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Daily Journal, Nov. 12, 2019 (Tracking down a story behind a story edition) UPDATED

John Hurley’s album Delivers one More Hallelujah . Trying to find out what the writing means. Obviously a birthday note.

Stay tuned I will have more of an explanation in a story about what this is all about after I reach out to a family member.

More clues with Birmingham ties:

From a You tube post 8 years ago

WiseGuyDogs18 years ago—

@ronhurley1961 John Hurley was one of the, if not the most talented people that I have ever known. I met him when I was 17 years old in Birmingham Alabam at Bob Groves recording stuido. He was there recording a friend of mine named Mike Gunnels. He drove a red sports car and always wore sunglasses. He stayed at my house and honored me with his friendship. That was over 40 years ago and I miss him to this day. He recorded the album “Street Gospel” shortly after and it is still my favorite.

It looks like it says:

FIRST LINE: Nov –14–1973

SECOND LINE: Happy Birthday “Mom” <unsure of the last word on line 2>

THIRD LINE: All the best —

FOURTH LINE: and you have! < not sure about <have>

FIFTH LINE: Love John H

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Harry Nilsson — 295

ALBUM: ‘Aerial Ballet’ (1980, reissue of 1968 album)

MVC Rating: 4.0/ $$

Harry Nilsson won a Grammy for Best Contemporary male vocalist for the song ‘Everybody Talking at Me.’ The song by Fred Neil is a strong Top 40 ballad used in the controversial (at that time) movie ‘Midnight Cowboy.’

The song feels a little like something Glenn Campbell or Joe South might have done. The other highlight, a song Nilsson wrote, is ‘One.’ I feel like I’m the only one who likes prefers the Three Dog Nights’ version.

Nilsson had a strong voice and was a good songwriter. One also might expect he would be a little more well known. After all this is the man who gave us that classic ‘Coconut’ remedy (Put the lime in the coconut drink it all up — Not on this album.)

I think Nilsson also did the definitive version of ‘Without You,’ the Bad finger song.

A few songs have Beatlesque overtones. Nilsson was a drinking buddy of John Lennon when Lennon temporarily broke up with Yoko Ono. They were wild then.

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Nite City — 296

ALBUM: Nite City (self-titled 1977)

MVC Rating: 3.5/$$$

This is better than I thought. I bought this brand new in Athens, Ga., at about 17 or 18. I heard the song ‘Summer Eyes” on the radio and then trained my ears on the DJ’s voice as he said ‘New one from Nite City, which features on keyboards Ray Manzarak of the legendary Doors.

I like ‘Summer Eyes” still, Nite City and ‘Love Will Make You Mellow.’

I’m not sure if that’s what the radio guy said or not. But it’s pretty much what happened. I’d say half of my inclinations to buy something new came from either radio– which should be no surprise — or hearing a new one at the record store and asking who was on the turntable. This usually endeared me to most record store clerks except the orneriest ones.

“Hey man, what’s that playing,” I’d ask.

“Little band called Kid Creole and the Coconuts,” he’d say back. “You might also check out Dr. Buzzards Savannah Dance Band.”

“Cool, thanks,” I said.

I do have this one and Kid Creole and Dr. Buzzard thank you very much. Several great albums from those guys.

One of a pair of Kid Creole albums I have.

So how about Nite City? Doors collectors definitely. Like I said it was better than I remembered, and Summer Eyes could have been a hit. But overall this slice of 70s rock had lyrics that were too clilche’. Jim Morrison was slinging W.B. Yeats next to some of these lyrics:

When i walk in your fantasy/ Do I look like reality?

When I start talking like a Bantam cock/does your heart start beating rock rock rock.

From Allmusic.com: Manzarek’s keyboard work is as intelligent as ever, while guitarist Paul Warren and bassist Nigel Harrison (later of Blondie) play with gusto throughout. The weak link is Noah James, a decent vocalist who strains far too hard for a dash of the late Morrison’s lyrical abilities.

Sounds like we are on the same page.

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Willie Nelson — 298, 297

ALBUMS: Willie Nelson’s Greatest Hits (1981); Always on My Mind (1982)

MVC Rating: Greatest Hits 4.5/$$$; Always 4.0/$$

My early memories of these go back to my graduation from Auburn University, my marriage, and my first career-like job as special correspondent to the Birmingham News.

I worked out of a house I rented on 15 acres of land on Nesbitt Lake Road in Jacksonville AL. Rent $250 a month. It got cold out in the country with only space heaters.

I lived there with my newly wedded wife, Catherine. (H.S. College sweethearts. Still sweethearts.) My dog, Maggie, a Border Collie/Shelty -like dog, smartest I’d ever had. (No offense Lucy, Molly and Gus.)

I was out in this idyllic corner of Calhoun at the behest of my employer, The Birmingham News. We put up a rope swing on a hill in the front yard. We were still kids, Cat and I. And having the time of our lives on a weekly paycheck of $169 (After deductions).

My beat as a reporter was Calhoun, Etowah and Talladega counties. And it was a hard scrabble living for many who lived in this area. (Writer Rick Bragg grew up around these parts and he later bought his mother a house on Nesbitt Lake Road (after we left.) I later worked with Rick at the Birmingham News building downtown on 4th Ave North and 22nd Street.

But before I end this little pre-history, I have to say living out there could also be cold and lonely and very real and alive with insects, wild turkeys, deer, stray dogs, and occasionally a loose farm animal, like a pig who had wandered from across the street. One night we stopped at the closest establishment, a little restaurant and beer joint at the end of Nesbitt Lake Road, not far from town. We noticed some young people playing cards — nothing harcore here, it was UNO, a mindless popular game at the time. We took notice because we knew the game well.. The participants included soldiers from nearby Fort McClellan. We stayed a while watching them and talking.

Next day we found out a woman in the group shot a man to death at the table they were playing cards on, the result of a lover’s spat, the police said.

In this beat out in rural Alabama, I covered murder investigations , including Audrey Marie Hilley, dubbed the Black Widow because she killed her husband with arsenic, and tried to kill her daughter and other relatives by the same method. She disappeared after being charged and lived under aliases in different states for years before being brought to justice. She died of hypothermia in the woods near a prison she had escaped.

That was one of the wildest crime cases I remember covering. I believe one of the Birmingham’s Tom Gordon covered the trial. I did cover another case of Billy Wayne Waldrop, who thought it would be good idea to carve his initials in the body of a person he killed: BWW.. Waldrop was sentenced to death and was executed about 20 years ago.

There were other stories, the infield hijinx at the Talladega 500, the body of and unidentified teenager on the side of the road in Talladega, a visit to the abandoned house where a family was all murdered years ago. The door creaked open when I pushed it. It was empty. There was and old dusty calendar on the wall opened to the month and year the slaughter had occurred.

I also met and spent some time with an ambitious deputy prosecutor from Gadsden (or near Gadsden). His name was Roy Moore. Yep that Roy Moore, the former federal judge who became famous initially for his placement and then refusal to take out from the Federal Court building a large stone carving of the Ten Commandments.

I still have a 45 record Moore gave me of some Christmas music he had recorded.

For all of this, I worked hard learning the trade that involves asking questions and communicating to readers in a most timely fashion.

On my turntable nearly every night was Willie Nelson, his soothing but pleasant voice making everything all right. Occasionally, on the weekends, I’d put on the Stray Cats. Updated 1950s music. My two albums, one a two-record greatest hit, just about covered the highlights: On the Road Again, Whiskey River, Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain, Angel Flying too Close to the Ground (where he beats the hell out of his bass string on his guitar.) The guitar — Trigger — with the hole in it from wear. Of course his hit at the time was ‘Always on My Mind.’ Since it wasn’t on the Hits album (too new) we bought ‘Always on My Mind,’ album. it was my wife’s favorite song at that time.

Later when I moved downtown to Birmingham, I went to see Willie play at the Alabama State Fair. I was on the second row with about eight people from the Birmingham News.

The front row, at this outdoor concert with chairs. sat, wrapped in all sorts of leather, a biker gang. We tried hard not to spill any beer and cheap nachos on them.

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The Nerves — 299.

A live album from 1977 by power popsters The Nerves.

ALBUM: The Nerves Live! (Recorded 1977; Released 2009)

MVC Rating: 2.5/$$$$

It’s apropos that I throw this in after describing Northern PIkes, the Canadian band, as sounding like some of the power pop music coming out of So-Cal. Specifically I mentioned the Plimsouls, the Beat and The Nerves. All of whom had some shared members such as Paul Collins and Peter Case.

I rarely buy new vinyl, I’m a bargain hunting sort of collector and I have a hard time paying $25 for a a record. Especially after getting some amazing records in the $1-5 range. It’s a little more work, sure, but that’s part of the fun.

So I splurged when I saw this Nerves record, a record of lost live tapes on violet vinyl I had the Plimsouls; I had the Beat. I enjoyed that music.

So this seemed a natural Christmas gift to myself two years ago, I believe it was WUXTRY in Athens, Ga. I don’t regret the purchase but and there is a but. This record sounds like hell. Like they only had one microphone hanging from the ceiling in a loud juke joint. You know why it sounds like that? Because it was recorded with one microphone hanging from the ceiling in a loud juke joint.

This is for archivists and completists, which on this one I took one step closer to becoming. I know many of the songs on this record already so I could pick them out and it was fun to see them in a setting in the wild like this. But for those interested in this genre, should probably start with some other albums by Peter Case or the Plimsouls or Paul Collins.

However when the inclination is just right, and you turn this up to about 9, you will be transported to this noisy bar called the Pirate’s Cove in Cleveland Ohio, May 26, 1977 with a noisy and melodic band power pop band called The Nerves.

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His and hurricanes (Part 12 of a serial story)

SCENE: Prosby woke up feeling fuzzy headed after dispatching a killer bot into Alexander Springs. The head pool of the spring was about the size of two backyard pools.

Prosby’s first thought was relayed to him by his face. It was planted, face down of course, in the sand.

His second thought was relayed to him by his upper shoulder. It had been sliced by the circular saw on the robot’s arm and it hurt like a mother$%#$#@.

“Hey man, stay down! We are trying to help you.” Prosby’s eyes came in and out of focus. He had lost a lot of blood.

“Hippie Chick,” he said without thinking, looking deep into the pools of black dilated eyes, tinged with ocean blue.

It appeared she didn’t have any clothes on as her honey brown hair nearly touched her knees. While confirming that observation he suddenly he realized he was naked. And he had no hair to use as cover! He started looking around.

‘Relax Robot Hunter. Clothes aren’t used much here. Your closes are dirty, torn and bloody. We will make you new ones.” Hippie Chick seemed to have a bevy of hippie chicks.

Prosby’s head hurt. They were in a small clearing covered by a canopy of trees. It was warm. It appeared as an outdoor cathedral.

Hippie Chick brought him something to drink. “This will help heal you” she said.

He drank it and fell into a deep dreamy state but was awake. He asked what they gave him. The nectar of honeysuckle, ground nutmeg concentrate and oil of budding yellow primrose, said Hippie Chick.

“Let’s get you to camp where you can recover,” she said. He felt for his right shoulder using his left hand. He felt wet dirt.

“Gray clay,” she said.

“It wounds all heals,” she said laughing, running away. “Stay here, they will bring you.”

About 10 naked hippie chicks were laughing; He was not sure if they were laughing at him as he stood up in all of his glory? Or the joke Hippie Chick made before running away?

They took him to see the men, hippie dudes. They sat in a circle and urged him to sit in the middle. The women came and sat next to the men. He started to daydream, thinking of Burnese and how difficult it will be to rescue her. He imagined running away with her and being safe as they live out their years together. He thought of Burnese saying: “And how long did you stay in the woods with the naked women while I was near death?”

This snapped out of his reverie. The hippies were laughing. They talked into the night sipping Elderberry wine.

He spent a day or two healing. He practiced WoW with them. The hippie colony had a meditative spiritual focus on the word ‘WoW. At around midday, they would gather in a tent revived from long ago. And they all said WoW. Not in unison. They would just walk around and say, ‘WoW.’ WoW, WoW, I mean WoW. It was the perfect word, they said, it was their word for creation. It was the same backward and forward. It was WoW that opened the universe to their beings, their souls, they said.

Wow. Just WoW.

Prosby actually got into it a litle bit. Making your lips shape the WoW was kind of funny after a few hundred WoWs.

HIppie Chick took an interest in Prosby, and snuggled up against him around the communal fire pit, But Prosby told her his story and said he loved another woman. She kissed him on the forehead and said, ‘Go rescue Burnese. She’s a fine woman. I’ll always be here.’ She smiled and disappeared into the darkness. He was off.

He didn’t look forward to this leg of the trip.

The Hippies persuaded him not to use Alexander Springs because every time someone uses it as a portal, it draws unwanted attention. One time after three assassins went through the portal and killed a rising young politician J. Effum Kaye, the government attempted to plug the spring shut with cement. The Hippies plagued the shut-down efforts with diversion tactics and nighttime raids. Finally the government gave it up.

So Prosby took it to the road, onward to Auburndale, which was near the coast now as Tampa and St. Petersburg were underwater. The air will likely get worse as Prosby approached the area. It’s as if Florida residents had retreated and huddled up, millions of them around the Auburndale area. Underground was the desirable place to live and breathe, above ground you need masks and a protection from the bounty hunters, rabid, vicious animals, diseases, and of course the ever-present drug gang wars. In the Underground, you had restaurants, fitness gyms, health care and decent employment if you don’t mind being part of the History of the World Project, rewriting and documenting thousands of pages and computer drives of tedious information. All other employment consisted of services such as cleaning, cooking, waiting tables, and a few entertainment jobs but you could only play songs approved by the government. The elite rulers knew the power of music.

To Be Continued …

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Northern Pikes –300

ALBUM: BIg Blue Sky (1987)

MVC Rating: 3.5/$$

There’s a lot of good things going on north of us. Canada has consistently over the years produced some fine rock artists. Such as?

Well, Gordon Lightfoot, Alanis Morrisette, Bare Naked Ladies, Neil Young, Beat Rodeo, Jeff Healy, Bryan Adams, Joni Mitchell, kd lang, the Guess Who/Burton Cummings, Crash Test Dummies, Leonard Cohen, Rush, Bruce Cockburn, Bachman-Turner Overdrive — and I could go on. (In fact I would be interested in hearing who your favorite Canadian artist is. (And Anne Murray and Celine Dion — God bless them, they have their good points– aren’t really very near the Rock/Folk/Soul/ that I’m focusing on. But if those are your faves, that’s cool. We are inclusive here. Oh, forgot a good one: Most of The Band (Robbie Robertson).

I received this Northern Pikes album from a Canadian relative; it was their first studio album with a major label. Since its inception in 1984, the Northern Pikes have put out about 10 albums and charted many times in Canada. But as far as I can tell virtually unheard of in the states.

I have to admit I haven’t followed them and I don’t know my own album very well. One of those that gets overlooked when thumbing through hundreds of records to play something.

I was pleasantly surprised. It took me back to the jangly guitart sound of the REM-styled New Wave and the power pop trip of the Plimsouls, the Nerves and the Beat, which were California groups that shared members over time. But none, I think are still going at it like the Pikes who are still cranking albums and playing live.

Here’s a video of Teenland off their first album, followed by one of their highest charting songs called She Ain’t Pretty.

teenland sounds like plimsouls

80s sound but not the bad synth stuff good Cars-like guitar

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Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels — 302

ALBUM: ‘Wheels of Steel’ (10-inch 1983)

MVC Rating: 4.0/$$$

A rare 10-inch record, the Mitch Ryder and Detroit Wheels album ‘Wheels of Steel.’

Yikes we are still in the ‘M’s. I believe this Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels record is the last one. That was a lot of M’s, but we need to keep going so I’m lining up my N’s — for artists like Neutral Milk Hotel, November Group, Harry Nilsson, and and others.

Remember I’m counting down my records — which when I started about two years ago– stood at 678.

Going with M for Mitch (alphabetizing the band not just Ryder).

For Ryder and band I have a 10-inch “collector’s” edition featuring the group’s best known works. ‘Devil with a Blue Dress/Good Golly Miss Molly’ — said to be the best one-two punch combo in rock. Other raucous party tunes are ‘Jenny Take a Ride,’ the always fun party dance tune, ‘Shake a Tail Feather.’ Here’s line-up:

Side One
Jenny Take A Ride
Sock It To Me Baby
Little Latin Lupe Lu
You Get Your Kicks
Side Two
Devil With A Blue Dress On/ Good Golly Miss Molly
Breakout
Shake A Tail Feather
Too Many Fish In The Sea/ Three Little Fishes

Ryder was a real deal hard rock blues guy from Detroit –and possibly a little underrated.

According to AllMusic (which calls Ryder “the unsung hero” of Michigan rock and roll), Ryder withdrew from music after experiencing throat trouble,[1] moving to Colorado with his wife and taking up writing and painting. In 1983, Ryder returned to a major label with the John Mellencamp-produced album Never Kick a Sleeping Dog.

Interesting footnote from Wikipedia: Ryder was the last person to perform with Otis Redding, they performed the song “Knock On Wood”, on December 9, 1967, in Cleveland, Ohio, on a local TV show called Upbeat. Redding and four members of his touring band, The Bar-Kays, died in a plane crash near Madison, Wisconsin the following day, December 10, 1967.

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Puzzle? It’s my MVC Daily Journal, Oct. 18, 2019. (Got a clue? edition. )

My little puzzle appearing in my post on song lyrics Saturday is still unsolved — at least officially. Some people have indicated they now know the hidden theme. So, if you do klnow the answer, I say you need to either post it on comments on the lyrics story, Tweet it out (make sure I see Tweet), FaceBook it — or somehow get the word out what the secret theme is and how you found it hidden in my story.

ADDENDUM: There’s a 2nd level complexity to this that I don’t believe most will understand so I am asking for those who have uncovered the hidden message (1st layer), to let people know (or challenge them to find it.)

A curtain rises on someone thinking in concert.

As for the lyrics story itself, here’s some postscript suggestions from guitar man, Willie Moseley of Vintage Guitar Magazine.

 Last verse of “The Boxer” 

“In the clearing stands a boxer, and a fighter by his trade
And he carries the reminders f every glove that laid him down 

or cut him till he cried out in his anger and his shame
‘I am leaving, I am leaving’ but the fighter still remains”

————————————–

Third verse of Billy Joel’s “Miami 2017”

“They sent a carrier up from Norfolk and picked the Yankees up for free

They said that Queens could stay, they blew the Bronx away

And sank Manhattan out at sea.”

(I recommend the live version of “Miami 2017” on Joel’s Songs in the Attic album)

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MVC’s best lines in songs story has a hidden message; Sleuths, share please

On Saturday I pulled the best lines that I could find in a reasonable amount of time and compiled them in a post on AL.com.

I broke them up into 10 categories of 5 song lyrics with the artist and name of the song on each one.

People weighed in via comments or emails some of their favorites. All good and fun. But no one to my knowledge has gotten it yet — it, being a larger message, a not-so-hidden message.

It’s as if one needs an Oracle to find the message.