Turn Turn Turn
Writers tackle is real. PG had several things he could write about. He was 380 pages into A Million Little Pieces, and had multiple mouthfuls to say. Multiple mouthfuls were featured on Honey Boo Boo. And of course, the matter involving David Petraeus, another General, at least two girfriends, a secret Libyan prison, and a shirtless FBI man. People were wondering how we kept up with things before twitter was invented. None of these subjects were terribly appetizing. The archive, once again, came to the rescue.
The word Ecclesiastes has always had a poetic tingle. It’s place in the Old Testament was between the poetry of Proverbs and the enticements of the Song of Soloman. Richard Brautigan counted the punctuation marks in Ecclesiastes, and found it without error. And yes, Ecclesiastes 3 was the lyrics for a top forty hit song.
Back to the dialog about war and peace. The only Tolstoy PG had read was a short story about a man called Ivan Ilyitch. It was so long ago that about all he remembers is that he read it. Still, war and peace are two constants of man’s existence. There had been a feature about this in The Aquarian Drunkard. AD is a blog written by a former Dunwoody resident who now exists in LA. The feature focused on Pete Seeger, and the song “Turn, Turn, Turn”.
TTT is taken almost verbatim from the book of Ecclesiastes. The only change that Mr. Seeger made, when he adapted the poem, was in the last line. “There is a time for peace, I swear its not too late”. TTT is about the dualities of life, and how there is a place for all these things. When PG was collecting rocks seven years ago, he kept thinking “ there is a time to gather stones together”.
Wikipedia notes that the adaptation was made “in the fifties”, which was both a time of war…both hot and cold… and a time of peace. It became a hit for the Byrds in the fall of 1965, as the escalation of the Vietnam war was in full bloom.
Pete Seeger is still alive, at the age of 92. PG first heard of him when he was on the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour. It was during Vietnam, and Mr. Seeger did a song…”Waist deep in the big muddy”… about how “The big fool said to push on, push on”. The CBS censors did not allow this the first time he was on, but eventually he did perform it. Many thought he was talking about Lyndon Johnson.
Two more items about Mr. Seeger, and it is time to push on. He used the stage name “Pete Bowers” as a young man to avoid making trouble for his father. And a band he played in, the Weavers, popularized a gullah spiritual, “Kumbaya”.
We are the flow, we are the ebb. We are the weaver, we are the web. This was written like H. P. Lovecraft. Pictures are from “The Special Collections and Archives,Georgia State University Library”. This is a repost.
Mick Jagger
There was a book at the Chamblee Library, Mick: The Wild Life and Mad Genius of Jagger. The work is credited to a man named Christopher Anderson, who has a slew of best sellers to his credit. The copyright was issued to “Anderson Productions.”
When you write about Mickie, you have to post a few videos. One of the first to come up is “Waiting on a friend.” This was the first video that PG saw on MTV. One night in early 1982, PG rode his bike to an apartment on Buford Hiway to buy MDA. While he was there, a young companion of the salesman said hey watch this, music television. The video was a favorite that first winter of MTV, even though it wasn’t really that good.
Mick Jagger has been a part of many lives the last fifty years. The stones were conceded to be number two to the beatles, but stayed together longer. The era of rock concert as megaevent coincided with the reinvention of the stones, after the demise of Brian Jones. He did after all start the band. Mr. Jones had become too much of a druggie to be relied on, and was fired. The book says that Mr. Jones was drowned, by a construction worker.
Ok, we are three paragraphs in, and we have not discussed Mr. Jagger’s pecker. Most of the book is about this instrument of undetermined size. The book says Mick stuffed a sock in his pants before shows. Mick has screwed thousands of women, and more than a few men. Whether Mick is a top, or a bottom, is left to the imagination.
The phrase “fuck Mick Jagger” is seminal. One night, the B52s were playing at a toilet on Ponce De Leon Avenue called the Big Dipper. The venue was later torn down, the ground decontaminated, and an animal clinic built on it’s site. After the show, one of the girls (either Kate or Cindy, or maybe neither, since this story is possibly an urban legend) was hanging out in the parking lot. “Beulah” was running his mouth, as he liked to do, talking about his hero Mick Jagger. Finally, the B52girl had heard enough. “Fuck Mick Jagger, one day Mick Jagger will come see me.”
The book goes into excruciating detail about the stones story. Mick grew up middle class, and was close to his parents. He bit the end of his lip playing basketball, and sounded different. While going to the London School of Economics, he connected with Keith Richard, and found that they both liked Chuck Berry. The Glimmer Twins started to hang out together, and played a few gigs at a nightclub owned by Alexis Korner. (Mr. Korner opened for Humble Pie and Edgar Winter at the Atlanta Municipal Auditorium. He was ignored by the festive pot smoking crowd.)
At this time, Mick had been introduced to sex by the other boys at his school. The first time with a woman was when Mick was an orderly at Bexley Mental Hospital. A nurse “yanked him into the linen closet where, surrounded by sheets, mops, and bedpans, Mick lost his virginity standing up”.
At some point Brian Jones came into the picture. Mick moved into a flat with Brian and Keith, and lived in picturesque squalor. At some point Mick and Brian bumped gooberheads, which left Mick confused. It is not known whether the lads could afford drugs at this point.
The story goes on and on. There are ugly moments, pretty moments, good songs written, lots of drugs, lots of sex. As Mick said in “Shattered,” “sex and sex and sex and sex and sex and sex and sex.” A few begin to wonder if he is capable of a one on one relationship, but their opinions don’t count.
One afternoon in 1978, PG was driving a truck in Decatur. He worked for a lady who did sampling projects, which means giving out samples to consumers. The product this time was Playtex Plus deodorant tampons. The truck was the rag wagon. There was an announcement on the last am rock and roll station in Atlanta. The stones were going to play the Fox Theater, and tickets were on sale now. The signal of the am station faded out at this point, with a gospel station preacher blocking out the rock and roll announcement. PG did not hear the location of the ticket sales. It turns out the tickets went on sale at the box office of the Municipal Auditorium, which was two blocks away from the rental facility the rag wagon was being returned to that afternoon. Such is life.
In 1991, PG was walking to work and noticed an army of movie trucks. Mr. Jagger was appearing in a film, “Free Jack.” PG saw a scene filmed from his perch in the Healey Building, and stood behind a chair with the name “Mick Jagger” stenciled on. There were reports of a van rocking in Cabbagetown. On January 12, 1992, Georgia May Ayeesha Jagger was born.
Mick: The Wild Life and Mad Genius of Jagger is not a bad book. It is easy to read, and does not skimp on slime. The phrase “cringe inducing” is used several times, which may be the result of a focus group. It is not worth $27.00, or $29.99 Canadian. The publisher is Simon&Schuster. The dalliance between Mr. Jagger and Carly Simon is dutifully noted. The spell check suggestions for Schuster are Schumpeter, Custer, and Chester.
Pictures are from The Library of Congress. This was written like David Foster Wallace.
Duane Allman And The Coricidin Bottle
Gregg Allman appeared on Live Talks LA, selling a book, My Cross to Bear. Yes, he was coherent. Mr.Allman says something about going through rehab seventeen times. No one argues disputes that he has had an interesting life.
The chat has a few parts left out. Dicky Betts and Cher are not mentioned. The title of “strangest dude I ever met” goes to Jai Johanny “Jaimoe” Johanson, aka the black guy in the group. Gregg says he used to listen to stuff by Roland Kirk.
The story of Duane Allman learning to play slide guitar is good. Duane was sick. Gregg came to see his brother, who was playing the guitar in a new way. It seems the doctor had given him some pills called Coricidin. You take the pills out of the glass bottle, soak the label off, and you have a guitar slider.
When PG was a kid, his uncle was a representative for the company that sold Coriciden. There were boxes of samples in the house, which all came in the glass bottle. PG had not heard that name for forty eight years. The spell check suggestion is Coincidence.
Not everyone at amazon was impressed by the book. “the book was so damged the binding and jacket were ripped that a did not read the book and will not buy an more nick malick.”
The visual multitasking element for this chat was pictures from The Library of Congress. There are two group shots, broken down into smaller images. One is a graduating class of a nursing school at Georgetown University. The photographer lists the date as between 1905 and 1945.
The other image is a line of people waiting to vote. The well dressed citizens are in Clarenden VA. The date is November 4, 1924. Several carry signs for the democratic presidential candidate, John W. Davis. He was nominated on the 103rd ballot of the democratic convention, and lost to Calvin Coolidge.
Page 43
There is an audio file available called Water Brothers. It is a benefit concert performed by David Crosby, Graham Nash, and Neil Young. After performing “Almost Cut My Hair”, Mr. Crosby starts to talk. “I’m going to sing the most positive song that I’ve written recently For a long time I didn’t write any positive songs, my friends used to puke when they saw me coming.” The song was Page 43.
Look around again It’s the same old circle
You see,it’s got to be It says right here on page 43
That you should grab a hold of it Else you’ll find It’s passed you by
Rainbows all around Can you find the silver and gold?
It’ll make you old The river can be hot or cold
And you should dive right into ‘It Else you’ll find It’s passed you by
Pass it ’round one more time I think I’ll have a swallow of wine
Life is fine Even with the ups and downs
And you should have a sip of it Else you’ll find It’s passed you by
These lyrics are courtesy of Lyrics007. The page is sponsored by McDonald’s Dollar Menu University.
Snopes has a piece about Page 43, sponsored by KIA and Maytag. It seems that some people think the song title refers to a page in the Old Testament. PG thinks it was chosen because it rhymes with “got to be.” There was a spot in the song for those three beats.
To pad out this post a bit, a visit to page 43 of the Old Testament will be made. The Bible used was given to PG by his parents on his birthday in 1962. It was published by The World Publishing Company, 2231 West 110 Street, Cleveland 2, Ohio.
Page 43 is verses 4 through 36 of Genesis 41. “4 And the cows that were ugly and gaunt ate up the seven sleek, fat cows. Then Pharaoh woke up.” The Pharoh had a dream that troubled him. A wise man was consulted, who told of seven years of famine to come. A portion of the crops, from the prosperous years, was to be held in reserve, for the years of famine. “36 This food should be held in reserve for the country, to be used during the seven years of famine that will come upon Egypt, so that the country may not be ruined by the famine.”
There is one part of the song that PG has doubts about. The third part is about drinking. Those gifted with moderation can swim in this river. Others need to get to the shore before they drown. There is a time to enjoy your life, and there is also a time to lay off the jug. If you don’t keep a portion of your good harvest in reserve, life will run over you while it is passing you by.
This was written like Kurt Vonnegut.
Pictures are from “The Special Collections and Archives,Georgia State University Library”.
Mack The Knife Is Going To Take It
The second day of the backyard office project is a work in progress. The afternoon session was not as groovy as the first time. The bugs are hungrier, and the wi fi connection went out a couple of times. The front porch has a roof and concrete floor, and is closer to the router. While the ambiance of working in the back yard is greater, wifi reception may prove to be the deciding factor.
There is a story at the Daily Beast this morning, The Long, Strange U-Turn of Twisted Sister’s ‘We’re Not Gonna Take It’. It seems that Dee Snider’s makeup went gooey over VPOTUS wannabe Paul Ryan using the Twisted Sister song, “We’re not going to take it”.
A public statement was made: “I emphatically denounce Paul Ryan’s use of my band Twisted Sister’s song, ‘We’re Not Gonna Take It,’ in any capacity.There is almost nothing he stands for that I agree with—except the use of P90X.” Mr. Ryan’s string pullers knew they were whipped, and issued their own statement: “We’re not gonna play it anymore.”
The smart people in wingnut land are busy this week, trying to pull Todd Akin’s foot out of his mouth. Questions about why legitimate rape is any sillier a concept than just war have gone unanswered.
WNGTI has a twisted history. When it *came out*, it was so revolutionary that Tipper Gore denounced it in the Senate. Soon, it began to be the background sound in commercials. The Daily Beast notes: “No ad, however, rivals the most bizarre commercial to use the song: A 2007 spot for Yaz birth control. A perky chorus of women sings about how they’re not going to take the uncomfortable symptoms of old birth-control pills, and are opting for Yaz instead. “ There is no word on whether Catholic employee insurance would pay for Yaz.
Politicians have long used rocknroll to fire up crowds. When Bill Clinton spoke at the CNN center in 1992, the song was “Twist and Shout”. If the walls of the oval office could sing, that would be their song.
In 2010, Karen Handel paid $93,000 to facilitate an appearance by Sarah Palin. The theme music for that event was “We’re not going to take it.” After the speeches, the song was played over, and over, and over. A week later, Ms. Handel lost the runoff.
Dee Snider is not the rebel he used to be. The video embedded here shows thinning hair, and much less makeup. His tweets show that he is not totally gone establishment. @deesnider Did I mention how great it is to see my grandkids again? We miss @tweetjesse and his family so much! #heavymetalgrandpa @deesnider In West Hollywood in search of perfect leather officers cap for outfit on #HollistonTV. Cool reception at gay leather shop. #whatamiwood?
Pictures are from “The Special Collections and Archives,Georgia State University Library”.
This was written like William Gibson.
Richards
A comment at a recent post mentioned “Jenning’s Rose Room, a classic poor white juke and dance hall … where Trader Joes now sits.” PG had been in that building when it was called Richards, and knew stories. Pictures are from ” The Special Collections and Archives,Georgia State University Library”.
There is no telling what the original use of the building at 931 Monroe Drive was. It was across the street from Grady Stadium, and adjacent to Piedmont Park. The railroad tracks that became the beltline ran behind it. The parking lot was primitive, with a marquee sign built at some point. (PG drove by that sign several nights and saw that Lynyrd Skynyrd was playing. Somehow, he did not make it inside.)
There was another nightclub building on the hill behind JRR. One night, PG went to see a jazz band there, accompanied by someone who lived in a nearby house. After seeing the band, PG was led to a horse stable behind the bar. The horses were not well maintained … you could see the ribs sticking out. There is a story of a goat getting loose from the stable, and being chased out of the jazz bar during happy hour.
Jennings Rose Room was before PG’s time. There is a story that some men had lunch there, and made a bet. The idea was to hit a golf ball from the JRR parking lot, and putt it into a hole at Piedmont Park. A biscuit was used as a tee. The first shot went across the street, onto the field at the stadium. Eventually, the ball was hit across Tenth Street, onto a green, and into the cup.
At some point, Jennings Rose Room closed. A gay club called Chuck’s Rathskeller was opened in that location. A rock and roll club or two did business there. Then Richards opened.
The first time PG was in the house was after a Johnny Winter concert at the Fox. There were rumors of visiting musicians dropping by Richards to play after their shows. Mr. Winter was only onstage for a couple of minutes after PG got there.
The most memorable trip to Richards was during the summer of 1973. The headliner was Rory Gallagher, who was ok but not spectacular. The opening act was Sopwith Camel, one of the forgotten bands of the seventies. They performed a novelty hit, “Hello Hello”. Someone in the audience liked it, and paid them to do it again. The band wound up doing “Hello Hello” five times, and said that was the most money they made on a show in a long time.
Average White Band was making the rounds that fall, and had a show at Richards. A lot of the audience was black, and they hit the dance floor in unison when “Pick up the Pieces” was played. Fellow Scotsman Alex Harvey was in town, and joined AWB to sing “I heard it through the grapevine”.
Muddy Waters played at Richards one night. The band did most of the playing, with Mr. Waters tossing in a few licks on bottleneck guitar. He might have sang a couple of times.
About this time, Iggy Pop played a few shows at Richards. One night, someone snuck up on him, and gave him a hug. It was Elton John, wearing a gorilla suit.
PG saw two more shows (that he can remember) at Richards. Soft Machine played in the winter of 1974. Larry Coryell played a show that summer, with the Mike Greene Band opening. PG got to talk to Mike Greene that night. The National Association of Recording Arts and Sciences ( who do the Grammy Awards) had a President named C. Michael Greene at one time. PG thinks this is the person he talked to that night, but cannot find confirmation.
Two friends of PG went, as their first date, to see Spirit at Richards. They were married a few years later. Towards the end of 1974, Richards was running out of steam. They advertised a New Years Eve show starring B.B. King, and sold high priced tickets. When the crowd showed up for the show, they found the doors locked. Richards had closed.
The next tenant for 931 Monroe Drive was going to be Cabaret After Dark, a gay club. There was a fire the night before the grand opening. The building was never used again. Eventually, a shopping center was built on the site.
UPDATE: Here is a article from the Great Speckled Bird about the Richards.
This is a repost, written like Gertrude Stein.
Jimmy Crack Corn
Q: What does “Jimmy crack corn” mean, and why does he not care?—Matt, Columbus, Ohio
PG was trolling “stupidquestion.net” when there was a convergence of stupidity. (The site does not exist in 2012.) All his life he had heard “Blue Tail Fly”, and been embarrassed. And there, in (pardon the expression) black and white, was someone who wondered the same thing.
It seems as though “Blue Tail Fly” started out as a minstrel song. For those who don’t know, minstrel shows were white people putting on black makeup, and imitating African Americans. Minstrelsy is not well thought of these days.
The story of BTF involves a slave named Jim. A fly bit the pony the old massa was riding, the pony was offended, and threw the old massa off. He was hurt landing, and died. Jim still has to crack corn, but he doesn’t care anymore, because old massa has gone away.
Dave Barry took a poll once to find out the stupidest song of all time. The overwhelming winner/loser was “MacArthur Park”. The combination of over the top show stopping, while singing about a cake left out in the rain, makes this ditty a duh classic.
In the spirit of corny convergence, the video is a karaoke version featuring Donna Summer . Miss Summer is a talented singer, who happened to connect with Giorgio Moroder. There are lots of singers who would have hit the big time if they had fronted those records, but Donna Summer hit the jackpot.
For a proper post, there needs to be a third stupid song. This is not about stupid bands, singing about being D U M B. Even though they totally don’t belong, there is a video of the Ramones included. PG saw the Ramones at the Agora Ballroom in 1983. This was after their prime, and before a homeless man caught the Ballroom on fire.
We still need a third stupid song, and PG wants to get this posted with as little research as possible. Just like some writer was once given twenty minutes to write a song, and he decided to do the worst song he could think of. The result was “Wild Thing”. PG used to have a 45 of someone who sounded like Bobby Kennedy singing “Wild Thing”.
This is a repost. Pictures are from The Library of Congress.
688 Spring Street
There was a comment at Chamblee54. “Steve Loehrer – So tell me what you know about Rose’s Cantina. I booked the music there from 1978-80 – Thorogood, Delbert, The Thunderbirds, The Fans, The Razor Boys and on and on. I was the one that did it. And I probably know you.” This blog has previously published features about the Great Southeast Music Hall, Richards, and the Georgian Terrace Ballroom. One more music venue post is not going to hurt anyone, and will be a good excuse to post some more pictures, from “The Special Collections and Archives,Georgia State University Library”.
688 Spring Street is a nondescript building, located down the hill from the Varsity. At one time, a company called Southern Tailors made wine jackets there. It is currently a Concentra Urgent Care Center. In between, it was the site of two rock and roll nightclubs, Roses Cantina and 688. One block over, at 688 West Peachtree, is a Catholic Construction management office.
House manager Rose Lynn Scott is quoted as saying “You know, we really aren’t sure exactly when it all started and ended,” Scott said. “Honest to God, we weren’t paying that close attention.”PG first knew about it around 1977, and really didn’t go very often. There is a running list for this post, and whenever a new band sinks into the mush, it is duly noted. There was some band, whose name is lost to antiquity, that did “Love Gun”, which sounds remarkably similar to “Amphetamine Annie” by Canned Heat.
The punk rock revolution did not completely pass Atlanta by. A band called the Fans said they were making the pop music of the eighties. PG saw them twice and Roses, and they might be the only time he ever paid to get in. They were an impressive outfit, doing Velvet Underground and Telstar. Later, they opened for Talking Heads at the Agora, and were pretty awful. Much, much later, PG shared an apartment with the brother, of the drummer, for the Fans. Also living there was the brothers wife, a cable guy, seven snakes, a ferret, and a cat.
Back to the words of Rose Lynn, “It was a dive bar supreme and proud of it.” The stage was in the middle of the house, with a game room behind the stage. If you liked to shoot pool and listen to bands, this was the place. As for drinking, PG might get a beer or two, but mostly got bombed at other spots.
In those days, PG would go rambling from club to club, often accompanied by his friend Dinkson. One night, they stumbled in on a three piece band. They did a song called “Madison Blues”, with the guitar playing slinging riffs, and the bass playing playing the same notes over and over, never changing the look on his face. This was George Thorogood and the Destroyers.
One other night, PG stumbled in on the last few minutes of a show by the Brains. They wrote a song called “Money Changes Everything” that Cyndi Lauper did well with. This is another great local band that never seemed to get a national audience. Another night, some old black man, possibly John Lee Hooker, was playing guitar.
Around about this time, PG decided to either grow up, or take his childhood seriously. He wound up in Seattle WA. That wore off after a while. On the greyhound bus going home, PG talked to a young lady, who said something about a punk rock club in the Roses Cantina space. This was the 688.
A few weeks later, Iggy Pop did a week at 688. Here, through the miracle of copy paste, is the story. It isn’t plagiarism when you wrote it yourself.
At any rate, by the time PG got back from Seattle, some brave investors decided to have a punk rock club at 688 Spring Street. Soon, Iggy Pop would be playing a week there. In the seventies, the bands would play for five days at the great southeast music hall or the electric ballroom, two shows a night, and if you were really cool you would go on a weeknight before it got too crowded. Soon after that, it was one night in town only, and you either saw it or you didn’t.
PG had a friend at the Martinique apartments on Buford Hiway. There was someone living in the complex known as ZenDen, who sold acid. You would go to his place, wade through the living room full of grown men listening to Suzi Quatro, and purchase the commodity.
On to the the 23 Oglethorpe bus, and downtown to 688 Spring Street. Before anyone knew it, the band was on the stage. A veteran of the Patti Smith Group, named Ivan Kral, was playing bass. Mr. Kral sneezed, and a huge cocaine booger fell across his face. He was not playing when the show ended.
There was a white wall next to the stage, and someone wrote the song list on that wall. That list of songs stayed on the wall as long as 688 was open. “I want to be your dog” was on the list, as well as the number where Iggy pulled his pants off and performed in his underwear. Supposedly, in New York the drawers came off, but the TMI police were off duty that night.
The show was loud and long, and had the feel of an endurance event…either you go or the band does. Finally, the show was over, and PG got on the 23 Oglethorpe bus. You got the northbound bus on West Peachtree Street. You could look down, from Fourth street, and see the Coca Cola sign downtown.
Twenty years after that, PG worked in a building at that corner of Fourth and West Peachtree. If he had known about the future of working for Redo Blue, PG might have jumped under the 23 Oglethorpe bus, instead of getting on it. The Coca Cola sign was long gone by then.
There was band called Human Sexual Response in those days. PG caught their act at 688. They had three vocalists, wearing matching outfits, and sang a lot of lyric happy songs with really cool harmonies. The problem was, PG was not familiar with those oh so witty lyrics, and did not know what it was all about. At least he got out of the house.
Kevin Dunn played guitar for the Fans. (He had an ad for guitar lessons on the bulletin board at Wax and Facts. It said that raising racing turtles was more profitable than playing guitar.) One night at 688, he performed with his band The regiment of women. They opened for someone, possibly the Plastics, who we will get to in a minute. So, this guy plays guitar and sings, and a woman plays a drum machine. No skin pounding drummer, but a lady who twisted the knobs on a machine.
The Plastics were from Japan, and did a killer version of “Last Train to Clarksville”. It was about this time that PG got a job, and decided that he liked sleeping better than hanging out downtown.
One night, about 1983 or so, PG made an exception. The band that night was Modern English. Before the show, PG ate three z burgers from the Zestos on Ponce de Leon. During the show, the singer rubbed his stomach, and said to feel the music. About this time, the z burgers were making their presence known, and PG could feel something, but it wasn’t the music.
The last show PG saw at 688 was Hüsker Dü. The best guess is February 14, 1986. There was a totem pole, made of old TV sets, in the front part of the club in 1986. Here is the story.
Hüsker Dü means “do you remember” in Danish and Norwegian. PG saw them sometime in the eighties. It might have been the metroplex, but it might have been the 688. There is a list of shows they played, and the metroplex is not on there.
PG saw a show at the Metroplex the next night. The band is forgotten. The metroplex was a dark spooky building on Marietta street near the omni. The balcony was very dark, with everything painted black. PG tripped over a bench. Funny how HD means “do you remember” and memory is letting PG down here.
688 was a different story. PG saw a bunch of shows there, both as 688 and Rose’s Cantina. HD may have been the last show PG saw before they closed. PG was well into the work/sleep lifestyle that preoccupied his life after a certain point, and just didn’t make it out much anymore. A friend won tickets to the show or he wouldn’t have made it.
PG didn’t get into the show very much. HD was a trio, with the later outed Bob Mould as the guitar g-d. For all of his musical skills, Mould is not much for onstage charisma. PG felt that if he had been more familiar with their music, he would have enjoyed it more. Some bands you can see without hearing their records and get into it right away, where others need a bit of familiarity.
Pussy Riot
Colorful Russian rockers Pussy Riot remain in captivity, months after the incident which got them in trouble. Al Jazeera takes a break from jihads to tell the story, with the delicately titled Russian punk rockers denied bail. “Members of the all-female punk rock band Pussy Riot were denied bail on Monday after being arrested for a controversial act of political protest. The group faces up to seven years in jail for “hooliganism” when they stormed Moscow’s main cathedral to perform a song critical of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Band members later claimed their performance was staged in protest of the Russian Orthodox Church’s support of Putin. During his latest election campaign, Patriarch Kirill, the head of the church, praised Putin’s twelve year rule as “a miracle of God”.
It is a long time since the days of “G-dless Communism”. Today, the Russian Orthodox Church supports the Kleptocracy of Vladimir Putin. Huffington Post chips in : “Many say Putin, who returned to the presidency last week, has used the church as a potent tool in his command structure, allowing it to amass vast riches in return for unquestioning support of his policies and spiritual blessing for his leadership. … Under the atheist Soviet regime, the church suffered persecution, with tens of thousands of its faithful purged, jailed or executed. The 1991 fall of communism opened the way for a renaissance that many celebrated as bringing Russia back to its spiritual roots.”
Pure Film Creative gleefully uses the P word in a headline. Pussy Outrage names the three arrested rockers. “In yet another move that shows how totalitarianism is alive and well and living inside Vladimir Putin, Russian all-girl punk bank Pussy Riot have been denied the release from prison that was promised to take place earlier this week. Three members of the group— Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, Yekaterina Samutsevich and Maria Alekhina—were arrested for so-called “hooliganism” after they burst into Moscow’s cathedral of Christ the Savior in March and, we imagine, disrupted one of those endless, droning Russian Orthodox hymns with a kickass rendition of their song “Holy Shit.”
The International Fashion Police are also calling for their release. The Pussy Rioters wear colorful masks, and balaclavas. Their colorful presence is missed. “Kot: We have nothing to worry about, because if the repressive Putinist police crooks throw one of us in prison, five, ten, 15 more girls will put on colorful balaclavas and continue the fight against their symbols of power.” Apparently, the masks allow the players to remain anonymous, which allows for a great freedom to change the personnel at will. This is another innovation few have tried, except for Kiss and professional wrestlers.
Youtube commenter Като Брафикус does not mince words. “Психически больные люди со своими мифическими героями, учинили расправу, беззаконие над невиновными девушками Pyssi Riot. Сектантская зараза насаждается обществу. Инквизиция и террор над мирными гражданами в России является сегодня нормой. Общество и народ России отвергает отморозков. Свободу Pyssi Riot!!! Free Pyssi Riot!!!”
Vice magazine had an interview with the band, a few days before the fateful Cathedral show. The interview has a header ad from Dominoes Pizza. The entire interview is worth reading, but these quotes are too good not to use here.
“VICE: Why “Pussy Riot”? Garadzha: A female sex organ, which is supposed to be receiving and shapeless, suddenly starts a radical rebellion against the cultural order, which tries to constantly define it and show its appropriate place. Sexists have certain ideas about how a woman should behave, and Putin, by the way, also has a couple thoughts on how Russians should live. Fighting against all that—that’s Pussy Riot. Kot: You shouldn’t have answered that question, Garadzha, because usually we don’t. When cops and FSB agents interrogate us and ask, “What the hell do these English letters on your banner stand for” (we put out a banner during some of our illegal performances and hardly any of these jerks speak any foreign language)—then we usually say something like “Oh well, Mr. Secret Policeman, it’s nothing special, those words just stand for “Pussycat rebellion.” But, of course that’s a brutal lie. In Russia you should never tell the truth to a cop or to any agent of the Putinist regime. … VICE: Do you have any plans to stage shows at public appearances by Medyved or Putin? Tyurya: Putin is too scared to do any real public appearances—all his “public meetings” are heavily guarded shows with Kremlin loyalists cheering and blowing kisses. But one day we’ll hunt him down for sure! Serafima: So he better leave before we catch him. Putin would never want to meet Pussy Riot face to face!”
Amnesty International has taken up the Pussy Riot cause. Free Pussy Riot! is a petition calling for the release of the rock stars.
It has been a long time since rock and roll was dangerous in the west. Masked Women playing punk rock in Cathedrals takes the game to a new level. The carefully crafted faux rebellion of Lady Gaga, and the corporate pablum of Beyonce’, seem very tame by comparison. Maybe Justin Bieber should wear a mask, and get arrested in a Cathedral.
Pictures are from “The Special Collections and Archives,Georgia State University Library.”
MARTA Dance Show
PG heard facebook rumors about a series of dance performances. The one closest to Brookhaven was the Lindbergh MARTA station. The walls of the house were caving in, so PG decided to go see things.
The turf of the Lindbergh Station is the story of Atlanta in a nutshell. Lindbergh Drive was named for aviator Charles Lindbergh. The Lindy Hop was possibly incorporated into the performance.
When PG was a kid, he saw the cartoon 101 Dalmatians at the drive in movie theater there. In the late sixties, a department store named Arlan’s was built on the site. When it went belly up, the first indoor fleamarket in the area went in it’s place. The MARTA facility came in the eighties, and the surrounding land was largely vacant for years. Lately, that has changed. The blocks around the station are totally rebuilt, with office buildings and condos.
At one point, the parking garage started to charge. The deal is, you can get your ticket validated inside the train station, and not have to pay. By the time PG figured this all out, it was too late to back out, and he wound up having to pay to park. Otherwise, it would have been a free show.
The train station is an open air affair, with gates and fences surrounding a downstairs area where the trains pull up. There are two such enclosures, with a plaza in between. When PG arrived, he went to the south part of the station, and did not see any dance action. The bf of a dancer told PG that the talent was downstairs, and would be coming up soon. He did not know where the performance would be.
After a few minutes, a crowd gathered around the north platform. PG walked around, until he found a good spot to look in. Three dancers were performing, while the rest of the troupe stood in a double file line. All this time, the rush hour crowd poured out of the train platform below. This was a seamless performance, with everyone on site a part of the show. The train passengers, the police, the crowd, the photographers, and the dancers all played a role.
Soon, the players danced through a turnstile. Three went north, followed by PG, who took lots of pictures and felt like a stalker. The dancers never lost concentration, or gave in to the temptation to slap that dern fool with the camera.
The company soon reunited in the plaza between the platforms. They would run in circles, and break into groups to dance little dramas. The lady that PG stalked went around the crowd giving away origami. She was the last one to leave the plaza.
Another Rock And Roll Book
PG read Fire and Rain: The Beatles, Simon and Garfunkel, James Taylor, CSNY, and the Lost Story of 1970. The long form title sums up the book. 1970 was the year PG turned 16, and heard some of these stories as they happened. It was fun to hear them again, with a few details added.
This is a fun book. The only problem is the finger wagging attitude about drug use. There was plenty of that… none of these eleven men liked to say no. And if amplifiers could run on attitude, then rock promoters would never pay a power bill.
The biggest names, to fall the furthest, would be John, Paul, George, and Ringo. It was obvious, to those who wanted to see, that the fab four were finished. The Let it be sessions, and the movie that resulted, had been highly unpleasant. On December 31, the men Paul paid to do things sent out lawyer letters to the men John, George, and Ringo paid to do things. The lawyers had lots of billable hours in the next few years.
Simon and Garfunkel never really liked each other, but had a good working relationship. Bridge over troubled water was the last time they could stomach being in the studio together. In 1970, Arthur played in movies, while Paul sulked and planned a solo album. The breakup was never formally announced. The pair got together for select concerts, but never was the force they had been in 1967.
Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young had an exciting year. They played a show in Denver, which Neil walked out of. The band nearly broke up, only to be revived by management threatening lawsuits. CSNY made big money from shows, which their drug dealers appreciated. This was not a band so much as an all star act. It was always a struggle to balance the egos. They played again after 1970, and may indeed do more shows together. The fact they are all alive in 2012 is a miracle.
James Taylor is a solo act, and cannot have a breakup. Unless you count the pieces of his personality, in which case the band unity is as remarkable as the three other acts. Mr. Taylor made a movie, courted Joni Mitchell, and took heroin. He wrote the song which graced the title of this book. The runner up was “Why don’t we do it in the road”?
This book is fun to read, and will keep your mind off how long you have been waiting to see the doctor. PG got it at the library, so that price was right. It should make a good gift for someone who is not embarrassed to admit he knows these artists. Pictures are from “The Special Collections and Archives,Georgia State University Library”
The Kinks
Dangerousminds brings the sad news that Pete Quaife, the original bass player for The Kinks , passed away yesterday. He was 66, and had been in dialysis for several years. Maybe it is time for Chamblee54 to do a post about The Kinks. (This was first posted in 2010.)
Battling brothers Ray and Dave Davies are the core of The Kinks. (The name is pronounced like the american Davis, as though the e did not exist). Ray was the vocalist, writer, and rhythm guitar player. Dave was the lead guitarist, and sparring partner for his brother. The fisticuffs were not restricted to the brothers. This led to the band being barred from performing in the United States between 1965 and 1969.
There were several hits in the early days, most notably “You really got me”. (This later became a signature tune for Van Halen). The band had numerous adventures, but never became the superstars that other British bands of that era did. Ray Davies developed as a songwriter, with many witty tunes, full of social commentary and britishness.(spell check suggestion:brutishness)
In the seventies The Kinks kept trooping on. They did an album called Preservation Act, which became the basis of a theatrical presentation. The next album was called Soap Opera, with a theater like production. This is where PG got to see The Kinks.
It was sometime in the spring of 1975, at the Atlanta Municipal Auditorium. Elvin Bishop was the opening act. The Kinks had started when PG arrived, buying a $4.00 balcony seat. Alex Cooley was in the box office counting money, and broke open a roll of quarters to make change for a five.
The band was playing “Celluloid Heroes” when PG walked into the auditorium. There was no one on the door checking tickets, so PG walked onto the floor and found an empty seat on the 13th row. The next number was “Lola”.
Ray Davies introduced the song by saying ” If you are a man, sing LO. If you are a woman, sing LA. If you are not sure, clap your hands”. The next number was about demon alcohol. There were lights shining on the crowd during this number, as Ray Davies asked if there were any sinners in the audience. The band did several more songs, ending the first half of the evening with “You really got me”. Dave Davies got some spotlight time with a rave up intro to this number.
The second part of the show was a theatrical presentation of “Soap Opera”. The band wore rainbow colored wigs, and stood at the back of the stage while Ray Davies told the tale. “Soap Opera” was about a rock star who traded places with Norman, who lived a boring life. The flat Norman lived in has pictures of ducks on the wall, which drove Ray/Norman to scream “I can’t stand those f*****g ducks”. This led into a rocking ditty called, predictably, “Ducks on the Wall”.
As the show dragged on, Ray/Norman was embarrassed by the mess he was in. “You can’t say that in front of The Kinks, they are my band, and that is my audience.” The audience lights were turned on again, and the band played a medley of hits from 1964.
Finally, the real Norman came back to reclaim his wife, put the ducks back on the wall, and kick out The Kinks. The band gave up on theater before much longer, and were popular for the rest of the concert happy seventies. Ray Davies was the babydaddy for Chrissie Hynde . Eventually, the band quit performing, and continued to cash royalty checks.
Pictures are from the ” Special Collections and Archives,Georgia State University Library”
Chamblee54 
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