes.”

As always, my Spotify profile name is pearsons3and2. Or just use the link at the end!

Rip It Up - Little Richard. Little Richard was a towering figure in the early days of rock and roll. His songs have been covered by artists as diverse as Elvis Presley, The Beatles, The Kinks, Johnny Winter, and even Pat Boone. He was a flamboyant, over-the-top performer, paving the way for other rock showmen. Instead of going with the usual “Tutti Frutti” or “Long Tall Sally”, let’s opt for another less often heard, but still top ten hit, “Rip It Up” from 1956.

A Summer Song - Chad & Jeremy (Chad Stuart). Chad & Jeremy were one of several male pop duos of the early sixties, like Peter and Gordon, or even Simon and Garfunkel. This was by far their biggest hit.

Oh Well - Fleetwood Mac (Peter Green). Green was the founder of Fleetwood Mac, which started as a British blues band. He even named it after his percussion section of Mick Fleetwood and John McVie. This is just about the only Green-era Fleetwood Mac song that the band still perform. That is, if they were performing.

Barefootin’ - Robert Parker. Parker scored a top ten hit with this one, but otherwise I would presume you’ve never heard of him. Parker started his musical career as a saxophonist, playing for many bands in New Orleans. In the late 50’s he decided to record some solo singles. This one came out in 1966, peaking at No. 7 on the Hot 100.

Suavecito - Malo (Jorge Santana). Carlos’ little brother had his own band, Malo. They were kind of horn-based like Blood, Sweat and Tears, but with a definite Latin flavor. When I looked them up, I was like “Hey! I remember that album!” A great one hit wonder too. This song broke into the Top 40 in 1972, and this particular OG remembers it distinctly. Enjoy.

Because the Night - Patti Smith Group (Ivan Král). Král was one of Patti Smith’s longtime collaborators, mainly playing bass and guitar. This song, of course, is famous because it was written (the music) by Bruce Springsteen. The lyrics were written by Smith. Later, Springsteen would perform it with his own lyrics. Anyway, this is the Patti Smith Group’s biggest hit.

Green Tambourine - The Lemon Pipers (Bob Nave). Any chance to include my favorite psychedelic pop song is a chance I’m going to take. Come on, it’s got sitar and vibraslap! Nave was the keyboard player on the track. Later in life, he would become a jazz DJ on Cincinnati radio.

Kookie, Kookie (Lend Me Your Comb) (Edd “Kookie” Byrnes). Edd Byrnes played the character “Kookie” on the 60’s tv series “77 Sunset Strip”. This novelty record (with Connie Stevens) was actually sort of a hit. I don’t know who brought it into the house, but the Pearson household actually had this 45. I have no idea what was on the B-side, although the internet assures me it was a version of Cole Porter’s “You’re the Top”. “Baby, you’re the ginchiest!”

Never Been Any Reason - Head East (Mike Somerville). Head East were sort of the quintessential mid 70’s midwest rock band. This particular song, written by lead guitarist Somerville, became a Classic Rock staple, although you don’t hear it much anymore.

Ain’t No Sunshine - Bill Withers. This song was included in the RRHOF 2015 list, when Withers was inducted. It’s so good, I had to include it again.

Just Dropped In (Too See What Condition My Condition Was In) - Kenny Rogers and the First Edition. Before he gained fame and fortune as a pop country singer-songwriter, Rogers was the front man for this rockier outfit. Another great psychedelic pop song. Rogers first top ten hit. The guitar solo was provided by famous session guitar player, Glen Campbell.

Mississippi Queen - Mountain (Leslie West). More cowbell! From Mountain’s debut album “Climbing!” in 1970. With West providing the vocals and lead guitar licks. Mountain actually took its name from West’s debut album, released in 1969, which is what they mostly played at Woodstock. Later, West and drummer Corky Laing would join up with Cream’s Jack Bruce to form West, Bruce and Laing. 

Timothy - The Buoys (Jerry Hzludek). Just your basic pop song about cannibalism. And it was a Top 40 hit! Written by Rupert Holmes. Yes, the guy that wrote “The Pina Colada Song”. The wholesome topics of cannibalism and infidelity. I have lots of questions. How long were they down there? “Nobody ever got around to finding Timothy”. They ate all of him!? I mean, for an average man of working age, you’re talking at least 50 pounds of muscle! And what did they do with the bones and viscera? Oh, and the singer blames it all on “Joe”. I feel slandered.

Gimme Some Lovin’ - Spencer Davis Group. Davis was born in Wales in 1939. He formed the Spencer Davis Group with brothers Steve and Muff Winwood and drummer Pete York in 1963. Steve Winwood was 14 at the time. Basically, the band was a vehicle for Winwood’s songs and vocals, and failed to achieve much post-Winwood success. Still gave us some classics, like this one. The Spotify list has the original UK version, which is a tad bit slower than the later US version. Finding the UK version elsewhere has proved difficult.

Losing It - Rush (Neil Peart). You should know by now that OG considers Neil Peart one of the best rock drummers of all time. But he also wrote the lyrics to all the Rush songs. And while his early efforts may have been a little spacey, as he matured and life happened to him, his lyrics became deeper and more personal. Case in point, this song. The second character is a fairly transparent reference to Hemingway. Oh, and the guy on the violin is Ben Mink, a frequent collaborator of k.d. lang. Rush never played this in concert until their final tour.

Pressure Drop - Toots and the Maytals (Toots Hibbert and Hux Brown). The Maytals were a pioneering reggae and rock steady band in Jamaica in the 60s and 70s. This song was featured in the film “The Harder They Come” in 1972, the film generally credited with exposing reggae to the world beyond Jamaica. The Maytals opened for The Who on their 1975-76 North American tour, including a stop at IU’s Assembly Hall. An article in the Indiana Daily Student at the time suggested Hibbert smoked more than an ounce of marijuana a day!

Textures - Cynic (Sean Reinert and Sean Malone). While researching this list, I noticed that two of the three members of Cynic had died in 2020. I was not previously familiar with this progressive/extreme metal outfit. Malone was the bass player; Reinert was the drummer. Hard to pick a representative song, as their sound shifted significantly from their first album “Focus” (extreme death metal which might remind you a bit of Opeth or Killswitch Engage) to their third “Kindly Bent to Free Us” (which is more alternative/progressive metal). And since I am pretty sure most of my audience does not care for growl vocals, I have settled on the instrumental “Textures” from “Focus”, highlighting the band’s chops (there’s even a jazz section in it!).

You’re No Good - Van Halen. On any other day, I would have picked “I’m the One”, which is a brilliant illustration of Eddie’s talent, but I just included that in June’s “Guitar Heroes” playlist. So that meant I had to listen to a bunch of VH, which is not my favorite thing in the world. The screeching of DLR just drives me up a tree! But I actually like this really down-tuned cover of “You’re No Good”, which does have some fantastic guitar work. So there you go.

I Remember Everything - John Prine. This one really hits me. Sort of like Leonard Cohen’s “You Want It Darker”, it seems written in anticipation of death. Prine was a very influential singer-songwriter, greatly admired by other giants in the field. Dylan said Prine was one of his favorite songwriters. His lyrics are clever and evocative. Frankly, go to Spotify and shuffle him. He can make you laugh as well as cry.

We’ll Meet Again - Vera Lynn. This is probably the most appropriate song I have ever closed a Tribute playlist with. Originally released in 1939, it became a hit in the UK at a time when many of Britain's young men were going off to war. Lynn re-recorded it in 1953, and that version is the better known one today. It is featured in the final scenes of the cold war black comedy “Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb”. Additionally, Roger Waters name-checks Lynn in the song “Vera” on side three of “The Wall”. As he was born in 1943, Waters is probably more familiar with the 1953 version. Anyway, I have chosen the original because it is more intimate. Lynn had a full life, surviving to the age of 103. 

On that note, I will say that I personally can’t wait until we can meet again. Maybe some sunny day. Hell, I don’t care if it’s raining!

Bonus Track - When Sunny Gets Blue - McCoy Tyner. And after that emotional rollercoaster, let’s chill out with one bonus track. OG does not pretend to know much about jazz. But he is aware of important figures in jazz, and Tyner was one of those. A frequent collaborator with John Coltrane and Wayne Shorter, Tyner also had an extensive and influential solo career. So we’ll ease out with this lovely jazz ballad.

Until next time!

We and our partners use cookies to personalize your experience, to show you ads based on your interests, and for measurement and analytics purposes. By using our website and our services, you agree to our use of cookies as described in our Cookie Policy.

Prog Epics

Another playlist, but no long writeup. I just wanted to put together a list of long progressive rock songs. Usually, when I make up a list, it takes me much longer to write about it than it does to listen too. Not this time. If you listen to this list in its entirety start to finish, well that’s nearly 8 hours.

The list is, unusually, basically broken into two parts. It is arranged entirely chronologically, and there is a big gap, which we will talk about when we get there.

For most of the songs released prior to 1975, I probably first heard them in college. Radio just didn’t play this music. But there were exceptions. WNAP certainly played “Tubular Bells” in its entirety many times, and I heard both “Ashes Are Burning” and “Gates of Delirium” on different King Biscuit Flower Hour shows. Starcastle and Kansas are included to have at least some non-English contributions, although Kansas were more arena rock than prog, and Starcastle were hopelessly derivative. But still. And here’s the list. All of these are at least 10 minutes long; none are longer than 24 minutes. That is in large part due to the physical limitation of vinyl albums. The most you could possibly put on one side of an album was about 26 minutes. Of course, when the cd format took over, well...

The OG’s of prog epics:

King Crimson - The Court of the Crimson King / October 1969 / 10:02 

Pink Floyd - Echoes / October 1971 / 23:32 

Van der Graaf Generator - A Plague of Lighthouse Keepers / October 1971 / 23:12 

Jethro Tull - Thick as a Brick / March 1972 / 22:40 

Yes - Close to the Edge / September 1972 / 18:41

Genesis - Supper’s Ready / October 1972 / 23:05 

Mike Oldfield - Tubular Bells / May 1973 / 26:01 

Renaissance - Ashes Are Burning / October 1973 / 11:21 

King Crimson - Starless / October 1974 / 12:24 

Yes - Gates of Delirium / November 1974 / 21:49 

Kansas - Song for America / February 1975 / 10:03 

Jethro Tull - Baker St. Muse / September 1975 / 16:39 

Pink Floyd - Shine on You Crazy Diamond (Pts 1-5) / September 1975 / 13:31 

Steve Hackett - Shadow of the Hierophant / October 1975 / 11:43 

Starcastle - Lady of the Lake / February 1976 / 10:26 

Pink Floyd - Dogs / January 1977 / 17:05 

Supertramp - Fool’s Overture / April 1977 / 10:52 

Rush - Xanadu / September 1977 / 11:04 

Tangerine Dream - Coldwater Canyon / October 1977 / 18:08 

Coincidentally, in October 1977, the same month Tangerine Dream’s live album “Encore” came out, the listening public was introduced to the Sex Pistols with their debut “Never Mind the Bollocks”. Is that meaningful? It might be. Genesis didn’t hit the ten minute mark again until they were a pop band who occasionally stretched out with “Domino” on “Invisible Touch”. Pink Floyd never did record another epic. King Crimson, who were notorious for lineup changes and long gaps between albums didn’t even release an album between 1974’s “Red” and 1981’s “Discipline”, which is honestly kind of new wavey. Only Yes really stuck to their guns, even though they stumbled a bit with lineup changes and loss of direction. 1980’s “Drama” has “Machine Messiah” on it, which clocks in safely over ten minutes, but isn’t that great. Of course, by the 90’s, there was a full on prog revival going on, and Yes was still there. On “Keys to Ascension 2”, we are treated to the dazzling eighteen minute “Mind Drive”. But at this point, let’s let the new generation of proggers have their say.

The new kids:

Porcupine Tree - Voyage 34 (Phase One) / November 1993 / 12:54 

Änglagård - Höstsejd / November 1994 / 14:03 

Dream Theater - A Change of Seasons / September 1995 / 23:08 

Flower Kings - Stardust We Are / April 1997 / 25:03 

echolyn - mei / June 2002 / 49:33 

Frost* - Milliontown / July 2006 / 26:35 

Some prognerds may complain that I did not include this song or that one. If you want to listen to Caravan’s “Nine Feet Underground”, knock yourself out. Think ELP’s “Tarkus” is the epicest of epics? I won’t try to dissuade you. Totally shocked that “2112” is not represented? I don’t know what to tell you. Even as a Rush fan, it has always left me cold. And don’t even mention Nektar’s “Remember the Future”. My feelings about that particular one are revealed by the fact that I skipped their set at NEARfest 2002. As for some of Spock’s Beard’s delightful tracks, Neal Morse simply refuses to allow his music on Spotify.

We and our partners use cookies to personalize your experience, to show you ads based on your interests, and for measurement and analytics purposes. By using our website and our services, you agree to our use of cookies as described in our Cookie Policy.

Who Are You People?

One of the interesting features of my website package from Squarespace is the Analytics. Almost certainly designed for website commerce, it is still interesting even for just a blogger like me. It lets me know how much traffic I get (not much) and where it comes from. And that is where it gets curious.

As you might expect, I get most of my traffic from central Indiana. I have lived and worked here for decades, as have many of my friends. So that’s no surprise. Hits from places like Fishers, Carmel, Greenwood, Plainfield, and Indianapolis make perfect sense. Neither am I surprised to have visitors from Texas or northern Ohio, as I have family in both places. And frankly, there is no mystery (to me at least) about the visitor I had from China, who is now a visitor from New Jersey (Hi, Hank!). But there are three sources that have me stumped.

First, there are the two Mainers. One of the IP addresses is in Portland, the other in Jonesport. As far as I know, I don’t know anybody in Maine. And then there is the visitor from Ireland. And I don’t know anyone in Ireland either.

And these are not just one-timers. These are regular visitors. How did these three people in Maine and Ireland stumble upon my blog and what on earth compels them to come back? Or are they just bots? Don’t get me wrong, I definitely welcome the traffic. But I want to know. So here we go…

Dear readers from Maine and Ireland, please use my Contact page to let me know who you are and tell me your story. I’d really like to know. Thanks!

The Last Round and Other Musings on Golf

Last month, I played perhaps my last round of golf, but we’ll get to that story in a minute. I say last round, because over the last sixty or so years, I have developed what is colloquially known as a “bad back”, and have found golf to be an increasingly difficult and indeed painful pastime. I’m not complaining, just stating the facts.

It is an undisputed truth that no one cares about anybody else’s golf game. But that’s not really what this post is about. It is more about my relationship with golf, and not to go all Little River Band on you, but there will be some reminiscing here.

Let’s start with my dad. He was an avid golfer, and by all accounts, a pretty poor one. Generally speaking, he would be lucky to break one hundred. Like many hackers, though, he was capable of hitting a good shot now and then. Blind squirrels and all that. This made him a sought after teammate for club events. His occasional par would turn into a net eagle, and that is a good thing indeed. And he golfed A LOT. During my youth, we didn’t see him much on weekends. When the Catholic Church said Saturday evening mass could count for Sunday, I don’t think he ever went to Sunday mass in the golf season ever again. My mother used to complain that he put golf “in front of God and everybody!” Thing is, I don’t think anyone in the family really caught the golf bug. At least, not while he was living. And as far as I know, I’m the only one who caught it ever.

Back to the story of that last round. Earlier this year, I asked one of my friends, Greg Ruthsatz, to help me plan an outing at The Fort. Since I am the only retired person in the group, I thought it might be easier for him to coordinate. And he is a great golf planner, having been responsible for setting up some great golf trips that I am not allowed to talk about. The first rule of Golf Trip, you know. Anyway, after working through everyone’s schedule, there was only one day in all of September that would work. So the plan was to go out on Wednesday, September 30th to play The Fort. In addition to Greg and me, rounding out the group were our friends Scott Hickner, Mark Fugate, Steve Cox, Kaitlan Woolsey, Chris Corbett, and Clay Summers.

If you don’t know, The Fort is the golf course at the former Fort Benjamin Harrison. When the base was decommissioned in the early nineties, most of it became Fort Benjamin Harrison State Park. The golf course itself, originally designed in the 1930s, was redesigned by none other than Pete Dye. It is a beautiful course, winding its way through wonderfully wooded, rolling terrain, offering spectacular views at every turn. My favorite public course in the area, it is unusual for a central Indiana course because of the surprisingly hilly landscape, which is one of the reasons I like it so much. The Fort is just simply a most challenging course in a very beautiful setting, especially when the leaves are beginning to turn.

Fall Colors

Golf Story Interlude Number One: My First Round

In 1985, two of my work friends, Scott Lockwood and Cheryl Lawson, who were both golfers and one of whom would later agree to be my wife (that would be Cheryl, not Scott), convinced me to go out and play. One day after work, we drove the short distance to South Grove. Since there were leagues on the front, they sent us off the back. Now, if you don’t know South Grove, it is a very old course, established in 1902. Word has it that it will be turned into a park in the next year or two, but that is not germane to the story. And what do the Germans have to do with this? Anyway…  South Grove is built near White River in downtown Indianapolis. So while most of the track is pretty flat (Indiana, duh), there are some elevation changes because it’s close to the river. The 10th hole, in particular, features a tee box on the top of a hill.

In preparation for this outing, I had bought a book on golf, because nerd. I had some idea about proper mechanics, but no real experience or professional feedback. I also had my dad’s clubs, which were probably already twenty years old. Except for his driver, which was one of the new-fangled metal woods. Nevertheless, we teed it up on the 10th, and I hit my very first drive straight down the middle. That was almost certainly my best shot of the round. I don’t think I whiffed that day, but I struggled to make consistent contact. Finished my first ever nine holes with a 58. Apparently, I was not a natural. But I thought it was fun.

Back to The Fort. Our first tee time was 9:30. Since I wanted the round to be like a fun golf outing, my first order of business was to distribute the goodie bags. You know, snacks, a sleeve of balls, ball markers, tees, a mini bottle of Wild Turkey, just the usual stuff. Then we boarded the carts and took the first tee. I also devised an offbeat matchplay format with SIX different scoring methods and even involved changing up the foursomes at the turn. And a Spotify playlist, of course (embedded at the end).

Custom Scorecard

For the purposes of the outing, I flighted the eight of us. There were two “A” players (Scott and Mark), two “B” players (Greg and Steve), two “W” players (Kaitlan and Chris), and two “O” players (original gangsters, i.e. those of us 60 and over, Clay and me). The A and B players would play from the white tees, the women would play from the red, and the gangsters would play from the green tees (in front of the white, but behind the red). The format for the first hole was AW/BO Scramble Better Ball. What? Well, in this made up format, the A and W players play a two-person scramble, the B and O players play a separate scramble, and the foursome cards the better score. Simple. But that was not even close to the weirdest format of the match. Moving on.

Oh, and a quick note on the weather. The temperature was in the 50’s, but the wind was strong and steady, fifteen to twenty miles per hour. This made layers a necessity, and certainly impacted club selection. That is, unless you suck at golf and can’t hit to a specific number anyway. 

Golf Story Interlude Number Two: The Heavenwood

The first time I broke 50 for nine holes was memorable. Greg, Mark, Clay and I (I think) decided to play Riverside one day after work. Riverside is another of the three courses all built in downtown Indianapolis near White River. Whenever the river overflowed, which it did with some regularity, Riverside would always take the brunt. You could literally find dead fish on the course. The day we played though, was actually a nice day, and I think we chose Riverside because they had a good deal. What makes the round memorable was this. I had recently acquired a Calloway seven wood, also known as a Heavenwood. Clay, who sometimes worked in a golf equipment store back then, says it was called that because it was longer than a regular seven wood and would theoretically give you more distance. Anyway, on that day, he bet he could beat me with just the seven wood. I said sure.

Riverside, as it turned out, was the perfect course for me at the time. Let’s be honest, my golf technique has always been poor. I have never really had the ability to strike down on the ball, hitting the ball first and then taking a divot. I was always more of a sweeper. Tight fairways are hard for me. Riverside, being a city course, was not always best maintained. On this particular day, the fairways were, how do you say, a little shaggy. This played right into my poor swing mechanics. Even in the fairways, the ball would sit up a bit, allowing me to hit it cleanly. So, as luck would have it, I shot my best round up to that time and finished with a 47, edging out Clay, who I think went for 49, which is freaking amazing, since he played with only one club!

Back to The Fort. The format for the second hole was Best Drive Two Better Balls. Everybody tees off, but then they all play in from the best drive. The foursome cards the sum of the two best scores. Still, not the weirdest format. On holes three, four, and five, the formats were, respectively, Two Better Balls, Scramble, and Two Better Balls, none of which I think deserve explanation. On number six, we followed up with another AW/BO Scramble Better Ball. Then we come to the seventh, and the best format of them all, the AB/WO Alternate Shot Scramble, which required multiple reiterations of explanation. It is this: Everyone tees off. Pick the best tee shot of all four. If an A or B player hit it, then the next shot is taken by the W and O players. Pick the best of those two shots, then the A and B players hit from there. So it is an alternate shot format, with a scramble component. Get it? No? Sigh. I don’t care, I thought it was fun. The decision on which drive to take was definitely strategic. The A and B players can often hit it further, but they may be able to do more with the drive from the W and O players, than vice versa. Of course, if three of the players hit it in the woods, then the decision is pretty easy.

Golf Story Interlude Number Three: Hawthorns Number Three

Some time in the late 90s or early 00s, Cheryl and I joined the Hawthorns Country Club. I am not really a country club person, but that’s neither here nor there. We did meet a lot of people, some of whom are still friends. And we had some truly goofy, alcohol-infused neighborhood outings. Nevertheless. One evening, Cheryl and I decided to get in a twilight nine. I think the special was that carts were free. We were joined by one of Cheryl’s golf friends and that woman’s son. On the third hole, a short par 3 (137 yards), the son and I went to our tee box and hit. He went first. When I hit my shot, it landed on the green, rolled to the hole, then we couldn’t see it anymore. I thought it might be behind the stick. Cheryl and her friend were over by the carts talking, and had not seen the shot. After they teed off, we rolled up to the green and found my ball IN THE HOLE! A freaking hole in one. The rest of my round was crap, as I was so jacked from hitting a hole in one. At the bar, I picked up the tab, which was cheap since hardly anyone was in there. And my name is enshrined forever (not literally) on the hole in one plaque by the pro shop. As it turns out, my only hole in one. But at least I’ve got the one. And I’ve still got the ball. 

Yes, I used to use crappy balls

Back to The Fort. The final format first comes up on the eighth hole: Total Score. Since the eighth at The Fort is the 17th handicap (i.e. the second easiest), I figured we could all play our own ball and total the score. Perhaps this was not my best idea. I have to confess that on this barely 300 yard par four, that my team carded a 25. Yes, that is an average individual score of 6.25, double bogey plus. Oops! The ninth was a simple scramble, and then we get to change up the teams. But if you change up the sides, how will you decide who wins? Well the A&W players stay together, as do the B&O players. So in the end, each pairing gets a point for each hole its foursome wins. You just have to know which pairings were in which foursome for each nine, which is spelled out on the scorecards kept by the A players. Got it? No? Sigh. Anyway, the back nine was played with the same formats as the front nine. I am happy to report that my team carded a total score 16 on the par three fourteenth, so we reduced our individual average to bogey for that format. Still lost the hole, though. At the end of the round, we loaded up our cars and agreed to meet for a late lunch at a local establishment, Jockamo’s.

Golf Story Interlude Number Four: A Shot I’ll Never Forget (not one of mine)

In the early oughts, I thought I was consistent enough that I played in an after work league. The league played at our old friend South Grove on Tuesday afternoons. I still wasn’t particularly good, but I could generally shoot in the middle 40’s or so. My ball flight had a reasonably predictable shape, and I could play to that. I was a mediocre putter, especially on the slow South Grove greens. I have always preferred faster greens. But there was one round that I remember well.

On June 29, 2004, I was subbing in the league. My opponent was Jim Long, a long time friend. That day I was striking the ball pretty well. By the time we got to the par five seventh, I was dormie, i.e. leading by three with three to go. I don’t recall whether I reached in two (unlikely, but I did accomplish that feat a couple times) or just hit my third close. Either way, I birdied to win the hole and the match. But the two things that make the round memorable are these. On the next hole, Jim hit a nice drive to the middle of the 8th fairway and had about 150 in. He hit a terrific second shot, and it went in for an eagle! The only time in my life I have ever seen anyone eagle a par 4. The other memorable thing about the round was that I ended up with 39. The first time I broke 40. The funny part, of course, is that Jim shot a 38, his best round of the season, and carded an eagle, and still got beat by one of the worst golfers in the league. Thank you handicaps!

Back to the Fort. Jockamo’s is a pizza joint right by the golf course. Because of pandemic procedures, the only place the eight of us could sit together was outside. So we did. And it was time to compare the cards and total up the scores. The front nine was all square, four wins for each foursome, and only one tie. The back nine was also all square, with two wins apiece, and five ties. So the whole match ended up all square. Each twosome ended up with six wins. What a perfect result! And Chris presented me with a special memento of the day, an etched beer glass that she made herself! Amazing! We all enjoyed our meal (although the wind picked up and made it a bit chilly) and drank a few adult beverages. What a great way to end a great day out!

Golf is an unusual game. Anyone can play it, although it is hard to play well. But my enjoyment of golf never had anything to do with my skill level, as I was never particularly good. I mean, my best days were in my 40s, when I could shoot in the 40s. No, my love for golf has always been about the camaraderie and the fun you have on the course, both during and after the round. That’s why I have never really enjoyed playing golf with strangers. I am not the kind of guy to go to a course alone and ask to be matched up with other players. I was always too self conscious about my skill level (low), and it was just too hard to loosen up. Oh, and I want to blast music while I play! But if I’m playing with friends, I absolutely don’t care if I hit it in the weeds! It’s just a golf ball, and we’re all out there just having fun. I am so grateful to Scott, Mark, Greg, Steve, Kaitlan, Chris, and Clay for making the time to participate in this strange golf adventure with me. Maybe we can do it again next year…

We and our partners use cookies to personalize your experience, to show you ads based on your interests, and for measurement and analytics purposes. By using our website and our services, you agree to our use of cookies as described in our Cookie Policy.

Old Guy Radio for October 2020 - Born in 1957

Since October is the month of Halloween, I had been planning to create a playlist around Murder and Death. In fact, I did create it, including the Buoys’ great HIT song about cannibalism, “Timothy” (written by Rupert Holmes, the same guy who wrote the Pina Colada Song). But 2020 seems to have enough murder and death and general stress right now. So I decided to go in a different direction. And since October is also my birth month, let’s have a list of music by artists born in my birth year. There’s some punk, and a lot of what could generally be described as post-punk. Most artists tend to “make the big time” in their twenties. So for folks born in 1957, we’re talking late 70s to late 80s. By the way, some of these artists, my contemporaries, are no longer with us.

There are quite a few artists here that are discoveries for me. I’ll go out on a limb and say there will be some revelations for you as well.

You can find these songs on Spotify. As always, my profile name is pearsons3and2. Or just use the links that follow the write up.

The long list (which is almost 4 hours long) has additional selections from the short list artists as well as tracks from Enigma (Michael Cretu), UB40 (Earl Falconer), The Fall (Mark Smith), Scandal (Patty Smyth), Squeeze (Glenn Tillbrook), Paul Hardcastle, World Party (Karl Wallinger), Julian Cope, and others I’ve forgotten.

Frankly, I loaded these on the fly into a Spotify playlist as I thought of them. It actually sounds pretty cool (to me) in the order presented.

Oh Bondage Up Yours! - X-Ray Spex (Poly Styrene). Poly Styrene (Marianne Elliot-Said) saw the Sex Pistols perform live and knew she wanted to be in a punk band. That band ended up being X-Ray Spex, with Elliot-Said as the frontwoman. X-Ray Spex only put out a few singles and one album, but they are some of the most electric, raw punk ever put on vinyl. And I listened to it all so you don’t have to. The sacrifices I make. Actually, I kind of like them. Here is their debut single.

Elvis is Everywhere - Mojo Nixon. Prior to putting this list together, I was aware that there was a recording artist named Mojo Nixon (Neill McMillan), but I was unfamiliar with his oeuvre. Generally classified as “pyschobilly” music, his songs tend to have a lot of offbeat humor in them. This is probably one of his best known songs, if that phrase actually has any meaning.

Red Right Hand - Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds (Nick Cave). I started listening to Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds when I made the 2018 Tribute list (the expanded Spotify version). And I like them. Often atmospheric and creepy. The albums “Henry’s Dream” and “Murder Ballads” are really good. This is from Cave’s 1994 album “Let Love In”. Apparently, this is also the theme song to “Peaky Blinders”?

We Got the Beat - The Go-Go’s (Gina Schock). Since Schock was the drummer, I had to pick this one, right?

Der Kommissar - Falco. Falco (Johann Hölzel) became best known for the preposterous hit song “Rock Me Amadeus”, but I like this one much better. Later covered in English (but not in translation), by After the Fire.

Anarchy in the UK - Sex Pistols (Sid Vicious). Sid Vicious (Simon Ritchie) was famously (or more correctly, infamously) the bass player for the punk band Sex Pistols. The irony (if I’m using that term correctly) is that, except for one song, he doesn’t play bass on their one and only album. To put it mildly, he wasn’t a very good, or even competent, bass player. But that didn’t matter too much to the Sex Pistols. They were all about spectacle and swagger, sneering and spitting. So here you have their first single (guitarist Steve Jones plays bass).

Running in the Family - Level 42 (Phil Gould). Wasn’t familiar with Level 42 either. Although described as sort of a jazz funk band, all their best known songs (according to Spotify) are rather innocuous 80’s pop. Not too bad, but not especially interesting either. Hope this does not offend the Level 42 fans out there.

The Wicker Man - Iron Maiden (Janick Gers & Adrian Smith). In order to get both Gers and Smith in the lineup you can’t start any earlier than “Brave New World” in 2000. This is the lead single from that album, and a pretty good one at that. Iron Maiden, everybody! The metal band with not one, not two, but three lead guitar players!

She’s No Lady - Lyle Lovett. Lovett is generally considered a country artist, but his music often includes swing, blues, and jazz. Like this one. He is also a part time actor, having appeared in several Robert Altman films. Not much else to say about Lovett, except to mention his brief marriage to Julia Roberts.

Lullaby - Cure (Porl Thompson). This is from the album of remixes “Mixed Up”. Delightfully creepy.

In a Big Country - Big Country (Tony Butler). Probably their best known song, at least here in the states, since it was on heavy rotation on MTV. As I listened to a LOT of their music in the preparation of this playlist, I would have to say this song is not exactly typical of their music, which strikes me as significantly more Scottish, if that makes sense, incorporating traditional instruments and using a device called an e-bow which can produce a bagpipe-like sound from a guitar.

52 Girls - B-52’s (Cindy Wilson). Wilson is probably most remembered for the improvised line in “Love Shack”, “Tin roof, rusted!”. The youngest of the B-52’s, she and her brother Ricky founded the band in 1976 with Fred Schneider, Kate Pierson, and Keith Strickland.

Hold the Line - Toto (Steve Lukather). Guitarist (and occasional vocalist) for Toto, Lukather is also a very successful and well-travelled session man. Might have to come up with a third Session Man playlist for him.

Happy House - Siouxsie and the Banshees (Siouxsie Sioux & Budgie). Two playlists in a row with Siouxsie and the Banshees. Who woulda thunk it?

Sooner Than You Think - New Order (Stephen Morris). I actually bought this album back in the 80’s. I was trying albums at random, trying to find something new and different. New Order were both. Sort of a post-punk synth-pop band.

She’s Gone Away - King’s X (Jerry Gaskill). Gaskill, the drummer for King’s X, is sort of the middle child of the trio. Bass player Doug Pinnick is 70, and guitar player Ty Tabor is only 59. From their 2000 album “Please Come Home... Mr. Bulbous”.

If I Should Fall from Grace with God - The Pogues (Shane MacGowan & Phil Chevron). I never expected to have the Pogues on two playlists in one year, but here you go.

Puppy Love - Donny Osmond. Written and originally recorded by Paul Anka in 1960, this is about his love affair with Annette Funicello, the former Mouseketeer. Anka’s version reached No. 2 on the Hot 100. Osmond’s version, which he recorded when he was FOURTEEN, only made it up to No. 3 in 1972. Still, when I was 14 in 1972, I was a freshman in high school, specializing in getting detentions and hitch-hiking home. For the record, I hate this song, and have always hated it. I never did like bubblegum pop. In 1972, I was still into CSNY, the Moody Blues, Chicago, ex-Beatle solo albums, that kind of stuff. I had not yet been infected by the progressive virus. But that came soon enough.

The short list:

We and our partners use cookies to personalize your experience, to show you ads based on your interests, and for measurement and analytics purposes. By using our website and our services, you agree to our use of cookies as described in our Cookie Policy.

The longer one:

We and our partners use cookies to personalize your experience, to show you ads based on your interests, and for measurement and analytics purposes. By using our website and our services, you agree to our use of cookies as described in our Cookie Policy.

The Library at Mount Char - Scott Hawkins

I have been meaning to write about this book for a while. I initially read it back in 2016, and have made everyone I could convince read it ever since. It is an incredible, and strange, and incredibly strange book. If you read it, you will love it or you will hate it. I am not sure there is any middle ground.

But first, how did you learn about this book, you ask. Did some algorithm suggest it to you? A friend? Someone who is not your friend anymore? Well, here’s my story. One of the regulars on Tony Kornheiser’s podcast is Chris Cillizza, who is a political analyst for CNN. Back then, I followed him on Twitter. One day he posted about this book, saying in essence, “I don’t know if this is the best book I’ve read all year, or the worst”. From earlier posts, I knew he was a fan of fantasy and science fiction. So, count me as intrigued. I picked it up at the library and took a shot. And here’s my review:

Our protagonist is Carolyn, a woman in her early thirties. Years before, when Carolyn was only 8, her suburban neighborhood was destroyed, and she and several children were taken in by a powerful man known only as “Father”. He assigned each child a particular skill or “catalog” to master in his (and now their) home, the Library. For Carolyn, the catalog was languages, even non-human ones. David was assigned murder and war. Jennifer studied how to heal, up to and including resurrection. Which comes in handy, because Margaret was required to walk the paths of the dead. And so on. But as the novel begins, Father has disappeared, and they can’t get back in the Library. The novel follows their efforts to regain the Library, among other things. You see, since Father has disappeared, that leaves a power vacuum in their “family dynamic”, so to speak. And we all know nature abhors a vacuum. As you can imagine, some of these grown children have real issues, and that provides for some delightful conflict.

Now here’s the thing. This novel is in no way straightforward. To say much more about what is really going on would be spoilery, and I don’t do that. But I will tell you this. This is one of the weirdest books I have ever read.  And just when you think it can’t get weirder, it gets weirder. Off the charts weird. But not incomprehensible weird. More like “holy shit!” weird.

And the book definitely has its moments of absurd humor. My favorite exchange from early on:

“You might have told me he was a fucking tiger, Michael.”

“You didn’t know? I thought everyone knew.”

In addition, “The Library at Mount Char” certainly rewards re-reading. There are passages that sort of just float by the first time, but on second reading you go “Oh! That’s what that meant!” Just phenomenal craft.

I have to say, I believe I understand Cillizza’s original ambivalence. And here’s the warning. This novel is full of triggers. Sometimes shocking violence, especially to women and children. Harm to animals. And absolutely cold-blooded murder. It’s all in there. But it is never gratuitous, it is always in service of the story. And given the abilities of the children, some of the “bad stuff” has lower stakes than you might otherwise imagine.

All in all, it is just an amazing read. I promise you will not have read a novel this unusual in your entire life. You will love it, or you will hate it. I’ll take Column A.

Old Guy Radio for September 2020 - 19th Amendment Covers

Just last week, the country recognized the 100th anniversary of the certification of the 19th amendment. So, when I was planning another playlist of covers, I naturally decided to make it a list of covers by women.

This was pretty easy to put together (covers playlists usually are), and there were lots more to choose from than are here. So there’s an expanded version on Spotify, of course, specifically including Ellie Goulding’s “Your Song” and Adele’s “Lovesong”, which have both previously appeared in OGR. You might also find Kate Bush’s version of “The Man I Love” there, but not “Rocket Man” (somehow “Two Rooms” is not on Spotify). And surprisingly, Joan Jett is now on Spotify, so a couple of her covers as well. As always, my profile name is pearsons3and2. Or just use the links at the end of the post!

There is no particular listening order. I’d recommend shuffle. Or alphabetical order. Whatever.

Across the Universe - Fiona Apple. From the soundtrack to “Pleasantville”, which is an amazingly odd movie about a brother and sister who get sucked into the world of a black and white television show. Before I had the 19th Amendment idea, it was going to be a playlist of Beatles covers. This would have been on that playlist, too.

Angel from Montgomery - Bonnie Raitt. Written by John Prine, who we’ll talk about some more in the next tribute list. This has become something of a signature song for Raitt. She still regularly plays it in concert. That is, if she were performing right now.

Dance Me to the End of Love - Madeleine Peyroux. If you’ve been paying attention all these years, you know OG loves him some Madeleine Peyroux. What a voice! Like Billie Holiday. Anyway, nice cover of Leonard Cohen.

I Need a Lover - Pat Benatar. Covering Mellencamp back when he was still Cougar. Have we had any Benatar in OGR before? This Brooklyn born rocker was an absolute hit machine during the late 70’s and early 80’s.

More Than This - Charlie Hunter Quartet (Norah Jones). In 2010, Jones released the compilation album “... Featuring Norah Jones”, which consisted of songs by other artists that she sang on. This one by the Charlie Hunter Quartet is a fantastic, laid-back, jazz cover of Roxy Music’s original synth-pop hit. Hunter, by the way, used to play a custom-built eight string guitar, in order to simultaneously play bass lines, melodies, and chords. The same album this song was originally from, “Songs from the Analog Playground”, includes a nice cover of Nick Drake’s “Day is Done”, again with Jones on vocals.

Party Girl - Linda Ronstadt. From Ronstadt’s rather unusual album “Mad Love”, which is almost a new wave album. I mean, three covers of Elvis Costello (including this one)!

The Passenger - Siouxsie and the Banshees. After the success of their cover of The Beatles “Dear Prudence”, Siouxsie and the Banshees considered recording an album full of covers. “Through the Looking Glass” was the result. Iggy Pop has said he likes their cover of “The Passenger” better than his original. And if you are unfamiliar with the mighty Iggy Pop, try his enormous album "Lust for Life", or the great Stooges album "Raw Power".

Summertime - Big Brother and the Holding Company (Janis Joplin). How many versions of this song from Gershwin’s problematic “Porgy and Bess” opera are there? Hundreds. On reflection, Big Brother were not a particularly good band. At least in this one, they basically get out of Janis’ way and let her go.

Thin Line Between Love and Hate - The Pretenders (Chrissie Hynde). How can you not love Chrissie Hynde here? One of my absolute favorite voices in rock. So soulful and emotional. And here covering the Persuaders’ 1971 R&B hit.

Triad - Jefferson Airplane (Grace Slick). David Crosby wrote this song while he was still in the Byrds. They recorded it, but did not release it. It is not clear whether the band thought it was too controversial (threesomes and all that), or they just didn’t think it was good enough. So Crosby gave it to the Airplane, who were actually the first to release it. I’m still calling it a cover. “Triad” was eventually included on CSNY’s live “4-Way Street”.

A Whiter Shade of Pale - Annie Lennox. I think this is the most effective of the covers on “Medusa”, Lennox’ album of covers. The original, of course, is Procol Harum’s best known and most popular song, recognizable for the thundering Bach-esque Hammond organ.

Yeah! - The Lounge Kittens. As I researched various covers at Secondhand Songs, I stumbled across the Lounge Kittens. And I am smitten with the kittens. They’re like the Andrew Sisters doing three part harmony lounge music covers of mostly metal songs. Limp Biscuit fans might like their cover of “Rollin’”. I especially liked their Rammstein medley. Anyway, they are hilarious and often explicit. This one is fairly tame.

And that’s that for September.

Here’s the short one:

pearsons3and2 · Playlist · 12 songs · 0 likes

And here’s the long one:

pearsons3and2 · Playlist · 39 songs · 0 likes

King Crab Boil

The other day, Cheryl suggested we have a crab boil. Now, I’ve cooked crab legs before, but never gone full on crab boil. So, with the help of my friend, the internet, I found a bunch of recipes that were all basically the same, with minor alterations here or there, depending on whether the cook was from the east coast (Maine or Maryland) or the gulf coast (Louisiana). 

Here’s the thing. This is a very special treat, because king crab legs are really expensive. For a cheaper alternative, you can use snow crab clusters or make a shrimp boil. But frankly, nothing comes close to the large succulent pieces of crab you get from king crab legs. Anyway, this recipe is basically Old Bay’s own recipe, with a couple modifications that seem very common in other seafood boil recipes.

And if you don’t have a giant pot, you need one. Oh, and a spider strainer.

Spider strainer and large pot, duh

Ingredients

5 quarts (20 cups) water

1 can beer (optional)

½ cup Old Bay

½ teaspoon cayenne pepper

2 tablespoons salt

1 lemon, divided

1 ½ pounds of little potatoes (I like the Dynamic Duo)

2 large onions, cut into wedges, or 2 cups of thawed frozen pearl onions

12 oz package of smoked sausage (andouille preferred), cut into 2-inch pieces

5 ears fresh corn, shucked and halved crosswise

4 pounds of thawed frozen crab legs

Getting ready

Process

Bring water, beer, Old Bay, cayenne, salt, and half of the lemon (quartered) to rolling boil in a large stockpot (mine is 16 quarts) on high heat. I have a high BTU burner, and this still takes about twenty minutes. While this is going on, prep your vegetables, cut your sausage, and break down the crab legs at the joints (so they will fit in your pan).

Boiling broth, co-starring floating lemons

Add potatoes and onions. Cook 8 minutes. 

Add smoked sausage. Cook 5 minutes. 

Add corn. Cook 4 minutes.

Place the crab legs in the pot on a rack or colander over the boiling water. Cover with a lid and cook for 6 to 10 minutes, or until the crab is completely heated. When they are almost too hot to touch, they should be ready to eat.

Crabs getting a little steamed

Use your spider strainer to fish out all the vegetables. Dump everything on a large platter, like a 13 by 18 baking sheet, for instance. Sprinkle some Old Bay on the corn.

The gang’s all here!

Serve with remaining lemon, melted butter, some of the reserved cooking broth, Old Bay, whatever, and a nice warm baguette. A pair of kitchen shears couldn’t hurt. Oh, and lots of napkins.

Dig in.

The aftermath

And that’s your crab boil. I think we’ll make this about once a year, for a special occasion. It was just plain delicious.

Special thanks to Barbara for taking the pictures (I had my hands full)!

Vinyl Disc Four: Kate Bush to Harry Chapin

If you don’t care about these posts, I’m sorry, but not terribly so. I like music a lot, and it is fun to write about, especially when it takes me back to when I bought this album or first heard that album or why I liked a particular kind of music back then when I can hardly stand to listen to it now.

For the record, the big Spotify playlist is complete. Some of the “Various Artists” stuff that I have kept as “Various Artists” was kind of hard to do. Many of those were compilation albums of rarities and b-sides that were never released on cd, much less digitally. I did the best I could.

To be clear, this is not my favorite cd’s worth of music. I really like the first third (Kate Bush to Wendy Carlos), am noncommittal about the Cars cuts, and just don’t care for Chapin any more.

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6vchymARHd7OK1OMWJ61Yx?si=M4Ex4rlfTqKcWpknyLa1sw

Kate Bush

The Whole Story (1986)

Wuthering Heights

1986 was a decent year for prog fans. Some of our favorite artists were finally making it big, albeit with songs that were not especially proggy. Peter Gabriel hit the big time with “Sledgehammer” (see what I did there?), Genesis had “Invisible Touch” and “Throwing It All Away”, Mike Rutherford and his Mechanics scored with “Silent Running” and “All I Need is a Miracle”. And then there was Kate Bush. That mesmerizing voice singing about swapping places with her lover in “Running Up That Hill”. So I had to learn more. Not knowing where to start, I picked up her greatest hits compilation “The Whole Story”. And while it was a decent enough album, it is nothing compared to “Hounds of Love” or “The Dreaming”. But it got me started on Kate, and I never looked back. This song was her first hit, reaching number one on the UK charts. She recorded it when she was 19.

Various Artists

The Secret Policeman’s Third Ball The Music (1987)

Running Up That Hill

Another of those Various Artists albums. I probably purchased it to get the live version of “Biko” by Peter Gabriel, but this performance of “Running Up That Hill” is just phenomenal! Accompanied by David Gilmour on guitar and possibly Duran Duran’s rhythm section providing the driving beat. Sadly, this is not available on Spotify, so I had to use the studio version from “Hounds of Love”. If you want to actually hear this version, well, YouTube comes to the rescue:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwQQbfJFc5U

And just for grins, here is a fantastic cover by Meg Myers. The story behind the video is pretty cool:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7iVWK2W48o

The Byrds

Farther Along (1971)

Farther Along

By this time, the only original Byrd left was Roger McGuinn. Some might say the magic they had was gone. I have no idea why I bought this album. But I do have a Byrds story. Back in the late 60’s and early 70’s, Butler University used to have this spring music festival. One weekend in the spring, near the end of the semester, there would be all these free concerts. Amateur and semi-professional bands would set up and play in the student union and different venues around the campus. And then there was usually a headline show of some sort at Hinkle Fieldhouse on Saturday. In my freshman year in high school, my friend Hank Schwab came up for the weekend, and we went to a bunch of the performances. The Saturday headliner was none other than the Byrds. So we saw the Byrds (for free!) at Hinkle in the spring of 1972. How ‘bout that, sports fans! There is a bootleg of the show on YouTube. April 29, 1972.

Captain Beyond

Sufficiently Breathless (1973)

Sufficiently Breathless

Two Hank stories in a row! Hank was the first (and perhaps only) person I know who had this album. And even without hearing it, I knew I had to get a copy. Just look at that cover! And the name! Anyway, Captain Beyond was sort of a psychedelic rock band based in LA. The only “stable” members of the band were Rod Evans (original vocalist for Deep Purple), and Larry Reinhardt and Lee Dorman (both from Iron Butterfly). They recorded on Capricorn Records, which is the same label that the Allman Brothers were on.

Wendy Carlos

Switched-On Bach (1968)

Brandenburg Concerto No. 3

The original is really rather hard to find in a digital format. It is available in the Switched-On Bach Box Set, if you can find it. But even the revised Switched-On Bach 2000 (which I think is inferior) isn’t on Spotify. In fact there is hardly any Wendy Carlos on Spotify. I do have this in digital after transferring from the lp, but I ended up putting a version by the Academy of Ancient Music in the Spotify list. However, look at my blogging skills! Here’s my copy of the original:

The Cars

The Cars (1978)

You’re All I’ve Got Tonight

Don’t have much to say about The Cars or this album. One of the most successful of the new wave bands. Other than Elvis Costello, probably one of the earliest new wave albums I purchased. At this point in my life, I was still listening to pop radio, and The Cars were getting a lot of airplay. Bought this at Peaches in Broad Ripple.

The Cars

Candy-O (1979)

Candy-O

My favorite Cars album. Any boy raised in the 60’s would recognize the style of the cover artist Alberto Vargas, as he used to paint pin-ups for Playboy. In a strange coincidence, the model used for the cover was named Candy Moore. In the fall of 1979 I made a trip to the west coast and happened to be in San Diego when the Cars and Nick Lowe played at the Sports Arena. I may have purchased the very last ticket. If I didn’t have the worst seat in the house, I could certainly touch it from where I sat.

The Cars

Panorama (1980)

Touch and Go

An OK album, but definitely not their best outing. Bought this when I lived in a little studio loft apartment just off of Graham Road. Saw The Cars again, this time with the Motels at Market Square.

The Cars

Shake It Up (1981)

Shake It Up

Very popular album that basically left me cold. Never bought another one again.

Harry Chapin

Sniper and Other Love Songs (1972)

Sniper

When I was in high school, I really liked Harry Chapin. He had had a Top 40 hit with “Taxi” from his previous album “Heads and Tales”. This one is another long song, but it’s about the University of Texas tower shooting in 1966, back when mass shootings were unusual.

Harry Chapin

Short Stories (1973)

Mr. Tanner

This was released in December 1973, by which time I had a driver’s license. In the following April, I went on one of my first dates ever, taking Kathy, a girl I knew from grade school, to see Chapin at the Murat. Hey, I was an awkward kid from an all-boys high school. Give me a break.

Harry Chapin

Verities and Balderdash (1974)

What Made America Famous?

Did you think I would include “Cat’s in the Cradle”? Are you nuts? I detest that maudlin piece of sh*t. Admittedly, most of Chapin’s output would qualify as maudlin. But you know, when you’re in high school, maybe that appeals to you. The album also includes the novelty songs “30,000 Pounds of Bananas” and “Six-String Orchestra”, both of which were popular at his concerts.

Harry Chapin

Portrait Gallery (1975)

Stop Singing Those Sad Songs

And this was my last Chapin album. I found it unremarkable and never got another. It is possible my girlfriend Holly got it for me for my birthday, since it came out in late September. 

And that’s Disc Four.

Fusilli Bolognese

For those of you that don’t like a story with the recipe, I apologize, but this one needs a little explaining. First off, it’s not fusilli, which is usually called rotini in the US. Neither is it in a bolognese sauce. And here’s why.

Some years ago, when we were members of a local country club, there was a dish on the menu called “Fusilli Bolognese”. It was one of our favorites. When that chef left, he took the recipe with him, and the dish disappeared from the menu. So I set about trying to recreate it on my own.

First the noodles. They were definitely gemelli, which look like this:

Gemelli

(and a quarter)

By the way, if you want to buy Meijer’s store brand gemelli, it isn’t currently gemelli. I mean, it has gemelli pictured on the box but there are casarecce noodles inside. If you can’t find gemelli, you can use casarecce. They are about the same size and hold the sauce just about right. Or you can use campanelle. Nevertheless…

And then there’s the sauce. After playing around with different things, it’s a pretty simple combination of Italian sausage, tomatoes, and a splash of milk or half and half. That’s it. And the whole dinner only takes about a half hour. No simmering your bolognese sauce for hours. That said, here goes nothing.

Ingredients

3 or 4 links Johnsonville Hot Italian Sausage

3 cups gemelli

1 can Red Gold Roasted Garlic and Onion Diced Tomatoes or whatever brand and flavor you like. This one just tastes right.

Half and Half

Shredded Parmesan Cheese

Process

Start a pan of boiling water.

Peel the sausages.  Brown in a skillet, breaking down into crumbles.

Add the can of tomatoes to the browned sausage, let cook down.  When I originally made the dish, I used to smash the dices while it was cooking. I find it’s a lot easier to just dump the tomatoes in a blender and puree them before adding to the sausage.

While the sausage/tomato mixture is reducing, cook gemelli according to package directions. The package will probably say 8 to 10 minutes. I have found that 9 minutes is basically the perfect texture. Drain the noodles.

After the sausage/tomato mixture has reduced, add a splash of half-and-half.  The resulting sauce will have a nice orange color.

Dump the cooked pasta in the sauce and toss to coat. Put the mixture into a large serving bowl.

Cover the pasta with a good layer of shredded Parmesan. Mix thoroughly.

Add another layer of Parmesan on top.

And you’re good to go!

Old Guy Radio for August 2020 - Eighth Excursions

Since it is the 8th day of August, the 8th month, and I have been doing these playlists (IRL, not here) for just over 8 years, I figured I would create one composed entirely of songs from various artists’ eighth albums. As I began preparing the list, I noticed that there are quite a few 8th albums that are career-defining. Pink Floyd’s “Dark Side of the Moon” or the Beatles’ “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band”, for example. But there were also a lot that were frankly kind of duds, like Elvis Costello’s completely forgettable “Punch the Clock” or Duran Duran’s horrible album of covers “Thank You”. You will find cuts from the former two here, but not the latter. Of course, some artists never made it to 8 albums. Thankfully, Eagles only squeezed out seven steaming piles. Whew! And neither the Cars nor the Police made it that far. Led Zeppelin barely made it with their final album “In Through the Out Door” (No, “Coda” does not count). For the record, Stevie Wonder’s 8th was a Christmas album.

Oh, and my counting is kind of arbitrary. For example, I am counting “Full Moon Fever” as Tom Petty’s 8th album, although many list it as his first solo album. Which I view dubiously as a distinction without a difference. And I stopped counting Bad Company when Paul Rodgers left the band. Anyway, I started with a preliminary list of 75 or so artists of some significance (to me at least) and whittled it down to these couple of handfuls. And where possible, I have tried to avoid the big hits, as one of the goals of this exercise has always been to illuminate lesser known, but still magical, songs.

There is no particular listening order. I’d recommend shuffle. Or alphabetical order. Whatever.

Oh, and I’ve made two Spotify versions: one with just these songs (Eighth Excursions) and another that is significantly expanded and much less anti-hit, called appropriately enough Eighth Expanded. It runs the gamut from Isaac Hayes to Pet Shop Boys, John Coltrane to Siouxsie and the Banshees, Parliament to Ozric Tentacles, and all points in between. Give it a listen. You might enjoy it. And since you asked, yes, the expanded playlist is 8 hours and 8 minutes long, give or take a couple of seconds. Links to both versions are at the end of the post.

Hypnotized - Fleetwood Mac/Mystery to Me. Believe it or not, Fleetwood Mac released nine studio albums before Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham joined the band, making up the band’s “classic lineup”. This song is from the previous lineup that was fronted mainly by Bob Welch and Christine McVie. If you were in a college dorm in 1975, this song would be quite familiar to you.

Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite - The Beatles/Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. Staying away from the played-to-death “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds”, “When I’m Sixty-Four”, and “A Day in the Life”; and going with something a little further afield.

Midnight Rambler - The Rolling Stones/Let It Bleed. I’ll take the same approach here and avoid both “Gimme Shelter” and “You Can’t Always Get What You Want”. By the way, the live version of this on “Get Yer Ya-Ya’s Out” is fantastic. So just go listen to that one instead.

Cortez the Killer - Neil Young/Zuma. Neil Young was one of the recommendations/requests when I let some people know I was doing this list. To which one of them responded, “PLEASE NO NEIL YOUNG!!!! Barf.” Sorry, pal. Technically, “American Stars ‘n Bars” is Young’s 8th studio album. But if you count “Time Fades Away”, which is a live album of new songs, then I get to settle on “Zuma” and choose the great “Cortez the Killer”. Guitar solo at the beginning? Why not

Diamond Dogs - David Bowie/Diamond Dogs. The big hit on this was the glam anthem “Rebel, Rebel”. So of course we go with the more unusual title track.

Cold Wind to Valhalla - Jethro Tull/Minstrel in the Gallery. Sometimes, I think this is my favorite Tull album. The title song is a killer, as is “Baker Street Muse”. And this one’s pretty good too. 

Buddy - Willie Nelson/Good Times. Willie started his career as a songwriter for other country artists in Nashville (because he couldn’t get a recording contract). Appropriately enough, when he finally got a contract, his first album was called “...And Then I Wrote”, and it includes his versions of his own songs that were previously hits for others. With his 8th album “Good Times”, they were still trying to shoehorn him into the Nashville sound. It wasn’t until he moved to Austin, Texas and recorded his 16th album “Shotgun Willie” that he really found his voice and helped create the sub-genre of “outlaw country”. Wikipedia tells me that this is Ron Swanson’s favorite song and has been featured on “Parks and Recreation”.

I’m Just a Singer (In a Rock and Roll Band) - Moody Blues/Seventh Sojourn. Their 8th album is called “Seventh Sojourn”? Maybe they decided to start counting with “Days of Future Passed”, I don’t know. Or maybe it’s because it’s the 7th album released on their Threshold record label. Whatevs. Blink 182’s 8th album is called “Nine”, so there’s that. In this case, we’ll go with the hit, because it’s likely you’ve never heard it either.

I Won’t Back Down - Tom Petty/Full Moon Fever. An enormously popular album. Petty’s best selling album either with or without the Heartbreakers (not counting Greatest Hits albums, which don’t count). I know this was a big hit, but guidelines rather than rules. In the video, that’s Ringo on drums and Jeff Lynne and George Harrison singing backup.

Time - Pink Floyd/Dark Side of the Moon. “Money” was the bigger hit, of course. The first time I ever heard the word “bullshit” on the radio. Anyway, I always preferred this song.

Everybody Hurts - R.E.M./Automatic for the People. Honestly, one of the coolest videos ever. Might even make you cry. Oh, and the orchestral arrangement here was written by none other than John Paul Jones (not the Revolutionary War naval commander, but rather the Led Zeppelin bass and keyboard player).

Who Are You - Who/Who Are You. Just not that great of an album. The last album with Keith Moon, who overdosed three weeks after its release in the same apartment where Cass Elliot died four years earlier. Creepy. Anyway, there’s only about three decent songs on the album, and this is the best. And of course, the theme to CSI.

Red Barchetta - Rush/Moving Pictures. This is the album with “Tom Sawyer”, “Limelight”, and “YYZ”. Easily their most well known and most popular album. The titular vehicle in the song is a 1948 Ferrari 166 MM. 

The Same Deep Water As You - Cure/Disintegration. In the immortal words of Kyle Broflovski, “Disintegration is the best album ever!” (Season 1, Episode 12). Frankly, I’m not sure I’d go that far, but it may well be the best goth album ever. Certainly the best Cure album. And this song is so despairing, a perfect Cure song.

Here to Mars - Coheed/The Color Before the Sun. All Coheed’s albums except this one (which is actually pretty intensely personal) are concept albums that tell the story of the “Amory Wars”. Don’t ask me what the Amory Wars is about, I have no idea. I didn’t use the single from this album (You Got Spirit, Kid) as it is as f-bomb riddled as it is catchy. So we roll with Claudio Sanchez’ love song to his wife Chondra Echert.

Secret O’ Life - James Taylor/JT. Taylor’s best selling album features the hits “Your Smiling Face” and his cover of “Handy Man”. But we are going to mellow out with “Secret O’ Life”.

peace - Taylor Swift/folklore. Smoothly segueing into someone named after James Taylor. And I guess we need to retitle this Young Guy Radio? Anyway, I was “encouraged” to listen to Ms. Swift’s album, especially as the 8th song is titled “August”. However, even though it seemed a natural for the list, I don’t care much for that summer romance song. I like this one better. Baby steps.

So that’s OGR for the month. Here’s the link to the short list. Scroll down for the link to the long one.

pearsons3and2 · Playlist · 17 songs · 0 likes

pearsons3and2 · Playlist · 104 songs · 2 likes

A Greek Dinner

This is a bonus recipe! Instead of just one, you get three! Because they all go together to make a very nice meal.

Full disclosure: I am not Greek, but I know people with Greek heritage. And yet, I did not learn any of these recipes from them. The shrimp recipe is basically a NYT recipe. I found the spinach rice recipe while following a link about the Mediterranean diet. The fasolakia recipe is a mash-up of two recipes I found on the internet.

I am presenting them in the order you should start. 

Pro tip: Prepare the green beans, potatoes, and spinach before you start anything. Oh, and be sure to dump the potatoes in a large bowl full of water, so they don’t turn brown before you are ready to use them. You could also do all your measuring of spices and whatnot beforehand, mise en place and all that.

Fasolakia (green beans and potatoes braised in tomatoes)

This is the mashup of two separate recipes for fasolakia. One had more interesting seasoning, but involved cooking in an oven-worthy dutch oven. The other was stove top, but rather tamely seasoned.  So I opted for the stove top method and the oven based seasoning.  And anyway, your oven is going to be busy broiling the shrimp.

Ingredients

12 oz package fresh green beans

2 medium potatoes

1 can diced tomatoes with garlic and olive oil (or whatever)

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon minced garlic

½ cup chopped onion

½ cup water

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1 bay leaf

Dash of oregano

Dash of cumin

Salt and pepper to taste

Process

Rinse the green beans. Trim the ends and cut into bite size pieces.

Peel the potatoes and cut each into 16 half wedges (i.e. cut each potato in half, then cut each half into eighths). If you are following my earlier recommendation, this is when you dump them in water until you are ready to continue.

You should basically have about as much potatoes as beans. Or close.

Heat the oil in a large pan. Over medium heat, saute the onions until translucent.  Add the garlic and spices.

Add the beans and stir to coat. Add the can of diced tomatoes and water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer covered for 15 minutes. Stirring occasionally.

Stir in the tomato paste.  Add the potatoes and salt and pepper. Simmer covered another 25 or 30 minutes until potatoes are fork tender. Add additional water if necessary.

That’s it.  You can garnish with fresh parsley if that’s your thing. As leftovers, this is really good with some crumbled feta cheese.

Spinach Rice

Ingredients

10 to 16 ozs of fresh spinach, coarsely chopped

¼ cup olive oil

1 medium white onions finely chopped

2 garlic cloves (or 1 teaspoon prepared minced garlic)

1 cup long grain white

2 tablespoons tomato paste

2 bay leaves

2 cups chicken stock (low-sodium preferred)

salt and pepper to taste

Process

I like to use one of those large-ish plastic containers of baby spinach, which is usually 10 or 12 ounces. You can use more spinach depending on taste. Do you want this to be a spinach dish or a rice dish?

Most packaged spinach does not need to be rinsed. But I do like to give it a coarse chop.

In a large saucepan heat olive oil over medium to medium low heat. Add onions, garlic and rice. Saute until onions are translucent. Stir in tomato paste and then add spinach, bay leaves, salt and pepper. Mix well.

Just as if you were sautéing fresh spinach, you have to add it a bit at a time, and keep stirring while it loses some of its volume. I didn’t add the bay leaves or S&P until the spinach had cooked down a bit.  I didn’t want to break the bay leaves.

Pour in chicken stock and cover the saucepan. Simmer until rice is tender and liquid is absorbed. This will take 20 to 25 minutes.  Note, this is longer than rice would normally take, but don’t forget that you have fried it a bit. Be careful to make sure the bottom doesn’t burn near the end. Remove bay leaves and serve.

Greek Style Broiled Shrimp (the star of the show)

Ingredients

3 or 4 (or more) garlic cloves (or 1 ½ - 2 teaspoons of minced garlic)

1 teaspoon salt

2 or 3 teaspoons of oregano

1 tablespoon lemon juice

2 tablespoons olive oil

Black pepper

½ can diced tomatoes with basil, garlic and oregano, drained

1 ½ pound peeled shrimp

Feta cheese crumbles

This is a slight modification of a recipe I found on the NYT’s Cooking site.

Process

Move the oven rack close to the broiler. Turn on your broiler.

Mash the garlic into the salt to form a paste. Add the oregano, lemon juice, olive oil and black pepper. Mix well. The original recipe suggests this will still be a paste. It is more like a slurry. Coat the shrimp in the slurry and place on a shallow baking dish.  I just dredged them through the mix. Seemed pretty easy. Add extra oregano if you like. Sprinkle about half a can of the drained tomatoes on the shrimp.

Broil the shrimp 2 to 3 minutes per side. Obviously, this depends on how hot your broiler is and how far away your shrimp are. In my oven, 2 ½ minutes per side is basically perfect.

Sprinkle with feta. Serve.

Pro Tip #2: Serve this with a crusty bread (like warmed ciabatta rolls), so you can sop up the drippings in the pan with your roll. Make everyone know this is allowed. Like the olive oil they bring with your bread at restaurants.

Καλή όρεξη

Lincoln in the Bardo - George Saunders

A note about my book reviews. I read a lot of books. But in this venue, I think I will only review those that really make an impression. If, for some strange reason, you are interested in what I think about all the books I have read, have I got a deal for you. Every month I send out an email reporting on them all, both positive and negative, with occasional in-jokes. If you want in on the mailing list for that monthly book report, then venture over to the Contact page and provide your information.

Now on to the book, and it is a doozy.

Lincoln in the Bardo

George Saunders

“Lincoln in the Bardo” is set in 1862, immediately following the death of the Lincolns’ eleven-year-old son, Willie. In Tibetan Buddhism, the bardo is essentially a limbo-like state between lives, where one passes after death before moving on to the next life. So the Lincoln referred to in the title would be Willie, rather than the 16th president. Saunders has said that he got the idea for the novel after hearing that Lincoln was said to have visited his son’s temporary crypt in Georgetown to actually hold the young boy’s body.

The construction of the novel is simply amazing. It is written as a series of passages (some quite short) wherein different characters narrate events or hold conversations. There is no other third person exposition. And it is no spoiler to tell you that almost all of the characters are ghosts.

After a prologue of sorts introducing the characters of Hans Vollman and Roger Bevins III, Saunders relates the story of Willie’s death, quoting contemporaneous sources (some real, some fictional). The remainder of the novel takes place over one night in Oak Hill Cemetery, where Willie was interred.

The ghosts generally refuse to recognize the nature of their existence, maintaining that they are only sick, and their coffins are merely “sick-boxes”. But the three main characters: Vollman, Bevins, and The Reverend Early Thomas, all realize that their kind of existence is not for the just-arrived young Willie. Children and infants, they note, never remain long, and the consequence of “tarrying” for the young seems to be a sort of insanity of the soul. So the three take it upon themselves to help Willie move on. But when the president makes a surprise appearance to visit his son’s body, Willie resists leaving. To say much more would be kind of spoiler-y, and that’s not my thing. And the story’s not just about Willie and the ghosts, it’s also about the president and how he dealt with the grief over his son while struggling to lead a nation at war with itself. In the end, it is a very satisfying read: a page turner that is at various times profoundly sad, sometimes frightening, and often surprisingly quite funny. I think you should read it.

A few words about the audiobook. I am one of those people who read books both ways. I will listen to audiobooks on my walks or working in the yard, and then switch to the physical or ebook version at other times. As mentioned above, this book is told from many points of view. So the audiobook was recorded with a different narrator for each point of view, which turns out to be 166 different readers. One complicating factor of the audiobook is that the different speakers are only identified the first time they speak, whereas in the text, the sources or speakers are noted each time. This might make it difficult to understand, but the bulk of the story is told by four characters: Hans Vollman (Nick Offerman), Roger Bevins III (David Sedaris), The Reverend Everly Thomas (George Saunders), and Willie Lincoln (Kirby Heyborne). And they have different enough voices and points of view that it is easy to follow. A highlight of the audiobook is Bill Hader and Megan Mullaly giving voice to the drunken (and foul-mouthed) Eddie and Betsy Baron. Still, if you mainly listen, I definitely recommend having a print (or ebook) version handy so you can initially identify what is going on.  

Last word: “Lincoln in the Bardo” is just a fascinating and unique book. And it has been in circulation long enough, that you probably won’t even have to put a Hold on it.

Vinyl Disc Three: Pat Benatar to Bill Bruford

As you recall, I am making a giant Spotify playlist with one song from every vinyl record I had. And I am writing about the playlist a cd’s worth at a time as I burn them. For the record, as of this writing, the complete Spotify list is complete through “O”, but the recording of discs has stalled out at “H”. The reason is simple. Many of the albums I had in vinyl I did not replace with cd. The library has a lot, but it takes a while to track down what you need. Anyway, I have a couple of holds that when they come in, I should be able to roll right through to “M” at least.

pearsons3and2 · Playlist · 16 songs · 0 likes

Pat Benatar

In the Heat of the Night (1979)

Heartbreaker

Don’t have a whole lot to say about Pat Benatar. Basically, just pop rock, but she had a certain energy. In some ways, she sort of accepted the rock girl baton from Linda Ronstadt. And saying there is one rock girl baton says a lot about the music industry. There are a lot of covers on this, her debut album, including a nice cover of Mellencamp’s “I Need a Lover” and Alan Parsons “Don’t Let it Show”.

Pat Benatar

Crimes of Passion (1980)

Hit Me With Your Best Shot

What became Benatar’s signature song. The crew that still went to concerts went to see her at Market Square Arena the following year during the “Precious Time” tour. She was short! Five feet max… on tiptoes.

Big Brother and the Holding Company

Cheap Thrills (1968)

Piece of My Heart

My brother Ray gave this to me for a birthday or Christmas one year, I don’t remember which. It definitely added to my street cred in Music Appreciation in freshman year at Cathedral, although I still got a D. Presumably, Brother Eugene did not care for me reading comics in class, which may have kept me from being valedictorian. Also, one of the greatest album covers of all time, by noted underground comix artist and possible crazy person, R. Crumb.

Blue Öyster Cult

Blue Öyster Cult (1972)

Cities on Flame with Rock and Roll

This song was huge when I was in high school. In college, the guys across the hall were sort of proto-metalheads. They loved BÖC, KISS, UFO, etc. Never bought a single album of any of those bands until I had long since graduated.

David Bowie

Aladdin Sane (1973)

Panic in Detroit

This is the first in a line of quite a few Bowie songs. So if he’s not your cup of tea, well, I don’t know what to tell you. Actually the first Bowie album I ever heard was 1974’s “Diamond Dogs”, which WNAP played in its entirety one night at midnight, and I did my crappy mono cassette recording thing.

David Bowie

David Live (1974)

Rock and Roll Suicide

One of the great live albums of the 70’s, although critics at the time did not think so. Recorded in July 1974 at the Tower Theater in Philadelphia, it showcases songs from “Diamond Dogs” and “Aladdin Sane”. It is notable for it’s inclusion of Bowie’s first official recording of “All the Young Dudes”, a song he originally wrote for Mott the Hoople.

David Bowie

Young Americans (1975)

Fame

Bowie changing it up again. He described the album as “plastic soul”. I do not think this album has aged particularly well. The title track remains solid, but the rest is pretty weak. John Lennon guests on this particular song, as well as Bowie’s version of “Across the Universe”.

David Bowie

Low (1977)

Sound and Vision

When I first bought this album, I was not a huge fan. But it has grown on me over the years and is now one of my favorite Bowie albums. The top for me is “Ziggy Stardust”, because it is chock full of gems.

David Bowie

“Heroes” (1977)

“Heroes”

This is the first album in the entire list that came to me from my brother Jack’s collection. Sometime in the 90’s, Cheryl and I were visiting Peggy in Park City, and I ended up packing up a box of albums and shipping them home. Jack had way more than one box worth, of course. A lot of his albums I already had, in part because I used to buy him copies of albums I liked. But as I mentioned in discussing Joan Baez, he kind of liked folk and country, and they are not really my cup of tea. And don’t get me started on the Grateful Dead.

David Bowie

Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps) (1980)

Ashes to Ashes

What a great album! Starting with the ridiculously powerful “It’s No Game”, complete with Japanese lyrics and Robert Fripp guitar, and straight through to the hits “Ashes to Ashes” and “Fashion”. Bowie also showed he knew how to video. The video for “Ashes to Ashes” really set the mark at the time.

Giorgio Moroder & David Bowie

Cat People Soundtrack (1981)

Cat People (Putting Out Fire)

I had a number of albums that would normally be filed under “Various Artists” or “Soundtracks”. For the purposes of this extended playlist, I decided to put them with the performer I bought the album for in the first place. Arbitrary? Well, it’s my playlist. And only five people are going to read this anyway. Bowie originally intended to include this version on his “Let’s Dance” album but couldn’t get permission, so he re-recorded it in a much faster tempo with fantastic guitar work by Stevie Ray Vaughn. This version is much slower and has a very tribal sound.

Brand X

Unorthodox Behaviour (1976)

Nuclear Burn

Recall that I bought anything by Genesis members. So when Phil Collins joined a bunch of jazz musicians to form Brand X, I was all in. Pretty good jazz fusion album, fairly typical of the mid 70’s. Showcasing Phil’s drumming and Percy Jones’ fretless bass.

Brand X

Product (1979)

Soho

Collins had an on-again, off-again relationship with Brand X, because he was often otherwise engaged (as the frontman of the constantly recording and touring Genesis, duh). This song is almost like a lost Collins’ single. Very poppy.

Brand X

Is There Anything About? (1982)

Ipanaemia

Research tells me this was cobbled together from “Product” outtakes. Apparently not important enough to include in their Spotify discography, so it’s only on my cd version (after having converted the lp to mp3 years ago).

James Brown

20 All-Time Greatest Hits! (1991)

I Got You (I Feel Good)

Hard to believe I didn’t buy this until 1991. Just what it says on the cover. Full of hits by the Godfather of Soul.

Bill Bruford

Feels Good to Me (1978)

Beelzebub

A marvelous solo debut by the former Yes drummer. It is not a rock or prog rock album, though. It is jazz fusion, and it is delightful. This opening track is just nuts, with Allan Holdsworth just wailing away on the electric guitar. The album also features some beautiful vocal numbers, featuring singer and composer Annette Peacock. 

Bill Bruford and Patrick Moraz

Flags (1985)

Impromptu Too!

If you look for this today, you have to search under Patrick Moraz. Both Spotify and Amazon put the former Yes and Moody Blues keyboardist’s name first. But in record stores in the 80’s, they knew people would look under Bruford, and I always filed it there. Not a favorite album by any means, but definitely accomplished performances, as you might expect.

And that’s Disc Three

A Story About a Ball

I have an actual World Series baseball.

How did I get it, you might ask. Well, it can be a short story: I caught it at Game 3 of the 2004 World Series. Or you can read the longer story, which follows.

Take yourself back to 2004. At the time, I was working at OneAmerica (honestly, when wasn’t I?). As an actuary, I was in the unusual position of running the Administration area in Individual. That’s basically New Business, Customer Service, and Claims. My friend Jim Kellett was the Division Head. Because he was previously the Line Actuary, he maintained good relations with our reinsurers. For those that don’t know insurance, reinsurers provide insurance to other insurance companies.

Anyway, Jim was originally from St. Louis, and one of our reinsurers (RGA) was based there. Our reinsurance rep, Dave, knew Jim was a big Cardinals fan, and asked Jim if he’d like to go to one of the World Series games, if RGA had any tickets available. Why sure!

On Monday October 25th, Dave called Jim and said they had two seats available for the game on the next day. Jim, being the great guy he is, called me and asked if I wanted to go. Why sure!

Jim and I left Indianapolis around noon on Tuesday in the Brown Bomber (also known as my old 2001 Durango). It is about a five hour drive to St. Louis. On the way, Jim made some calls, and we worried about the weather. All the way through Illinois, it poured down rain. Jim got word from St. Louis that there was supposedly a window in the weather, and they ought to be able to get the game in.

When we arrived in St. Louis, it was still pouring. But with about a half hour remaining until game time, the sky started to clear. Looks like we’re having baseball! You cannot imagine my excitement. Although I am a Cincinnati Reds fan since birth, some of my best friends are dyed in the wool Cards fans. And this was the first (and so far only) World Series game I attended. Our seats were on the first base line, right next to one of those tunnels connecting the concourse with the seating area. Jim sat next to the tunnel, I sat next to him.

Jim, waiting for the game to start

First pitch was at 7:37 local time. Our pitching matchup was Jeff Suppan for the Cardinals and future Hall of Famer Pedro Martinez on the mount for the Red Sox.

View fullsize

Baseball is happening!

(Please pardon the upcoming shift in tense. It seemed appropriate to me somehow.)

In the top of the first, Jeff Suppan gives up a solo home run to Manny Ramirez. 1-0 Red Sox. In the bottom of the first, one out, bases loaded, Jim Edmonds hits a fly ball to who else, Manny Ramirez, who throws out Larry Walker at home, for the double play to end the inning. Still 1-0 Red Sox.

The second inning is quiet, 1-2-3 in both halves. Still 1-0 Red Sox.

In the bottom of the third, the Cardinals threaten again, with Suppan and Edgar Renteria getting on base to start the Cards inning. Renteria doubled, so they are on second and third, no outs. Sadly for Cards fans, Larry Walker grounds out to second, and Suppan gets hung up between third and home and is thrown out by David Ortiz. Pujols grounds out to end the inning. Another rally crushed.

In the fourth, Suppan gives up another run. 2-0 Red Sox.

Now we come to the fifth inning, when the story actually happens. At about this time, Jim has gotten up to pick up some World Series souvenirs for his kids. Other people have also gone on walkabout. In the game, Suppan starts the inning by giving up two straight hits, a lead off double to Johnny Damon, and a single to Orlando Cabrera. So first and third, no outs. Up comes Manny Ramirez.

The first pitch to Ramirez is fouled off. It is one of those towering foul balls that everyone along the first base line thinks they can catch. And just like everyone else, I stand up. But hey, it’s actually coming this way! In the end, it looks like it will land on the other side of the tunnel. But hey, there’s no one there! The ball hits the concrete, bounces across the tunnel, and basically falls in my lap! I have caught a World Series foul ball off of soon-to-be Series MVP Manny Ramirez! Oh, and if Jim would have been in his seat, he would have caught it. Did I think for a second about giving it to him? No. Duh.

View fullsize

The boy and the ball

(Full disclosure: It may have been the second pitch, which was also fouled off. But I rewatched the game to write this post, and the first foul is described as a “high foul ball” and the second as “slicing foul”. So I definitely think it was the first pitch.)

Anyway, Ramirez goes on to single, scoring Damon. Then Bill Mueller singles to score Cabrera. 4-0 Red Sox after five. Not much happens the rest of the game. Larry Walker hits a consolation home run in the bottom of the ninth. Game ends 4-1. Series stands 3-0 Boston. They would go on to close out the Series 4-0 the next day behind Derek Lowe in a 3-0 shutout. But frankly, who cares? The Cardinals have won 11 World Series. C’mon.

So that’s how I come to have a World Series ball. 

View fullsize

The ball and the scoreboard

Old Guy Radio for July 2020 - Immigrants

Every July, I try to put together a playlist that celebrates something about America. Whether that’s a playlist of blues, or a playlist on the theme red, white and blue, or whatever. This time around, I wanted to go with immigrants, because that is what we are: a nation of immigrants.

And let’s just clarify that I am using the term “immigrant” rather broadly. Basically I am counting someone born in another country who lives and works in the US. I do not require that they be citizens, although many have become citizens. So, in my view, it is OK to include Lars Ulrich of Metallica. He was born in Denmark and retains his Danish citizenship, but lives in California. Same for David Bowie, who was a citizen of the UK, but lived in New York for decades. Although he did famously sing “I’m Afraid of Americans”. Frankly, who can blame him? And here’s the list. I’ve included a link to the Spotify list at the end of the post.

Irving Berlin (Israel Isidore Beilin) - Imperial Russia (now Belarus). Berlin’s family immigrated to America in 1893, when he was five, fleeing the persecution of the Jews in his native country. He became famous over the years for songs he wrote for Broadway revues, and eventually movies. The irony is not lost on me that a Jewish immigrant wrote the most popular Christmas song of all time: “White Christmas”. But for this July playlist, we have to go with “God Bless America” by the inimitable Kate Smith, which Berlin wrote in 1918, while stationed at Camp Upton in New York during World War I. That’s him in uniform in the collage.

Phil and Leonard Chess (Fiszel and Lejzor Czyż) - Poland (now Belarus). The Chess brothers came to America in 1928, Chicago specifically. By 1950, they had acquired a record company that they renamed Chess Records and focused on recruiting a stable of blues musicians. Among the musicians to release records with Chess were Muddy Waters, Howlin Wolf, Bo Diddley, Chuck Berry, Little Walter, John Lee Hooker, and Memphis Slim. And of course, there was Willie Dixon, writing the songs, playing on the records, and doing the producing. They also had a subsidiary label, Checkers, which they used for more popular music. In honor of the celebrations this month, how ‘bout you have a “Wang Dang Doodle”? Written by Willie Dixon, originally recorded by Howlin’ Wolf, and here performed by Koko Taylor with Dixon clearly audible doing harmony in the chorus. 

Ahmet Ertegun - Turkey. Born in 1923, Ertegun came to Washington with his father, the Turkish ambassador in 1935. He formed Atlantic Records in 1947, with a focus on R&B acts. In the 60’s, Atlantic branched out, signing more diverse acts. The best known of these were Led Zeppelin, and the newly formed Crosby, Stills & Nash. And since we’ll be getting to Nash next, let’s have a track from the “New Yardbirds”: the immensely appropriate “Immigrant Song”

Graham Nash - UK. With all the protests going on, it seemed reasonable to reprise one of Nash’s own protest songs: “Chicago” about the trial of the Chicago Seven (originally Eight) for inciting the riots at the 1968 Democratic Convention in Chicago. 

Carlos Santana - Mexico. Santana has produced some lovely music over the years. And he became a citizen in 1965. Their first album, simply titled “Santana”, was released two weeks AFTER they played Woodstock. Wow. Here’s their first top ten hit “Evil Ways”.

June Kuramoto - Japan. Kuramoto is one of the founding members of Hiroshima, a jazz fusion/pop band from California that incorporates Japanese instruments and elements in their music. “Go” is Japanese for “five” and is the title of their fifth album, from whence this cut, “Odon”.

David Bowie - UK. You know who Bowie was. “I’m Afraid of Americans” So am I, David. So am I.

Gene Simmons (Chaim Witz) - Israel. Simmons’ parents were actually Hungarian immigrants to Israel. “Rock and Roll All Nite” from “Kiss Alive!”

Tommy Ramone (Tamás Erdélyi) - Hungary. Born in Budapest in 1949, the Erdélyi family fled the country during the revolution in 1956. Originally intended to just be the producer of the Ramones, he was recruited to take over the drum kit when Joey Ramone became lead singer. You can hitch a ride to “Rockaway Beach”, but please practice social distancing, by sitting on the roof perhaps.

David Byrne - Scotland. Until I did this list, I didn’t know the Talking Heads frontman was born in Scotland. And I have to admit, sometimes it seems like we're all living “Life During Wartime”.

Van Halen brothers - Netherlands. It's my playlist, so I get to play the version of Van Halen I like. So enjoy yourself a little Sammy Hagar “Right Now”.

Lars Ulrich - Denmark. Ulrich actually came to the US to train as a tennis player. When he couldn’t even make his high school’s tennis team, he thought his future might be elsewhere. Because of the holiday, let’s have “Don’t Tread On Me”. Don’t know if you’ve ever noticed, but there’s a few bars of “America” from “West Side Story” at the beginning.

Serj Tankian and John Dolmayan - Armenians from Lebanon. Shavo Odajian - Armenian from USSR. All the members of System of a Down are ethnic Armenians. Tankian’s family were originally from Turkey, who fled the Armenian Genocide. Both he and Dolmayan were born in Beirut. All eventually settled in Glendale, California. The rest is nu metal history. I’ve always liked “Chop Suey!”. I think it’s funny that Weird Al included it in “Angry White Boy Polka”.

John Lennon - UK. Lennon gets the last word. After the breakup of the Beatles, Lennon moved to New York with Yoko Ono. Because of his fierce anti-war stance, Nixon almost immediately began efforts to have him deported. Lennon eventually got his green card in 1976. “Imagine”

That’s your list this month. Enjoy the holiday weekend. Sorry if your dogs are freaked out by the sky booms (luckily, mine couldn’t care less).

pearsons3and2 · Playlist · 14 songs · 1 likes

Bellweather Rhapsody - Kate Racculia

I thoroughly enjoyed “Tuesday Mooney Talks to Ghosts”, so I looked up Racculia’s other books. This was her second novel. It is also really good, but in a very different way.

One of the things that really pulled me in to “Tuesday Mooney” was Racculia’s treatment of her characters. She changed the point-of-view character regularly, and in so doing, made them all deeply realized, fully human characters. She does that here too. Amazingly real characters. Somewhat distinctly  from “Tuesday Mooney”, almost all of the viewpoint characters in “Bellweather Rhapsody” are a little bit crazy, and a couple are full-on, “where’s my straight-jacket”, crazy. That Racculia can portray their neuroses (or psychoses) with such seeming verisimilitude is simply amazing and definitely praiseworthy.

But what’s it about you ask. Well…

After serving as a reluctant bridesmaid, twelve-year-old Minnie witnesses a murder suicide in room 712 of the Bellweather Hotel.  Fifteen years later, Alice Hatmaker and her twin brother Rabbit are attending the Statewide music conference at the Bellweather. Alice is in the chorus and is something of a diva. Rabbit plays bassoon in the orchestra and has a secret he wants to reveal to his sister. Alice is assigned to the dreaded room 712. Her roommate is teenage flute prodigy Jill. When Jill apparently hangs herself, things kind of go off the rails. Especially when Alice seeks help, only to find Jill’s body gone. WTF! Oh, and there’s a snowstorm coming, threatening to maroon all the guests at the hotel. As noted above, there are lots of characters, and everybody has baggage to work out. This is a mystery, a comedy, a coming of age novel. It is lots of things, but mostly it’s good. Compared to “Tuesday Mooney”, it is just as funny, although somewhat darker, and has a more melancholy ending. But it definitely rings true.

Full disclosure: There are parts in this book that made this grizzled, and frankly, sometimes fragile, old man cry.

Adventures in Emailing Authors, Part 2: There was a passage in which two of the characters meet for the first time. One of them has a badly damaged hand. The other hears in her head “Gimme your hands! You’re wonderful!” I immediately said to myself, “That’s ‘Rock and Roll Suicide’ by David Bowie”. So I emailed Racculia to ask. She replied in the affirmative. I think it is so cool that authors gladly interact with readers. But I guess unless you are one of those factory authors (like James Patterson) who “writes” a dozen or more books a year and they’re all on the bestseller lists, the most important thing you can do is generate goodwill with readers. Then mission accomplished!