nobody asked…

Throughout my adult life, Carlin was my guiding light, my conscience, my benchmark. He had that laid back I don’t give a damn what you think I’m saying it anyway and if you don’t like it you can just fuck off attitude that drew me in like flies to horseshit.  Looking around for someone alive to pray to ( I mean there’s not much point praying to somebody who is dead because what can they do for you? )  I consider Joe Pesci. George prayed to Joe Pesci and said it worked out OK about half the time, roughly the same results Christians get by praying to God. Not being a personal friend or a big fan of Joe, I continue my search. As of last night, I’ve settled on Jimmy Buffett. He  has that same laid back I don’t give a damn what you think I’m saying it anyway and if you don’t like it you can just fuck off attitude. Jimmy is also a spiffy dresser, is the personification of fun, always has a lot of babes hanging around, all of which are artfully shown in the following hymn from one of his parties services. And, WWJD? has a familiar ring to it. Yeah, for now, he da man…

Just stumbled across this little jewel. The Everlys were popular back when I was. They still are…

This is rare footage of Don and Phil performing without their own guitar accompaniment. In fact, they may be lip-synching, which was very common in those early years of live television. I believe this was probably from The Andy Williams show (in the opening seconds Andy is visible on the left side of the screen) circa 1958.

This may well be the most enjoyable eight minutes you will spend this year. Grab the box of tissues, crank the volume up a bit, kick back and hit the play button…

As soon as you’ve daubed your eyes and taken a deep breath, try the next one…

The first was Hayley Westernra when she was 15. Now 21, she hails from Christchurch, New Zealand.

The second was 11 year old Andrew Johnston, competing in a British talent search show earlier this year. Eleven years old…

The selection is Pie Jesu from Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Requiem.

[Miss Westernra first seen at John B's Blog Meridian. It was John who concluded with the words I chose as a title... There are no words. Thank you John B. ]

Care deeply… give freely… think kindly… act gently and be at peace with the world.

That is the tagline of Paul Williams, the Oscar, Grammy, and Golden Globe winner who has been in America’s entertainment consciousness for four decades. This iconic diminutive giant is an extremely prolific songwriter, capped with classics like We’ve Only Just Begun, Just An Old Fashioned Love Song, and Evergreen. Acting credits comprise a very long list of movies and television shows. I first became aware of Paul’s acting about 1977 with the the movie, Smokey and the Bandit. Subsequently, he had significant roles in the other Smokey movies, and many others.

The Carpenters were one of Paul’s favorite performers for his music. Here’s just one of the many reasons why…

A voice so sweet, and yet so powerful… So effortless… A full four octave range… Roy Orbison checked out suddenly with a massive heart attack in 1988 at the young age of 52. His writing and performing talents were revered by many. During his too brief career, he performed with a long list of top acts such as The Beatles, Bruce Springsteen, Emmy Lou Harris, Elton John, The Eagles, and Bob Dylan.

Crank up the volume, get your feet in toe tapping position, and enjoy this 1988 performance of Pretty Woman. It’s from the special Black & White Night recorded at the Coconut Grove in LA. Watch the all-star cast closely and you’ll spot many notables such as The Boss, Elvis Costello, and Tom Waits. The dueling guitars in the middle of the work is majorly awesome. Enjoy…

For a change of pace, Roy and Friends offered up Crying, which along with almost everything else Roy did has been covered by many big names since. Watch for the unmatchable trio of backup singers Jennifer Warnes, Bonnie Raitt, and k.d. Lang…

What a remarkable talent! Why do we lose so many of our best performers at such early ages?

The Eagles were popular back when I was. We old birds still have it… heh… Well, actually, they still are… and still do… Notice how the young folks in the audience know the words, sing along, and get into the groove…

And now, girls and boys, a little change of pace as we cruise into the weekend…

Thanks to Jackie Sue and her cousin Big Tex for holding the lantern while I found this.

Turn the volume up, get your toes ready to tap, and have at it. This is especially for my friend Tamarika, an avid Obama supporter in Philadelphia.

[A big flip of my voting lever for Annatopia for publishing this right where I could find it. I challenge everyone who is in favor of change in our country to grab this and publish it also. This is one we cannot play too much or too often until the battle is won...]

I have seen strange. I have lived through weird. I have suffered the bizarre. Sometimes it feels like I’ve seen it all and there is nothing left that will surprise me. Then something comes along that defies all that I know and think and feel. There are things that perhaps we are just not supposed to understand…

I first saw this over at Papa Meloney’s place and adapted his description and comment about it:

Consider the Finnish rock band called The Leningrad Cowboys, who appeared in concert in Russia. With the screaming approval of Russian teen-agers, they had the Red Army Choir to join them on stage for a performance of Sweet Home Alabama. In English. You couldn’t make this up… We’re talking seriously off the wall here. Better have that Stoli ready when you watch it.

Yes, I’m OK. You’re OK. The rest of the world? I’m not so sure some days…

If you had a pulse in 1967, you knew this song by Buffalo Springfield. It was written by Stephen Stills (yes, that Stephen Stills), one of the founders of the group, after he witnessed police actions against a crowd of young people gathered on Sunset Strip to stage an anti-war protest. The song was recorded in December 1966, and by March 1967, Buffalo Springfield had a Top Ten Hit. The group was together just over two years, but was an influential folk-rock group that served as a springboard for the careers of Neil Young, Stephen Stills, Richie Furay and Jim Messina. Understanding that this is a protest song, enjoy Buffalo Springfield performing For What It’s Worth. The lyrics are below the video window in case you want to sing along…

There’s something happening here
What it is ain’t exactly clear
There’s a man with a gun over there
Telling me I got to beware
I think it’s time we stop, children, what’s that sound
Everybody look what’s going down

There’s battle lines being drawn
Nobody’s right if everybody’s wrong
Young people speaking their minds
Getting so much resistance from behind
I think it’s time we stop, hey, what’s that sound
Everybody look what’s going down

What a field-day for the heat
A thousand people in the street
Singing songs and carrying signs
Mostly say, hooray for our side
It’s time we stop, hey, what’s that sound
Everybody look what’s going down

Paranoia strikes deep
Into your life it will creep
It starts when you’re always afraid
You step out of line, the man come and take you away

We better stop, hey, what’s that sound
Everybody look what’s going down
Stop, hey, what’s that sound
Everybody look what’s going down
Stop, now, what’s that sound
Everybody look what’s going down
Stop, children, what’s that sound
Everybody look what’s going down

To remind those who lived it, and to reveal it to those too young to remember, here’s another rendition, creatively crafted into a collage tapestry of images of the day. This is what it was all about. This is what we did in the ’60s to protest another ill-advised war in a land far away, another war we could not and did not win. Where are the young people today? Why are there no protests in the streets? Roomie and I have talked about this on several occasions and we are in agreement — if there was a draft today, it would be the ’60s all over again. Protests. Rallys. One-way trips to Canada. A President and other high-ranking political and military officials with broken spirits. Maybe even free love and nickle beer… nah, not likely.

It was the celebrity kind of thing, like the girls of all ages being madly in love with Tom Jones. But in the early to mid sixties I was soooo in love with Martha. Discovery of this clip from 1965 brought it all back. Or maybe sent me back. It also reminded me of parents and other alleged adults warning us that dancing and twisting we were doing was going to mess up our knees and backs. Yep, they were right about that…

There is no indication of the venue, but I suspect it was the Ed Sullivan Show or some other variety show like that. Could have been Dick Clark’s American Bandstand, but the set is not right. Notice the synchronized choreography of the background vocalists, typical of the acts coming out of Motown in the ’60s. Berry Gordy was — and is — a marketing genius, in addition to having an ear for sounds and an eye for looks that sell.

After you’ve gotten your juices flowing with Dancing In The Streets, search through YouTube’s Martha & The Vandellas offerings, tighten up your knee brace, and cruise on out, riding on a Heat Wave.

Found over at John B.’s Blog Meridian, this is one of the most creatively humorous … or is that humorously creative? … works I’ve seen lately. John’s accompanying text includes a couple of other links including this one for a field guide to stray shopping carts. Good stuff here that is guaranteed to tic up the corners of your pie-hole.

This is precisely the kind of off-beat humor I needed this morning. I hope it does to you what it did to me.

Nothin’ like a little Rickie Lee Jones to get my blood pump primed on a cold and wintry morn…