Another reader suggested was an American Idol singer, Wade Cotas, who did a spot-on version of Joe Cocker’s version of the Beatles ‘With a Little Help from My Friends.’ Cocker sang it at Woodstock.
(Cotas is good but after side by side watching I have to give Cocker the edge. )
Nobody seems to put more into a song than Cocker.
—–
Health-wise, I’m noticing my fluctuations. I’ll be a little shaky and a little more cloudy one day and on the next day I feel much better — almost feeling like I don’t have a disease. I am thankful for any time I get pre-disease clarity and try to time it to my work.
Sounds more difficult than it is — even though there have been some posts that I accidentally published with missing words and stuff.
Reminder Hoopsters: Assemble teams for Mike’s Madness only two months away. Here’s the link:
I’m adding a couple of songs to the chorus on a day when hundreds of women speak online at AL.com and in the pages of the Birmingham News, the Huntsville Times, and the Mobile Press-Register.
I’ve been putting this one off. What can be added to all that has been written about John Lennon?
He was possibly one of the world’s most influential persons. “Bigger than Jesus” he said to one reporter, describing the millions of enthusiastic young Beatles’ fans. That comment led to worldwide controversy, and John said he was just making the point about what was true. Not that it was wrong or right.
In Birmingham there were bonfires to throw Beatles records into the conflagration, fuel for the fire.
White albums turned black.
(OK, don’t call and tell me they hadn’t put out the White Album before the bonfires. It’s too good a line to let the facts get in the way. Some albums may have been ‘shattered’. Or so I hear.)
Some of Lennon’s best work, his first solo album and Imagine, the follow-up, asked the big (frustrating and depression inducing they could be) questions: If the Beatles had more influence than Jesus or parents, and teachers — Why?
In the song ‘God’ I think Lennon is saying you can’t count on many things. For him, he feels safe and happy with himself and Yoko
‘God’ comes with a recital of what he doesn’t believe in. Here’s a random mix, but it sure seems to be his intention to say I don’t believe in anything or anybody: I don’t believe in Zimmerman: I don’t believe in Beatles; I don’t believe in I-Ching; I don’t believe in Buddha… And so on (Zimmerman is the birth name of Bob Dylan). He ends this piano-backed ballad declaration of adoration for Yoko witth what he does believe in: “Yoko and me, that’s reality.”
John also wrote “God is a concept by which we measure our pain.” Sounds like he’s not a big believer in the God presented by various churches, Islamic mosques and Jewish synagogues.
But in a video clip, Lennon was asked about death. Standing by two cars in a parking lot, he got into one and then into the other saying death is getting out of one car and into another, he said.
I am giving the basically untitled first solo album a rare 5 stars. Ironically I can’t listen to it a lot. So much emotion is layered into that album. Lennon was using primal scream therapy and shows off his angst-ridden screams several times through-out, especially on “Isolation,” ” Found Out’ and “Mother.’
Sample lyric: ‘Mother, you had me, but I never had you.’
His mother was struck and killed by a car at a crosswalk in 1958; His father was a Merchant Marine who was not home much and finally quit coming home at all. So John was raised by his aunt. John’s edge was nicely counterbalanced by McCartney’s silliness. Both had amazing songwriting abilities — though despite Lennon/McCartney being on most of the credits, in the later years, they filed their songs separately. In other words, John wrote “Day Tripper” for example, and Paul wrote. “Get Back.” But all were credited with Lennon/McCartney.
Up until recently. We had a clock that was on a piece of furniture near the front door. It was a special little table clock, simple elegant and it kept good time. It was a gift from me to Catherine so many many years ago.
Recently, we cleaned up and partially reconfigured some rooms, adding decorative paintings and such. This happened a few weeks ago upon the arrival of my brother David and sister-in-law Lori Oliver. They help throw things out and put stuff in other spaces and stuff like that. Well in the process, they moved my clock.
I can’t say I was much help …I kept saying looks like a good day to go for a walk. But back to my clock.
For years, this clock has been over by the front door and every time i’d come down the stairs, I’d see the clock. Always there to glance at, quick time.
But now that it’s gone its usual place — it’s just two steps around the corner on the fireplace mantle — I keep looking for it.
Again it’s practically autonomic in that your body starts reacting, adrenalin infusion even before your brain tells you ‘Relax, you built 10 minutes extra time into the wake-up program. ‘
Oh yeah! I smiled.
Then I started wondering.
Now I’ve been trained to look at that clock. As hard as I try not to look at that clock — because I know it’s not there — I still can’t help looking for that clock as I amble down the stairs. But every time I look for that clock. I’m aware that I’ve been lured, again, into a habit that I can’t stop.
When I started my first newspaper job at the Birmingham News in 1982, I was paid as a ‘part-time’ correspondent to cover Etowah, Calhoun and Talladega counties. Catherine and I rented a cheap house in the woods of Jacksonville off of Nesbitt Lake Road. The house had no central heat.
Space heaters were set up in some of the rooms. The rooms were tasty warm but the hallway was freezing. Whenever we had to get up for a glass of water, use the restroom or grab a late night stack, we had to come out into the 40-degree hallway which we responded to by autonomically clinching. Over the months this became ingrained. When I was promoted and we moved to Birmingham, we found a house with central heat. But guess what?
For months thereafter as we went out into the hall we would clinch, bracing ourselves for the expected chill.
Even our dog Pavlov got involved. Joke. Seriously our dog Maggie liked the warm rooms better but her first priority was to find humans wherever they might be.
So I’m left with the thought that I may be conditioned like in these examples to react a certain way under certain conditions, even when unnecessary. I guess PTSD would be an example of a cause for a harmful type of this kind of pre-conditioning. I imagine we all have layers of this preconditioning, reaction to ads, politics, and music to name a few.
2:45 p.m.: Need to remember journal every day. Still battling my hands a bit. I’m going to check out some of that transcription software. I’m not sure how it’s going to work but looking forward to trying. Also several folks here have it. (The software not Lewy.}
The Wolves known by their Spanish name Los Lobos kick off this album with a rocking ‘Don’t Worry Baby’ and then follow that with music reflecting their Mexican roots all rolled up in a mix of blues, country, folk and good old barrelhouse rock and roll.
I saw them at the Marin (Calif.) fair from about 12 feet from the stage and I can tell you as good as they sound on records, they are better live. David Hildago can play.
The album kicks off with “Don’t Worry Baby,’ a guitar guided soul/dance track, then the diversity and musicianship is on display the rest of the way.
Rolling Stone ranked this in the Top 500 albums of all time at something like 300-ish.
I have The Neighborhood and Kiko on CD, all excellent and all different. I would recommend this album if you are interested in exploring the Lobos. Kiko is my favorite, a little off the beaten path. And Colossal Head is a steam roller of guitar rock.
I don’t think you can go wrong with any Los Lobos record. I respect their musicality and their ability to bridge diverse groups,
10 a.m.: It’s Friday, usually a good day, but I have some work to do before I can relax. Check-ins. Sleep Through the night, awesome. Diet. Had good low-carb lemon cilantro chicken last night Catherine made. Cheese stick for breakfast. Mental Health. Like I said today is Friday and that’s always an extra bubble of electricity of the positive kind. People in the newsroom feed off of each other — so when the newsroom is buzzing, everybody picks up the vibe. (And vice versa but won’t explore that right now). I’m currently trying to figure out how to channel my efforts into one big cohesive plan. I’ve got several, no make that many, avenues and ideas. And I’m excited about getting all cohesive. In another post likely today I am going to lay out some ideas, some specific, some broad about my vision for the July 20 Mike Madness event. I’m hoping and planning to make it bigger than ever. And I’ve got a few tricks which I will discuss later today or over the weekend. Happy Friday readers. From a broader standpoint, I will say that I can tell this thing is progressing, however slowly. With doctor consultation, I’ve added a small boost to my dosage of carbidopa levadopa medication which treats Parkinsonian physical symptoms such as tremor and the aforementioned fine motor skills skills such as typing or picking something off the ground.
Now wait, I’m going to do a joke here as I am wont to do.
So, you see one metric I use to determine fine motor skill deficits is the value of a coin that I will actually bend down and pick up.
I noticed this when I walked by a dime the other day. Will stop for quarters though. (This Parkinsonian/Lewy metric is not for everyone. Ask your doctor if you need to stick to dimes for a while, or maybe wait only for dollars.)
ALBUMS: Led Zeppelin IV (Stairway album 1971); Houses of the Holy (1973).
MVC Rating: Stairway 5.0/$$$$; Houses 4.5/$$$$
Robert Plant’s voice is/was a force of nature. No doubt about it.
If you were a parental unit at about the time Led Zeppelin hit maximum frenzy, you would describe that force of nature as the sound of a thousand feral cats f… ,um, fighting.
To a young boy/man feeling spunky and cocky and awkward all at the same time, Plant’s flying screeches were a magic carpet ride at 100 mph going through tunnels of Jimmy Page spun guitar scales and crying runs, halfway tamed by John Bonham’s dinosaur bone skin beating.
From thrash metal to lilting folk it was all featured in this Tolkien fantasy land where if you spark up the right mood you were transported and time flowed until it slowed to a drip.
Some influential critics, outing themselves as not-so-different- from the parental units, bashed Led Zeppelin. They literally made fun of them. What they failed to see was this was the artistic and commercial pinnacle of the electrification of blues absorbed by white British kids. New soul. Clapton Cream Yardbirds (from whom Jimmy Page came) had already turned up Robert Johnson’s amp tenfold but Led Zeppelin kept pushing the excess, no, pushing the word ‘excess’ beyond the bounds of its definition. Albert King and Muddy Waters set up the white boys with high lobs. Paged and brethren smashed it. Ace.
My two LZ albums (I have more on digital) are indeed classics. Critics came around. Like the Beatles, there will likely not be another band that created a sound so distinctly different (despite the plagiarism and blatant lifting of old blues lyrics and riffs.) They took it and made it their own, tho that’s certainly disputed by certain plaintiffs.
On Plant’s voice: The only other one in this era and genre who had a voice that could make thousands of black birds explode from the trees was: Janis Joplin.
The 4th album, Stairway, is the commercial peak and like Free Bird or Hotel California or Bohemian Rhapsody, the song is an epic game changer. Even if no one really knows what they are talking about.
Houses of the Holy was a perfectly executed escape from Stairway overkill. It had playful reggae D’yer Mak’er, a James Brown tribute, the Crunge, and a dance tune, ‘Dancing Days.’
There will not be another Led Zeppelin. (Did somebody mention Greta van Fleet?)
“Many times I’ve wondered how much there is to know.”
9:55 a..m. Typing OK this morning. Left hand a little shaky. I’m just slower. I hope my brain is cooperating with my request to resist at all times the sticky quicksand those rogue proteins create. Check-offs. Sleep. Did well, watched basketball until I couldn’t hold my eyes open. Had a mild calf musclle spasm that I caught and rubbed out before it could start its torture. That addresses the category Pain. I played basketball last night. It’s one of two days of good exercise I get every week. But I’m slow moving in the morning after these. Trying to get one or two days where Catherine and I can go do some gym stuff, weights, possibly Yoga. I have to stop here and describe a play last night in which I delivered a pass to Ramsey Archibald. We had a break going, I was down court running hard after the other team turned it over. Teammate Kevin Storr (who was red-hot shooting BTW) hit me in stride at about the foul line, defender coming on fast. I knew Ramsey, on my team, was coming on fast from behind. I made a little look up feint like I was going to go up for the lay-up setting the defender into leaping stage. Instead of putting it up, I bounced it with two hands — like a football snap — between my legs, Ramsey caught it off the bounce and put it up for a layup. Mental Health. Good.!
Day ahead will include some op-ed reading and Mike Madness planning.
I have obtained three very interesting albums from a nice couple who wanted to donate for the cause.
That cause being raising awareness and funds to fight Lewy body dementia. (Read my story here).
Wow! Here’s what they got me!
Three very interesting records including Birmingham area favorites from the 1970s: Buckingham Nicks. The couple, Stevie and Lindsay, appearing ‘nekkid’ on the cover (top right) seems to be shouting: We are lovers!
Of course,, the irony would come later after becoming famous in Fleetwood Mac, the couple split up and in their misery produced some of the best music of their lives, break-up songs such as, ‘You can go your own way’ and ‘Dreams.’. No more ‘nekkid’ album covers, though. Not exactly groundbreaking, the album is really good however. It sort of flopped initially. It strongly presages the latter Fleetwood Mac sound in style and melody. And of course the rest is history as Fleetwood Mac became one of the biggest selling bands of all time.
Interestingly it sold better in Alabama than just about anywhere.
AL.com rock writer Matt Wake wrote “…the group became an unlikely sensation in Alabama after Birmingham progressive rock station WJLN-FM gave the LP heavy spins, particularly spiraling seven-minute track “Frozen Love.”
So how did these records come to me?
Several weeks ago a man named Jim Stubbs of the Birmingham area, emailed me to ask if I had Buckingham Nicks and, if not, do I was want it?
Long story short we met at John’s Diner, I met his wonderful wife Debbie who used to know me when we both worked at the Birmingham News in 1983 –we overlapped a few months.
The Stubbs said they just wanted to donate for the cause, bringing awareness to Lewy body dementia, which I have and try to do just that — raise awareness — with my blog www..myvinylcountdown.com
The Stubbs are good people, and I want to figure out a way to make their pledge count. One idea is to auction off some collectible records to go to Lewy body dementia research and awareness.
I don’t know how much these albums are worth, maybe $50 altogether? $100? $300? I definitely have some records that would qualify as collectible. If we can get even 25 to 50 albums I’m pretty sure we can raise $1,000 to $3,000 like that with some good effective advertising.
Here’s the skinny on what I know about the other two albums which have bizarre backstories.
Billy Joel “Cold Spring Harbor”
Liner notes says he checked into to a mental hospital around this time. There’s also some who call it his debut because he recorded it in 1971 even though it wasn’t released until 1976 after Joel’s other work became big.
It opens with the original version of ‘She’s got a Way.’ that’s followed by the blistering honky tonk piano and guitar tune called ‘You Can Make Me Free.’
The weirdness of this album is they recorded it 8 percent too fast. I put this on the other night and my wife commented “That sounds like Billy Joel as a child.”
Joel apparently went ballistic over the unfixable error. He called it his chipmunk album.
Thanks Jim and Debbie for turning me on to these records. They may provide the base for a solid charitable drive either part of Mike Madness weekend or separate. That’s July 20 on the hoops and after party, keep alert for details.
Joel explains in this video:
Jimmy Buffet, “High Cumberland Jubilee.”
Buffett had a problem with his album that,like Joel, caused a long delay before it was released.
Here’s what Wikipedia says about this album: Due to its limited appeal, long periods out of general release, and stylistic differences with the rest of Buffett’s work, High Cumberland Jubilee (along with the similar Down to Earth) was often not considered part of the chronology of Buffett albums by fans or even Buffett himself. It was his final album with Barnaby just before his signing with Dunhill and the recording of his 1973 breakout album, A White Sport Coat and a Pink Crustacean.
This was often called his ‘lost’album. ‘
I think it is great. Picking and grinning music that I would choose to listen to over his later overplayed music. I’m not saying his later music is bad, I’ve just heard enough — for now. Until I go to the beach.
So three good records. Value is difficult to place on these as I roam around the Internet. BN for example is selling from between $20 to $100. I see Buffet’s going from $7 to $55 but the median seems to about $10, according to Discogs.. And Joel’s cold harbor ranges on Discogs from about $9,99 to $75. But on FPS 2700 it’s median range is about $15.
