Bittersweet -- The Hoodoo Gurus

A Cultural Treasure -- WWE's Vince McMahon sings

Sometimes you come across cultural treasures on Youtube that rival anything Donny and Marie had done on their variety show in the 1970s. This is Vince McMahon doing a musical number at the 1987 Slammy pro wrestling awards. I love how the wrestlers are "playing" the instruments. Hulk Hogan is a real bass player, but the other guys?? Honky Tonk Man, Brutus "the Barber" Beefcake, Jake "the Snake" Roberts, Junkyard Dog, et al. playing backup. Vince needs a musical special on prime time network television. The only thing that could improve this is if Rowdy Roddy Piper came out to do a mid-song rap.

This was amended (7-22-10) after you tube pulled down the prior version of the video.

The Laundry List of What I Love Right Now

This is sort of like the laundry list of things or people that I'm thankful for as I start a new year. My family and health are stock answers, but the family keeps my head on straight (especially Darcie). The line from the Beach Boys song definitely applies: "God only knows what I'd be without you." My daughter reminds me of all of youth's possibilities and my son is like having a younger and much more wry version of me around. After seeing my folks and sister on Christmas Eve and my in-laws Christmas weekend, it really helps one take stock of what's important.

During these times, I'm glad I'm gainfully employed. Not just at any job, but I'm employed at Coyne Public Relations, one of the best places to work anywhere. My colleagues are creative, fun, smart and a pleasure to see every day. It's a virtuous cycle of good people creating good work that keeps clients happy and coming back for more. I hope the cycle continues into the new year despite a crappy economy.

Facebook and online media get a bad reputation for being time wasters. However, I've been able to reconnect with a lot of people I haven't seen since 1985. It's a blessing to at least talk online with people. It's not even one of those score keeping exercises that high school reunions can be (who got fat, bald, lost their looks, got rich, got their lives together after a shaky high school experience ... yada yada yada). Sometimes you build connections to people who knew you only peripherally through high school. I've had interesting chats about politics with some classmates and status updates are great conversation starters.

I'm a bit of a media and entertainment omnivore. The Apple TV has gotten a lot of use lately. My daughter and her friends are watching "The Shining" now.
Music I've been listening to lately: Yo La Tengo, Sonic Youth, and Prince. The embedded video is Yo La Tengo doing Cherry Chapstick -- a playful, noisy tune. Yo La Tengo is really the successor to the Velvet Underground. REM wanted to be the Velvet Underground in their early days and the Feelies came close, but I think Yo La Tengo captures the range and depth of the Velvet Underground's sound. They can sound extremely dissonant and another song can create a soothing aural landscape. I'm also happy with WRXP 101.9. The station really does a nice job of mixing new and old music. It captures a lot of the vibe of 106.3 when it was a good station.

I'm looking forward to taking my EMT state test so I could finish "Homocide: A Year on the Killing Streets" and then start Malcolm Gladwell's "Outliers." (Thanks Linda!)

I've been evangelizing about The Wire's brilliance all year. It's sort of like "Pulp Fiction" and "Homicide: Life on the Street" rolled into a 60 episode series. I haven't been terribly excited about TV. "Mad Men" was extremely literate and well acted in its second season. My Name is Earl and 30 Rock continue to entertain me. I have really grown to care less and less about television. Hulu.com is a great site to catch up on shows that I used to enjoy.

Anyway Happy New Year! I have a lot to be thankful for.

Uh, These Are the Five Most Popular Music Videos on MTV.com?

Esquire's take on the MTV.com archives...

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My friends in Cutlass play fast, loud and still have fun...

I went to high school with these guys. The video is a clip of them opening for Stone Temple Pilots. I can't do much about the camera work. When you are in the Point Pleasant area, please see them. This is their myspace page. These guys have the energy of Iggy Pop in his Raw Power days.

Twelve:01 I Will Find

A great band and one I've known for a long time. Time Flies. It's been a long short life!I'm sad that I will miss another of Simo's birthday bashes at John & Peters in New Hope. It usually turns into a boozy, chaotic night.

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A few of my favorite things

Everybody knows how I like to preach the gospel about The Wire. Here's some other stuff that I like:
www.accuradio.com Listening Post and Future Perfect Radio



How can you hate Robert Duvall's performance here. It's inspired lunacy. "You either surf or fight...If I say it's safe to surf this beach, it's safe to surf this beach." Apocalypse Now Redux (a longer version) has more footage about him pursuing Capt. Willard and Lance for stealing his surfboard.

Does God really protect the stupid? Watch this video:



Some people go out of their way to prove Darwin right.


Yeah, I'm voting for Obama. I want us out of Iraq. I tend to agree more with the Libertarians. Take a look at its platform here. Zimmer and Lautenberg are not getting my vote for Senate -- Jason Scheurer is.


I like news shows that take the piss out of Bush. See Keith Olbermann's Countdown.

--30--

Random Thoughts on a Saturday night

Originally Posted Sept. 1, 2007:

I'm just hanging around on a Saturday night. I haven't written a blog in months and I don't feel like writing the book that's been in my head for years. My brain comes up with a lot of random useless ideas, but it's nice to share. Here they are:

I miss the Uncle Floyd show. It used to be on NJ Network in the 1980s and it was way ahead of its time. It influenced Howard Stern's channel 9 show with its low budget production values and crew members cracking up off stage. It's an iconoclast among tv variety shows with its great piano playing, campy skits, satire -- making it unlike any network comedy/variety shows.

This month and next month baseball will be on the brain. God, please get the Mets into the post season! Why can't Chipper Jones go 0-for-12 in a four game series against the Mets? He's dashed the hopes of Met fans for over a decade with clutch hitting. God likes to test the faith of Met fans. Yankee fans don't get tested this way because God doesn't care about them.

Does anybody really care about politics? I don't like anybody running for president in 2008. Does anybody know what we're voting on in November? Maybe it's a good thing the campaign this year is limited to after Labor Day.

Is there a more annoying song than "Safety Dance" by Men Without Hats?

Van Halen and Bruce are on the road again... Both are on tour. Van Halen is looking for a payday by bringing back David Lee Roth with tix selling for $50-$150 (Washington DC show). Bruce tix are going on sale for different spots starting September 8. I've always been less satisfied with big arena shows than catching a band in a club like the Stone Pony, the long gone Green Parrot in Neptune, and last but not least City Gardens in Trenton.

Arena shows with big bands are predictable, right down to the encores. I get more satisfaction watching the Stone Pony cutting the electric on Graham Parker after he played two encores at 2:45 a.m. That was pretty cool for $10 at the door for a spot 15 feet from the stage. How can the energy from the stage diving at a Fishbone show(performers included) be replicated by anything Bruce, Van Halen, or U2 in a big arena? What about the Vans Warped Tour with its 5 stages and 50 bands for less than $30. The musicians will even meet the crowd at their booths after their performance. When's the last time Mick Jagger spent time with fans? I'll probably pick up Bruce's new album (the first single reminded me of something The Smithereenswould do).

Good nite for now... Feel free to post equally random thoughts.