"I used to know a drug dealer His name was Billy Jack.
The Mexican cartel cut his head off, and he ain't comin' back
God knows I sure do miss my buddy; he had some killer pot
This ole stray dog and Jesus are all the friends I got
The pain pill jar is empty, my Wild Irish Rose is gone
But I found a tube of model airplane glue and I'm gettin' my buzz on
Why's everybody judging me when the Good Book says "Judge not"
This ole stray dog and Jesus are all the friends I got"
That's how the song starts off. Kaboom! It goes on from there in the same positive vein.
From "Old Stray Dog and Jesus" by Paul Thorn
Sunday, August 4, 2019
A Trump Primer
Started reading "The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich" this morning.
Wanna get a solid feel about what to expect from the turd in the White House. I'm only forty pages in (only 1,100 more to go).
It is frightening how similar some of his thought process (if you can call it that) is to Hitler's.
Buckle up, motherfuckers.
Wanna get a solid feel about what to expect from the turd in the White House. I'm only forty pages in (only 1,100 more to go).
It is frightening how similar some of his thought process (if you can call it that) is to Hitler's.
Buckle up, motherfuckers.
What I Have in Common With Adolf Hitler
When Hitler was a teenager his father died, creating a difficult financial situation for his mother.
"Though the ailing widow found it difficult to make ends meet on her meager income, young Adolf declined to help out by getting a job. The idea of earning even his own living by any kind of regular employment was repulsive to him and was to remain so throughout his life."
"Though the ailing widow found it difficult to make ends meet on her meager income, young Adolf declined to help out by getting a job. The idea of earning even his own living by any kind of regular employment was repulsive to him and was to remain so throughout his life."
Thursday, August 1, 2019
Take a Measure of Your Pleasure Wherever You Can Find It
Been listening to Outlaw Country the last coupla days on Sirius XM.
Normally I would avoid a station with an insulting marketing name like that. Implication being you're gonna hear a whole lot of music from the bad boys of country.
Not the case. However the station endeared itself to me because it is intelligent.
Heard a song with Waylon and Willie. In it they refer to Jerry Jeff Walker. Next song? By Jerry Jeff Walker. Not that much of a stretch, but if you don't know who Jerry Jeff is you got a little taste of him.
But they went way beyond that.
Next up - "Four Strong Winds", a beautiful and melancholy song written by Ian Tyson and, in this case, performed by Neil Young. They played "Willin", by Little Feat - one of my favorites. They played a song by Delbert McClinton. Delbert is a blues dude, for Christ sake. They played some Tom Petty. Fuckin' a right. In so doing they mentioned the Tom Petty station on Sirius. I set that puppy up.
You get where I am going with this?
They are painting outside the lines. They are going for a feel, not a genre. I fucking hate that word when it is applied to music. Know which genre of music is my favorite? MUSIC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Reminded me of when I was a mere teenager listening to FM radio, which was fairly new at the time. They could do anything they wanted to do, and they did.
Sometimes they would play one entire side of an album. Sometimes what they played reminded them of something else, say John Coltrane. Next thing you knew you were listening to John Coltrane on a rock 'n roll station. Tremendous education. Excellent exposure.
They would read poetry or literary quotes. Go on political rants. It was wide open. It was a living, breathing thing.
Now regular radio is programmed by robots and aimed at dead people.
But Sirius XM approximates old tymey FM radio. They are pretty wide open. Steven Van Zandt has a station called Little Steven's Underground Garage. That station blows my mind. No boundaries. You never know what they are going to play and it is all good. From the 40's to right now, maybe going back farther than that. Quite tasty.
Only problem with Outlaw Country is the DJ's. Holy shit, the few that I have heard have heavy Southern accents. And I mean almost indecipherable Southern accents. They sound ridiculous. But I want to believe they are genuine. Otherwise they must be executed.
The icing on the cake came last night on my ride home. Listened to a few good country songs. Then "Free Fallin'" by Tom Petty came on. I belted that out at maximum volume just like me and Alan used to do in 1989. I felt so damn good.
Felt alive.
Normally I would avoid a station with an insulting marketing name like that. Implication being you're gonna hear a whole lot of music from the bad boys of country.
Not the case. However the station endeared itself to me because it is intelligent.
Heard a song with Waylon and Willie. In it they refer to Jerry Jeff Walker. Next song? By Jerry Jeff Walker. Not that much of a stretch, but if you don't know who Jerry Jeff is you got a little taste of him.
But they went way beyond that.
Next up - "Four Strong Winds", a beautiful and melancholy song written by Ian Tyson and, in this case, performed by Neil Young. They played "Willin", by Little Feat - one of my favorites. They played a song by Delbert McClinton. Delbert is a blues dude, for Christ sake. They played some Tom Petty. Fuckin' a right. In so doing they mentioned the Tom Petty station on Sirius. I set that puppy up.
You get where I am going with this?
They are painting outside the lines. They are going for a feel, not a genre. I fucking hate that word when it is applied to music. Know which genre of music is my favorite? MUSIC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Reminded me of when I was a mere teenager listening to FM radio, which was fairly new at the time. They could do anything they wanted to do, and they did.
Sometimes they would play one entire side of an album. Sometimes what they played reminded them of something else, say John Coltrane. Next thing you knew you were listening to John Coltrane on a rock 'n roll station. Tremendous education. Excellent exposure.
They would read poetry or literary quotes. Go on political rants. It was wide open. It was a living, breathing thing.
Now regular radio is programmed by robots and aimed at dead people.
But Sirius XM approximates old tymey FM radio. They are pretty wide open. Steven Van Zandt has a station called Little Steven's Underground Garage. That station blows my mind. No boundaries. You never know what they are going to play and it is all good. From the 40's to right now, maybe going back farther than that. Quite tasty.
Only problem with Outlaw Country is the DJ's. Holy shit, the few that I have heard have heavy Southern accents. And I mean almost indecipherable Southern accents. They sound ridiculous. But I want to believe they are genuine. Otherwise they must be executed.
The icing on the cake came last night on my ride home. Listened to a few good country songs. Then "Free Fallin'" by Tom Petty came on. I belted that out at maximum volume just like me and Alan used to do in 1989. I felt so damn good.
Felt alive.
.
"Mostly he'd always been a threat to himself and anyone who depended on him."
From The Scarpetta Factor
From The Scarpetta Factor
August 1
A gentle reminder.
I don't panic anymore. We don't do much anyway. It's not like we are out on a cigarette boat every weekend. I am just happy not being cold.
But I thought I would give you a nudge. You may be distracted.
I don't panic anymore. We don't do much anyway. It's not like we are out on a cigarette boat every weekend. I am just happy not being cold.
But I thought I would give you a nudge. You may be distracted.
Thursday, July 25, 2019
Hey Ringo!!!!!!!!!!
Peace and Love, baby.
Every year on his birthday, Ringo celebrates at a very public location. This year it was in front of the Capitol Records Tower in Hollywood, where a large crowd sang "Happy Birthday" and Ringo cut the cake.
The real focus is that he has made his birthday into a celebration of Peace And Love. The drill is that at high noon, wherever you are at on his birthday - July 7 - stop what you are doing and say the words Peace and Love. His theory is that for those few seconds your mind is focused on peace and love and nothing else.
This cannot be a bad thing.
Wherever he is, they do a countdown to noon and then Ringo and the crowd say Peace and Love and flash the peace sign. That is damn good karma.
Of course you think the ritual is silly, but Ringo has been all about peace and love for his whole life. Comb through as many pictures as you can and you will be impressed to see in how many he is flashing the peace sign. I don't care how far back you go.
He took the message of the sixties and made it a big part of who he is.
I researched all this earlier this summer, checked out all the places around the world he has been to do this, all the charities he raises money for by doing this, all the fans he has rewarded - they win tickets to the event. I decided this year on July 7 I am going to say Peace and Love at noon.
Then I completely forgot about it. Fucking forgot. Because I am so fucking busy working 2 or 3 days a week. How does this happen? How is it that you get all the time in the world and it still isn't enough?
About a year ago I was talking to my friend Gary Handley. Told him about my semi-retirement. And he asked: "So what do you do?"
Fucking floored me. I did not have an answer. I believe I use my time wisely, trying to write, now desperately looking for a second part time job - but what do I really do? Feels pretty empty when I'm forced to think about it.
Anyway, Happy Birthday, Ringo. 79. Insane. Peace&Love. I love you, man. Keep on rockin', baby.
Also I don't think I wished Paul a happy birthday on June 18. He turned 77. You know I have mixed feelings about Paul. I think he is kind of cold. In fact I just finished a David Bowie oral biography. 99% of the comments were reverential and loving. Paul only had a few comments in the book and they were predictably thin.
Then again, I saw him recently in a 60 Minutes interview and he was quite human. And that carpool karaoke with James Corden is spectacular. So you never really know.
Bottom line - he is Paul McCartney. So Happy Birthday, man. Keep on rockin'.
Every year on his birthday, Ringo celebrates at a very public location. This year it was in front of the Capitol Records Tower in Hollywood, where a large crowd sang "Happy Birthday" and Ringo cut the cake.
The real focus is that he has made his birthday into a celebration of Peace And Love. The drill is that at high noon, wherever you are at on his birthday - July 7 - stop what you are doing and say the words Peace and Love. His theory is that for those few seconds your mind is focused on peace and love and nothing else.
This cannot be a bad thing.
Wherever he is, they do a countdown to noon and then Ringo and the crowd say Peace and Love and flash the peace sign. That is damn good karma.
Of course you think the ritual is silly, but Ringo has been all about peace and love for his whole life. Comb through as many pictures as you can and you will be impressed to see in how many he is flashing the peace sign. I don't care how far back you go.
He took the message of the sixties and made it a big part of who he is.
I researched all this earlier this summer, checked out all the places around the world he has been to do this, all the charities he raises money for by doing this, all the fans he has rewarded - they win tickets to the event. I decided this year on July 7 I am going to say Peace and Love at noon.
Then I completely forgot about it. Fucking forgot. Because I am so fucking busy working 2 or 3 days a week. How does this happen? How is it that you get all the time in the world and it still isn't enough?
About a year ago I was talking to my friend Gary Handley. Told him about my semi-retirement. And he asked: "So what do you do?"
Fucking floored me. I did not have an answer. I believe I use my time wisely, trying to write, now desperately looking for a second part time job - but what do I really do? Feels pretty empty when I'm forced to think about it.
Anyway, Happy Birthday, Ringo. 79. Insane. Peace&Love. I love you, man. Keep on rockin', baby.
Also I don't think I wished Paul a happy birthday on June 18. He turned 77. You know I have mixed feelings about Paul. I think he is kind of cold. In fact I just finished a David Bowie oral biography. 99% of the comments were reverential and loving. Paul only had a few comments in the book and they were predictably thin.
Then again, I saw him recently in a 60 Minutes interview and he was quite human. And that carpool karaoke with James Corden is spectacular. So you never really know.
Bottom line - he is Paul McCartney. So Happy Birthday, man. Keep on rockin'.
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