Destroy Babylon !!!!!!!

Through the generosity of an old buddy, I will be attending the Grateful Dead's latest incarnation (Furthur) this Wednesday at good old Radio City Music Hall. I have been so far out of the loop lately that I was not even aware of this show.

So, I gotta break out the combat boots, torn jeans and Black Flag T shirt. In other words, my usual clothes. I haven't worn tie dye to a Dead show since the early 80's. The only time's I wear my tie dye is to hardcore shows.

Why?

Because I'm a contrarian.

And besides, Black Flag were freakin' Deadheads anyway.

The missus is encouraging me to get out of the house and go to the show. Says it'll be good for me to have some effed up fun. What a gal.
Of course, my patience for "happy people" will be extremely limited; and these types of shows tend to bring in STUPID FUCKING HIPPIES.

Long time readers of this here blog are aware of my openness towards intoxicants and Dead toonage. However, I have never been a fan of the Utopian bullshit of Deadheads, whether it's temporarily supplied by a hit of acid or by their trust funds.

Still, a night out is a night out. And I can certainly use one!



Toonage:
Bad Brains - Destroy Babylon (live San Francisco1983)
The Birthday Party - Loose (Stooges cover)
Rancid - Roots Radicals (acoustics)
Willie Nelson - Whiskey River

Affimative Action? Or Reverse Discrimination?

As I toil in the hardest job I have ever had... which is ACTUALLY FINDING ONE, I have noticed a couple of things. The first is that as you email your resume to the gaping maw that is the unknown hiring director; you might as well not even bother. I have doubts that any of the hundreds of resumes even get looked at.

The most troubling one of all is that anytime you fill out an online application, there are two mandatory questions. One is to state your race/ethnic background. The second is to state your sex. True, you do have the option of checking the "i refuse to answer this question" box, but no doubt anyone foolish enough to select that choice is immediately eliminated from the employment competition.

I have no idea how recent these questions have become mandatory. It's (yeah right!) illegal to discriminate in hiring practices in the USA; but why ask the questions? Wouldn't total anonymity be a better guarantee? With answers to these questions, wouldn't companies be establishing quotas? Total reverse discrimination.

Leave it to Canada to get things right; again. Our neighbors to the north ban those types of questions.

I am going to start marking the "eskimo" box.

Stiff Little Fingers

Holy crap! I just found footage of the Stiff Little Fingers 1982 show in NYC that I was at.
Here
and
here
and
here!
The young and athletic Nazz was pogoing his lil old heart out right by Jake Burns for this show. My memories of the show are vivid... my buddies picked me up from the gas station job that I had that summer and we drove the hour trip to New York City's Peppermint Lounge. Fortified by Ballantine's 40 ounce torpedo's, I reeked of petroleum fumes and we got there just in time for the start of the show. The band was just killer... Ali McMordie on bass was amazing. I remember that we sorta really "picked" on one older guy with our enthusiasm. That "older guy" was probably 25!
I've seen em since, but nothing beat that first time!
SLF are on the "desert island" band list for me. Their first two albums "Inflammable Material" and "Nobody's Heroes" are punk classics. The stupidity of war and tribalism was their forte; with such songs as "Straw Dogs", "Suspect Device", "Wasted Life" and "Tin Soldiers", SLF took The Clash's "heart on their sleeve" politics and stayed on the rock n roll path, rather than the multi-cultural route The Clash took after their first two albums. In 2004, SLF released a tribute song to Joe Strummer, aptly title "Strummerville". Sure, SLF played some Reggae and Ska (covering the Specials' "Doesn't Make It Alright" and Bob Marley's "Johnny Was"). However, they "rocked" them, rather than the "rolling" The Clash preferred.

"Johnny Was" is Stiff Little Fingers' tour de force... with the senseless murder of Marley's Jamaican character transferred to "The Troubles" in Northern Ireland. SLF, as an Irish band, certainly experienced the senseless violence that they sang about. "Johnny Was" is a song close to me, as I think of my fallen friends whenever I hear it.

In a top floor flat in the
middle of the night
There's a man with rifle and
Johnny in his sight,
I said oh no, we can't let
that kind of thing happen
here no more
Oh no
Johnny, Johnny, Johnny...

A single shot rings out in a
Belfast night and I said oh
Johnny was a good man

The balance of Stiff Little Fingers' oeuvre is well worth checking out. The live "Hanx", "Go For It", "Now Then" (all early 80's product with their original line-up all have great moments. They reformed in the 90's and came out with some albums worth checking out as well (the best of which are "Hope Street" and "Get A Life".
They still tour, and have several dates in the UK coming up in March. Hopefully, they'll get back over to The States soon too!

Been A long Time Since I ...

... Rock And Roll

Perfect songs #3 - Collect the set!


No apologies to the Velvet Underground. THIS is the greatest song ever to be called ROCK AND ROLL

The Kids Are Losing Their Minds...

... BLITZKRIEG BOP!

Perfect songs #2 - Collect the set!

The alpha & the omega of Punk Rock. It all started here. And when the end comes, I hope this is playing.

Kick Out The Jams Muthafucka!

Perfect songs #1 - collect the set!

The wigglin guitars girl The crash of the drums Make you wanna keep-a-rockin' Till the morning comes Let me be who i am And let me kick out the jam Yes, kick out the jams I done kicked em out !!!

My Super Bowl Pick

Fuck the Super Bowl. Those fat-cat scumbag owners can blow me. What a tremendous corporate jizz splatter.

Besides, the Giants tanked.

PS- It ain't The Who anymore... it's two old bastards that shoulda gave it up long ago. Talk about greed, the band shoulda rolled up the carpet when The Ox croaked.

PSS- Upon seeing The Who... respectable... but Roger can't sing, Pete looks like Elvis Costello's father and Ringo jr was a total embarrassment and was unable to do anything that Moon the Loon used to do on those songs. But the lights were pretty. And it was nice to see N.O. win... even though that last touchdown the Colts blew at the end of the game cost me $1000 in my football pool! I hate you Peyton Manning!

On the bright side, my right hand isn't broken (just one knuckle is busted up) from a sports related maneuver last nite. Just can't make a fist. Which makes it hard to lift weights. Or most other actions. And I only drank soda during the game. That and Irish nacho's (Turkey Bacon, Taco Chips, Salsa, Grilled Chicken, Ton of cheese) kept our bellies filled. Then some ice cream, which was attacked by our kittens Riblet (aka Giblet aka Ribsey) and Roo (aka Rucifer J Cat).

Nothing like staying home on the high holidays!

Of Rainbows And Wars

The U.S. military appears to be on the way to eliminating the "don't ask, don't tell" proviso regarding gays in the military. About time! If gay people want to serve our country by being in the Armed Forces, it's fine by me. A person's sexual orientation should have nothing to do with their Patriotism. Of course, I don't understand why gay folks should feel patriotic, since they are not even granted the right to marry. But semper fi, regardless.

And speaking of the war, why do news organizations refer to murdering bastards as "suicide bombers"? I prefer the term "fucking scumbags".

And in tribute to an older war, I hope Inglorious Basterds wins alot of Oscars. What a fine movie, and what a happy ending!!!!!!!!!

From President Obama's State of the Union Address:

"But I realize that for every success story, there are other stories, of men and women who wake up with the anguish of not knowing where their next paycheck will come from, who send out resumes week after week and hear nothing in response."

It is absolutely staggering how many "no replies" I am getting when I send resume's out. I am extremely qualified in my chosen field and yet, no responses. This could mean that companies are getting swamped with applications, as the jobless rate is more than 10%; but it is still so frustrating. The hardest job is finding one.


And thanks to all that responded about being test subjects for my "book". I greatly appreciate it!

And speaking of books, as I have so much spare time, I've read plenty lately. Veteran rock music critic Robert Hilburn's "Cornflakes With John Lennon" is a sweet one. Sort of a memoir, he tells eloquent tales of his encounters with Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, John Lennon, Johnny Cash and others. He hits the big names and probably gives himself a bit too credit in the influence department, but an engaging book nonetheless.

And Clarence Clemons' "Big Man: Real Life And Tall Tales" is part autobiography and part, well, tall tales. Very entertaining. He plays with some guy named Stringbean, or Springsteen or something.

And lastly, a SHOUT OUT to my (not so) old pal Mo, whose blog NYCBites is a must read. It's food for thought. No calories! And it might put inches on your brainline. Or something.

Want to participate in an experiment?

When reconnecting with people from my earlier lives, they are often shocked (sometimes even visibly disappointed) that I am not pursuing writing as a career. It seemed my career track back in HS and especially College, but I never wanted to starve for my art. Too lazy I guess.
I can't count the cyber-wordsmithing I do here as real writing, or can I? It's certainly as lucrative as I feared writing would be! But it's really more like I'm a musician that never went beyond playing the local bar for a couple of beers.

However, with all this spare time I have, being a burden on the Gov't; the creative juices are trickling a bit. I have been starting on a memoir taking place in the halcyon daze of early 1980 and beyond, when punk, metal, new wave, disco and hardcore all sorta swirled in the same cesspool and how someone pretty similar to me got through those days. It'll involve what any of us of that gen were involved with; drugs, jail, car accidents, fight, girls, misunderstandings and self destruction. Lots of self destruction. It's coming from the voice of an 18 year old at the turn of the decade... creeping toward 1984.

Well, I was wondering whether anyone who reads my stuff here would like to check out the first 6 pages or so.
A critique would be appreciated... not looking for copyediting, more interested whether you find the story compelling or interesting, if you would (based on the first 6 pages) continue to read a complete book when it's written, or if it's a complete piece of shit.
I would suspect it is similar in tone to what I write on my blog, but, who knows.

Anyway, if you would be interested in helping out with this experiment let me know in the next week or so at nazznomad@hotmail.com