#Whaddup for November 20, 2022

Good morning, kiddios. Hope you're all enjoying your weekend and staying warm (or cool, as needed).

Just a reminder: No Saturday Night Karaoke this coming weekend (11/26). 

#Whaddup for November 6, 2022

Yo, yo, yo, kiddios. Hope all's well wit' you.

#Whaddup for October 30, 2022

 Sup, slick? Yeah, I've been AWOL. Whaddaya do?

#Whaddup for Sunday, October 2, 2022

Hi, folks. Hope you're all enjoying the weekend- and that any of you joining us from any of the coastal areas- we hope you and yours escaped relatively unscathed from Ian's temper tantrum.

#Whaddup for Thursday, August 15, 2002

Yo, yo, yo. How goes, kiddios?

#Whaddup for 09/08/22

 Yo, kids. How's it goin'?

#Whaddup for 09/04/22

How's it going, folks?

#MemoryLane

One of my friends from high school posted a meme about missing her grandmothers and great grandmothers. It's sweet. I can only partially relate to it, though. Rather than go into one of my ridiculously verbose stories on her page, though, I figured I'd share it with you guys.

#Whaddup August 28, 2022

Good morning, kiddios.

#Whaddup August 25, 2022

Good morning, kiddios. Hope the week is sailing smoothly for you.

#Whaddup August 19, 2022

 Hey, hi, howdy-ho, kids. The weekend is here. Can I get a "hell yeah"?

#Whaddup for August 17, 2022

Headline on Facebook: Jefferson Airplane Recall Woodstock: A New Dawn - Best Classic Bands

Call me crazy, but I have serious doubts that anyone who was at Woodstock actually "recalls" much- if anything- about Woodstock.

'Sup? August 13, 2022

Hi kids. Happy weekend. Just a reminder ('cuz ya probably didn't look at the calendar right there ----> ) : No karaoke tonight due to the city's Jazz (not really) In The Alley concert. See you next week.

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This poster was on my wall for years.

The big news this week has to be the passing of Dame Olivia Newton-John at age 73.

Though her last "big" hit was in the 80s, ONJ was a powerhouse for the better part of the 70s- not just on the pop charts, but on the country dance charts, too. Oh, and there was that whole movie thing, too (I'm weird, but I thought she was much sexier as cheerleader Sandy than "bad girl" Sandy).

It was interesting- for lack of a better word- to see just how many people across the music and film worlds speaking in remembrance of her in the days following her passing, and a true testament to what a wonderful performer and person she was- as all of them mentioned her charitable and philanthropic works.

Rest in peace.

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Fast Times at Ridgemont High was released 40 years ago today- speaking of things that made an impression. Marketed as a teen sex comedy, it included some classic lines ("...if I'm here, and you're here- doesn't that make it our time?"), an incredible soundtrack, and- of course- that scene with Phoebe Cates but they were all just bonuses. In reality, the movie is more the story of a young woman (Jennifer Jason Leigh's Stacy Hamilton) "coming of age", and all the bullshit she has to deal with. The fact that Leigh, herself, isn't even on the film's poster showed what Hollywood- Universal Pictures, specifically- thought of that storyline.

Fourteen year old me wasn't allowed to see that one at the theater- it wasn't until it came on HBO the following year (or year after, maybe) that I got to see it. But, I'd already read the book (which is very different, while very much the same), so I knew what to expect (except how incredibly sexy I thought Ms. Cates was).

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Not to be a dick about it, but I'm a lot more sympathetic to the lady who lost everything she had in the ensuing house fire than I am about Anne Heche's death as the result of a single vehicle accident.

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Nashville police have confirmed reports from TMZ and Variety that singer Michelle Branch was arrested and charged with domestic assault earlier this week. That came on the heels of her announcing to TMZ that that she was splitting from her husband of three years, The Black Keys' drummer Patrick Carney- who she accused of cheating on her.

In her statement, Branch said that "totally devastated (didn't) even come close to describing how I feel for myself and for my family. The rug has been completely pulled from underneath me and now I must figure out how to move forward. With such small children, I ask for privacy and kindness.”

Branch’s bail was set at $1,000.

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Authorities in Spain say one person was killed and dozens were injured when a stage collapsed during a dance music festival near Valencia early this morning.

Emergency officials in area said "strong gust of wind" damaged a portion of the main stage at the Medusa Festival around 4 a.m. local time, according to Associated Press reports. Some 40 festival-goers were taken to the hospital, including three with serious injuries. Festival organizers said about 50,000 people were in attendance when incident occurred. 

In a Facebook statement, organizers said they were "completely devastated and dismayed at what happened last morning. The management of Medusa Festival would like to express our deep and sincere condolences to the family and friends affected by the fatal consequences that occurred last night. It is a day of mourning and respect for those affected. And they will have us for everything they need. (The family of the dead man's) unbearable suffering we also make ours.”

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R. Kelley, already serving time after his conviction on eight counts of sex trafficking and one of racketeering, is facing federal charges of conspiracy to obstruct justice related to what prosecutors claim were attempts to rig his 2008 trial on child pornography charges- attempts that included paying off and threatening the girl to ensure she did not testify. He also faces four counts of the enticement of minors for sex.

The victim Kelly threatened, now in her 30s, will testify in the case- as will the other alleged victims. Convictions on just one of the new counts could add decades to his sentence- which will keep him in jail into his 80s.

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Birthdays today include: Dave "Baby" Cortez (84); Feargal Sharkey (64); Tal Bachman (54); and James Morrison (38). #MusicalBirthdays 

#Whaddup for July 7, 2022

 Howdy.

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Carlos Santana's wife says the legendary guitarist is "doing very well" after Tuesday night's scare, when he was suffered from dehydration and heat exhaustion while performing at the Pine Knob Music Theater in Michigan. Fans at the show said he was immediately attended to by medical personnel, who treated him onstage during the incident. He was then transported to a nearby ER for further treatment.  

In a social media post yesterday, Cindy Blackman Santana said her husband was "resting and doing very well! He was diagnosed with heat exhaustion & dehydration… it was 100 degrees on stage and 114 under the lights so that coupled with not enough water is what caused the issue."

She closed the post saying Santana will be "be as good as new soon! Thank you again and we love you! Cindy & Carlos."

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I'm eager to see Thor: Love And Thunder, I just don't know if I'm eager enough to venture into a theater to do it. I mean, if I wait a couple of months, I can watch it from the comfort of my own couch, pause it whenever I have to pee, and not deal with jackasses who won't shut the fuck up.

A couple of movies I seriously couldn't fucking care less about are Clerks III (Kevin Smith just annoys me, so I've never even bothered watching the first one) and Avatar II.

I consider myself a fan of quite a number of Cameron's movies, but even the previews of the first movie just looked... I dunno... like a CGI cartoon. Plenty of people have told me it's a really good movie, I just couldn't even get past the surrealism of the blue people to even bother with it. 

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I see where James Caan has passed away. I always admired his acting ability, but did he ever sabotage his career with his off-screen antics.

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Don't forget to join us for another edition of Saturday Night Karaoke, coming up this weekend at the Iron Horse Tavern in historic downtown Norcross. The insanity kicks into gear at 9:30.

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An LA County jury deliberated for six hours before returning a guilty verdict yesterday in the trial of the man accusing of murdering rapper Nipsey Hussle. The man, who was a member of the same gang as Hussle, was also found guilty of two counts of attempted voluntary manslaughter for gunfire that hit other men at the scene, as well as two counts of assault with a firearm.

The man's lawyer said his client was "deeply disappointed" in the verdict and planned to appeal. 

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Ricky Martin called stalking allegations against him "completely false" and said he would "respond through the judicial process with the facts and dignity that characterize me" after a Puerto Rican judge issued a restraining order against the singer last week.

The petitioner in the case claims Martin didn't accept their break-up and had repeatedly attempted to make contact. He went on to say Martin had been seen loitering outside his residence at least three times, and he said he feared for his safety.

Martin was ordered to refrain from making any contact with the petitioner, physically or via telecommunication, extending to emails and social media. Puerto Rican law prohibits the petitioner's name from being released (and I wouldn't pass it along, even if I knew it).

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Birthdays today include: Former The Tonight Show bandleader Doc Severinsen (95); Sir Richard Starkey- better known as Ringo Starr (82); David Hodo of Village People (75)- he's the construction worker; Mark White of Spin Doctors (60); Vonda Sheppard (59); and Alesso (31). #MusicalBirthdays

#Whaddup for June 29, 2022

 I had every intention of writing up some stuff, but my head hurts (weird weather + sinus infection). Instead, I'll just invite you to join me for Saturday Night Karaoke, live from the Iron Horse Tavern this week.

Yes Virginia, there will be Saturday Night Karaoke this week.

(I still can't create events on Facebook, so...)

Get ready for Saturday Night Karaoke this weekend at the Iron Horse Tavern in historic downtown Norcross.

Join the madness (and the inevitable chaos) and thrill us with your vocal chops- or just find a spot to take in the fun.

With our ever-expanding songbook of 20,000+ selections, there's bound to be something you like. We've got the classics, current hits, and the standards you love to sing. They're all here!

While you're there, sample the fine selection of spirits, draft beers, a menu full of tasty treats from the Iron Horse- and the hottest karaoke action in Historic Downtown Norcross.

*** Please note: To insure your health and safety, as well as that of our hosts, our songbook is now 100% digital. There will be NO songbooks or slips available, and hosts will NOT take verbal requests.

You must log in to our online portal and fill out a digital slip. It's still free to sing, and you don't need to sign up for an account unless you want to.

Also, microphones will be sanitized with medical grade alcohol between each singer, and disposable microphone covers will be used for each performer.

#Whaddup for June 19, 2022

Even on days off, I still wake up around (or, more often, before) the alarm would normally sound. I don't think I've slept more than about 30 minutes late (other than when ill or on medication) in something like 20 years. So, yep, as of 10:00 am this sunny Sunday morning, I've been awake for better than 8 hours now. In fact, were it a weekday, I'd be just a couple of hours from heading home for the day.

My plan for the day was to head over to the theater and catch a movie. Not just any movie, but one of the best creature features ever made: John Carpenter's 1982 version of The Thing. Here's "the thing" about that, though- checking online, and there not all that many unsold seats (looks like the theater is at 70% or so) and I'm just so not cool with that- plague or no. Maybe I'll still be alive in 10 years for the 50th anniversary screening.

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Saturday Night Karaoke will return to the Iron Horse Tavern this weekend. Join me for the fun from 9:30 until 12:30. 

As usual, we'd like to remind you that sign-ups are all digital, as is our songbook. The sign-up portal is active on show nights from 30 minutes prior to the start time.

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I've been working on the songbook, attempting to correct errors and repeats that I come across. If you notice any, please drop me a line and let me know.

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Wait, what? I mean, I get rerecording the originals with the actors in the roles of the original performers providing the vocals, but... why use new (modern) songs in Baz Lurhman's Elvis Presley movie? Eminem and CeeLo? Really?

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YouTube rhythm sensation Nandi Bushell will join Foo Fighters when they take the stage at Wembley Stadium in September to honor Taylor Hawkins. She previously played with the band at a gig in LA last year, joining them onstage at The Forum for a performance of Everlong while Hawkins sat back and watched.

Performers announced for the London show include Brian May and Roger Taylor of Queen, Rush's Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson, Josh Homme of Queens of the Stone Age, Mark Ronson, Stewart Copeland of The Police, Wolfgang Van Halen, Jane's Addiction's Chris Chaney, the incredibly talented Omar Hakim, Chrissie Hynde of Pretenders, Liam Gallagher, Supergrass, and Hawkins' cover band, Chevy Metal.

When the show hits Los Angeles, performers will include Miley Cyrus, Joan Jett, Alanis Morissette, Kiss’ Gene Simmons, Motley Crue’s Nikki Sixx, the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Chad Smith, Struts singer Luke Spiller, Queens of the Stone Age drummer Jon Theodore, Weezer drummer Pat Wilson and Rage Against the Machine drummer Brad Wilk.

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Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargett was arrested in Tullahoma Friday night and charged with DUI after leaving that evening's Bonnaroo performances.

While not exactly denying the charge, he didn't exactly admit guilt, either, saying he regretted "the circumstances regarding (his) arrest" in a statement released yesterday. He added that he would "trust the legal process" as the case moved forward.

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Didn't Motley Crue do a farewell tour a few years ago? Anyway, I know some folks who went to the show here in Atlanta last week- which kicked off their tour. It was in the upper 90s when the concert started. And that is the big reason why I've not seen Earth, Wind, and Fire or Chicago, Steely Dan, or Boz Scaggs in concert: the concerts they've performed since I've been here in Atlanta have all been outdoors during Chastain's summer concert series. I'm too old and too fat to sweat that shit out.

I did, however, make exceptions for Blondie and Pat Benetar, Duran Duran, Sheryl Crow, and the Eagles. To (poorly) paraphrase Patrick Henry: Give me air conditioning, or give me death.

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Kate Bush’s Running Up That Hill is in the top spot of the singles' charts in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, and Switzerland this week (and #4 on the Billboard singles' chart- Bush's best US showing), thanks to its use in the latest season of Stranger Things.

In a statement about the songs' use in the show, Bush said she saluted series' creators "the Duffer Brothers for their courage – taking this new series into a much more adult and darker place. I want to thank them so much for bringing the song into so many people’s lives." 

She added she was "overwhelmed by the scale of affection and support the song is receiving, and it’s all happening really fast, as if it’s being driven along by a kind of elemental force. I have to admit I feel really moved by it all. Thank you so very much for making the song a number one in such an unexpected way."

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Birthdays today include: Ann Wilson of Heart (72); Marty DeBarge of DeBarge (63); Paula Abdul (60); Brian Vander Ark of The Verve Pipe (58); Head (Brian Welch) of Korn (52); Anita Wilson (46); and Macklemore (39). #MusicalBirthdays 

Early Sunday Morning (which actually turned into Sunday afternoon)

Well, not so early for me...

Anyway, let me kick it off by saying "thanks" to everybody who joined us last night for Saturday Night Karaoke at the Iron Horse- and an extra round of huzzahs to everyone who was patient through the long wait between turns to sing. I know it can be a pill, but- as I've said many times before- my goal is to make sure everybody gets an equal chance (well, almost everybody- at least at the beginning of the night). And, having so many folks wanting to play along is a good "problem" to have- it means that the venue is making money, and that means it's worth their while (be realistic, okay- they have to make money) to keep bringing us back (because we all know it's not my sunny disposition that keeps me around!).

Reminder, though- no karaoke next week (the 11th) because of the city's "Jazz in the Alley" concert, nor the following week (the 18th) because of the "Blueberry Festival". We'll be back on June 25th.

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So, last year(?) there was a fellow who came in and got mad that he couldn't just tell me what he wanted to sing- that I actually had the nerve to ask him to do what everyone else was doing and use the online portal to sign up. (Whereas some people think this is because I'm an asshole- a designation I'm not disputing- most of you realize that it's simpler and it minimizes contact, which means that there's less chance you catch anything I might have, or that I catch anything that you might have- 'cuz, you know, the goddamned plague and all.) It was this guy's considered(?) opinion that the online portal was too confusing/difficult to use (I mean, is it? That's a honest question), and that I was (and I quote) "deplorable" for not making an exception. I'm pretty sure I relayed this story before, because I found it funny, because "deplorable" was one no one had used on me before, and I'm weird like that.

Anyway, I had to laugh last night when the guy came back in and- had not only (evidently) realized the futility of arguing with me- used the portal (mostly) successfully and ended up hanging out all night. I think he had a good time, anyway. He certainly seemed to be having fun making out with one of his dance partners.

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I posted this to my personal FB page, but I thought it bears repeating here: Should you ever see me post something that's so goddamned stupid and ill-informed that you feel you need to "verbally" go upside my head, PLEASE DO. It *literally* makes me queasy (and is more than a little infuriating) when I see otherwise intelligent people post/sharing shit that's just flat out divorced from reality- or just plain, goddamned ignorant.

I fully believe that ignorance- particularly willful ignorance-

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I mean, it's really pretty- but I'm sure (just like the original) it'll be crazy overpriced.

The DeLorean Alpha 5 concept car.

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Speaking of the plague (see above), the Doobie Brothers have been forced to cancel shows this week- including Tuesday night's gig at the amphitheater in Alpharetta- after "(several) members of (their) touring party came down with COVID." The shows have all been rescheduled.

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Anyone else think Diana Ross and Andrea Bocelli were sort of "odd" choices for the Queen's "Jubilee Concert"?

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The Instagram account for Sequential says that company founder Dave Smith has died. Smith was a major player in the development of synthesizer technology in the 70s and 80s, and was co-inventor of MIDI, and inventor of the Prophet-5- used in creating such milestone recordings as Thriller and Like a Virgin.

Smith was 72.

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The Sex Pistols' God Save the Queen was the top selling single in the United Kingdom yesterday (June 4th) after being rereleased on Friday- 45 years after its original release.

In an interview with TalkTV last month, John Lydon said the song was "anti-royalist, but it’s not anti-human... Everyone presumes that I’m against the royal family as human beings, I’m no. I’m actually really, really proud of the Queen for surviving and doing so well. I applaud her for that, and that’s a fantastic achievement. I’m not a curmudgeon about that."

HRM Queen Elizabeth II and (part of) the British Royal Family.

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Birthdays today include: Laurie Anderson (75); Freddie Stone of Sly and the Family Stone (75); Nico McBrain of Iron Maiden (70); Richard Butler of Psychedelic Furs (66); Kenny G (66); Brian McKnight (53); Claus Noreen of Aqua (52); Pete Wentz of Fall Out Boy (43); P-Nut Wills of 311 (48); Sébastien Lefebvre of Simple Plan (41). #MusicalBirthdays

Coming up this weekend...

I'm here to remind you that we'll have Saturday Night Karaoke this weekend at the Iron Horse Tavern in historic downtown Norcross from 9:30-12:30.

Join the madness (and the inevitable chaos) and thrill us with your vocal chops- or just find a spot to take in the fun. With our ever-expanding songbook of 20,000+ selections, there's bound to be something you like. We've got the classics, current hits, and the standards you love to sing. They're all here!

While you're there, sample the fine selection of spirits, draft beers, a menu full of tasty treats from the Iron Horse- and the hottest karaoke action in Historic Downtown Norcross.

*** Please note: To insure your health and safety, as well as that of our hosts, our songbook is now 100% digital. There will be NO songbooks or slips available, and hosts will NOT take verbal requests. You MUST use our online portal and fill out a digital slip. It's still free to sing, and you don't need to sign up for an account unless you want to. Also, microphones will be sanitized with medical grade alcohol between each singer, and disposable microphone covers are used for each performer.

Thoughts from the bunker...

'Sup?

Seriously, I meant to be more diligent in writing, but... well- the road to hell and all that.

#WhatsHappening for February 20, 2022

Cancer (and the chronic sinus issues aside), since early 2020, I managed to avoid getting sick. I mean, if there was a plus side to the plague sweeping the planet, that was definitely it for me (also, it's documented that there were fewer recorded cases of the flu). Until a couple of weeks ago, that is. 

I arranged to have the 12th off, and had planned on doing a whole bunch of nothing that weekend. Tuesday (the 8th) I was at my day job and began to develop a headache that just wouldn't go away, and I was coughing a little.

#WhatsHappening for January 16, 2021

Good morning, friends. Hope you're all having a good weekend and- if you're in one of the areas looking at crappy weather- prepared, warm, and dry.

#WhatsHappening for January 10, 2022

Try as I might, I rarely manage to stay "on top" of things the way I mean to. Like last weekend.

#WhatsHappening for January 5, 2022

 Hey, hi, howdy kiddios. Hope your week so far hasn't been terrible.

#Whats Happening for January 1, 2022

New year, new post. Don't get used to it. I mean, I could tell you that one of my resolutions is to be more diligent about posting, but I'm not very good about being resolute. I mean, I'll try, but- well, we know how that goes.

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Right off the bat, I guess we all know 2021 can suck it. Then again, at least it was an improvement over 2020- even if by only a little. For better or worse, here's what been on my mind:

• Saturday Night Karaoke at the Tavern will continue for as long as we're able. That is, as long as it's safe (safe being a relative term) to do so- for me, for you, and the staff of the Tavern. 

Among the changes I've made in an attempt to limit contact, the "biggest" has been the elimination of physical songbooks and request slips. With the exception of a couple of people (including one fellow with a Scottish accent who called my refusal to "joost leh may write doon the soongs" he wanted to sing "deplorable." It was all I could do not to laugh, so I just said "okay, thank you for your feedback), our online sign up system has been well received and quite successful.

If you're unfamiliar with what to do to sign up at a show, the instructions are on our Facebook page. 

You can also scan the QR code below to go directly to the songbook. Please note, the page/songbook are active only when the show is active- which normally begins 30 minutes before the show's starting time. 

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The "ruling" apes on the planet have spent the last year trying to get out from under the thumb of our modern plague- COVID. The results have been decidedly mixed- particularly now that the oh-so-spreadable Omicron variant is in full swing. Up until about November, I knew all of two people who'd had it. Now? Oh, so many more.

That's not to say I'm a denier. This shit is real. It's here. The way the world has dealt with it (or, in the case of a lot of people in the US) is poor, to say the least.

Do your part: Wash your hands, keep your distance, stay home if you're not feeling well (particularly if you're sneezing, coughing, or have a fever) and wear a goddamned mask (you can go ahead and fuck off with your "a mask doesn't do anything to protect" bullshit. A mask isn't supposed to protect the wearer- it's to protect everyone else from the shit the wearer themselves might be carrying). And get the fucking vaccine. Even if it doesn't keep you from catching it, it should keep you out of serious harm's way (and you can go ahead and fuck off with each and every one of the conspiracy theories re the vaccines, too).

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As much as I'm looking forward to seeing Ringo Starr and the All-Starr Band, that show's already been postponed twice, thanks to the plague. If we still haven't turned the proverbial corner by June (a proposition I'm none too sure about), I'm going to seriously have to consider skipping the show. Considering how much I enjoyed it the last time around, the prospect sucks). Ditto on the suckage for the Elton John show in September that we have front row seats for.

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2021 was another pretty harsh year, as far as losing folks. Here are some of note: Misty Morgan;  Gerry Marsden; Cloris Leachman; Tanya Roberts; Gregory Sierra; Bobby Few; Michael Apted; Deezer D; Tommy Lasorda; Jamie O'Hara; Marion Ramsey; Julie Strain; Howard Johnson; Tim Bogert; Duke Bootee; Phil Spector; Jimmie Rodgers; Hank Aaron; Janet Lawson; Hal Holbrook; Larry King; Grady Gain; Hilton Valentine; David Donato; Jim Weatherly; Nolan Porter; Christopher Plummer; Roz Cron; Mary Wilson; Gene Summers; Prince Markie Dee; Gene Taylor; Bob James; Ralph Peterson, Jr.; Bunny Wailer; Duffy Jackson; Alan Cartwright; Michael Stanley; Roger Mudd; Ray Campi; Margie Evans; Ethel Gabriel; Larry McMurtry; Louis St. Louis; Jill Corey; Sonny Simmons; DMX; Bob Porter; Rusty Young; Barby Kelly; Pat Rizzo; Barry Mason; Black Rob; Paul Oscher; Les McKeown; Joe Long; Shock G; Charlie Black; Denny Freeman; Anita Lane; John Hinch; Ray Reyes; Lloyd Price; Tawny Kitaen; Roger Hawkins; Dewayne Blackwell; John Davis; Gavin McLeod; B.J. Thomas; Robert Gordy; Clarence Williams, III; Dean Parish; Ned Beatty; Raoul de Souza; Ike Stubblefield; Johnny Solinger; John Lawton; Vic Briggs; Sanford Clark; Leo van de Ketterij; Frank Cook; Jeff LeBar; Biz Markie; Robby Steinhardt; Chuck E. Weiss; Mike Howe; Dusty Hill; Charles Conner; Paul Cotton; Les Vandyke; Gary Lee Yoder; Bruce Conte; Joey Ambrose; Nanci Griffith; Tom T. Hall; Don Everly; Charlie Watts; Sam Salter; Ed Asner; Ron Bushy; Adalberto Álvarez; Carol Fran; Sarah Harding; Byther Smith; Sarah Dash; Bob Moore; Pee Wee Ellis; Sue Thompson; Alan Lancaster; Andrea Martin; Barry Ryan; Lonnie Smith; Julia Nixon; Garnett Brown; Deon Estus; Marcus Malone; Paddy Moloney; Ron Tutt; Ralph Carmichael; Jay Black; Mike Hoffman; Sonny Osborne; Willie Cobbs; Ginny Mancini; Emmett Chapman: Pat Martino; Declan Mulligan; Ernest Wilson; Graeme Edge; John Goodsall; Philip Margo; Melvin Parker; Stonewall Jackson; Buddy Merrill; John Miles; Gil Bridges; Barry Harris; Ralph Tavares; Garth Dennis; David Lasley; Les Emmerson; Vicente Fernández; Phil Chen; Sonny Rhodes; Wanda Young; Hub; Terry Utley; Kangol Kid; Billy Conway; Paul Mitchell; J.D. Crowe; Ted Gardner; Betty White; and over 435,000 US citizens- as well as nearly 3.6 million worldwide- from a disease that, using common sense and care for our fellow travelers on this spinning rock on its ride around the solar system, we should be able to mitigate.

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The United States desperately needs comprehensive, federal voting rights legislation. The promise of this nation that all are equal is rendered highly suspect when state or local governments attempt to make it difficult to exercise its citizens' constitutional right to cast a ballot. 

The United States also desperately needs comprehensive infrastructure repairs. This is not a new belief on my part. When it was announced that the city of Atlanta was going to approve public funding for a new stadium (for a perpetually mediocre team), I voiced the opinion in a number of forums that the area around the stadium- and downtown Atlanta in general- was crumbling, and in dire need of infrastructure repair long before a billionaire should be getting public funds to build a new playground. I'd voiced that same general opinion in the late 80s (and well into the 90s), when the minor league baseball teams of that city sought to have a new stadium built, and when the city wanted to build a new civic center in the hopes of bringing in more minor league sports (basketball and hockey, both of which had already failed miserably in the city) and more concerts because of the city's (you guessed it) crumbling infrastructure. In short: Bridges, roads, the power grid, our drinking water- all of those need to be addressed, across the nation- and it's not a "new" thing. 

One last thing I think the nation desperately needs is for people to pull their heads out of their asses and just stop it with the lie that the 2020 election was fraudulent- and to punish each and every person involved with the attempted overthrow of the US government on January 6th last year.

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LL Cool J was forced to pull out of his Times Square New Year's Eve performance after testing positive for COVID. Did I mention stay safe?

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At Christmas, I normally just put on random movies all day, because (in the past) there's been fuck-all worth watching (and, for the record, if I never see A Christmas Story again, it'll be too fucking soon. I didn't have to do that this year, though. FXX has been running Family Guy nonstop since Christmas Eve. Is it enlightening, educational, or intellectual? No, no, and oh hell no. What I do think it is, though, is funny- so that's what I watched Christmas Eve evening, Christmas Day, and Boxing Day. And most of last week.

Of course, SyFy started The Twilight Zone marathon at 2 am on the 31st, so I've pretty much been watching that ever since. Sixty plus years later, and it's still one of the best shows on television.

Something else I did notice, one of the StreamPix channels showed Bob Clarke's true Christmas classic- Black Christmas. 

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All the music "experts" are putting out their "Best of 2021" album/song/video/whatever lists, and I'm over here going "uh, who the fuck is this asshole?" at most of them. In short, I'm out of touch- so, if there's a song that you're itching to tackle at karaoke, drop me a line and let me know.

If it's available, I'll see what I can do about adding it to the songbook (subject, of course, to a content review). That's the only way to request a new song, though. I'm trying to keep my distance, and ask that you do the same, so I'm going to ask that you not come up and yell in my ear. I also can't add anything during show, and (in almost every circumstance) using YouTube to run a song during a show is highly illegal, as is you saying you can "pull it up on the phone and sing it from there"- not to mention I'm not set up to play anything off your phone over the sound system.

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Just curious- is everyone all freaking out about Miley Cyrus' wardrobe malfunction like they were about Janet Jackson's?

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NME headline: "Nicolas Cage doesn’t like to be referred to as an 'actor'"

No sweat, Nick- you're not.

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Green Day's Billy Joe Armstrong backed out of playing with Miley Cyrus last night after being "exposed to COVID" over Christmas- though he says he hasn't tested positive for the virus.

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Did you know Foo Fighters have a movie coming out? (Hey! I said I was out of touch!)

The film, titled Studio 666, is due for release later this year and stars Whitney Cummings, Leslie Grossman and others alongside the band. The story centers around what happens after the band moves into an Encino mansion "steeped in grisly rock and roll history" to record a new album and "supernatural forces ... threaten both the completion of the album and the lives of the band."

Grohl told MOJO there was "no other band stupid enough to do this."

Stupid horror movie? Sounds like my kind of flick.

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Birthdays today include: Country Joe MacDonald (80); Martin Plaza of Mental As Everything (66); and Grandmaster Flash (64). #MusicalBirthdays

I'll try to get back by soon.