Moms Demand Action

Speaking of Jackson Browne, here's a little piece I did from the Moms Demand Action rally commemorating the first anniversary of the Sandy Hook shootings. With part of a new Jackson Browne song about gun violence.

If The Union Don't Mind

From the BBC, 1978:

Three O'Clock And I'm Alone Again

Amazon gave me a free month of Amazon Prime and I've been watching tons of movies they have available to stream for free.

One of them was ROADIE (the 2011 movie starring Ron Eldard, not the 2012 short with Jack Black and Kyle Gass or the 1980 movie with Meat Loaf):



The movie itself is all over the place, but there are at least two fantastic performances in it (Eldard and Bobby Cannavale) and it's definitely worth watching if you've got the time.

There's a scene in the movie where Eldard (fired after more than two decades as a roadie for Blue Oyster Cult) and his High School girlfriend (now married to the guy who bullied Eldard in High School) listen to what at first seemed like a fantastic pastiche of pretentious blue-eyed soul.

Imagine my surprise to learn that the band Eldard was obsessed with was a real band, the Good Rats. And they were exactly the kind of band I might have been obsessed with when I was growing up - a woulda/coulda/shoulda been stars band from Long Island who never gave up their dream.

The song from the movie is far from flawless (but that just enhances its appeal in my opinion), but it drips heartache and yearning all through the performance. From 1976's Rat City in Blue, please enjoy the Good Rats (featuring the late, great Peppi Marchello):

Four Christmas Songs I Never Get Tired Of

Ring those sleigh bells one more time

Darlene Love's "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)"

And these three:
Kinks "Father Christmas"


John Lennon "Happy Christmas (War Is Over)"


The Three Wise Men (aka XTC) "Thanks for Christmas"

Darlene Love is a National Treasure

That is all.

Forgotten Christmas Songs, Part 12

I almost forgot this one...

Perhaps because there is no good explanation for this.

Forgotten Christmas Songs, Part 11

From the delightfully warped mind of Capt. Sensible and friends:

Forgotten Christmas Songs, Part 10

Fun and Dumb

Not sure why this never really caught on, but... damn... that's catchy.

Forgotten Christmas Songs, Part 9

Please, just make it stop.

Take Wayne Newton, add generic disco beats, blend well with Christmas.

It's no wonder people drink during the holidays!

Forgotten Christmas Songs, Part 8

Martin Freaking Mull, everyone.

Forgotten Christmas Songs, Part 7

Ho, Ho, Ho, Surprise, Surprise

If I didn't know this was the flip side to the single of Elton John's "Step Into Christmas," I'd assume it was the work of some demented sub-Monty Python British comics trying to come up with the worst Xmas song ever.

Must be heard to be believed.

Forgotten Christmas Songs, Part 6

Great harmonies... which shouldn't surprise anyone given the lineage... (And the sax solo sounds pretty good too...)

I could have sworn this was Wilson-Phillips, but it's just Carnie & Wendy Wilson during the Wilson-Phillips hiatus.

Not sure why this one fell out of favor when so many crappy Christmas songs still get played, but here it is again. Just like it's 1993 all over.

Forgotten Christmas Songs, Part 5

Careless Xmas Whisper

Wham.

That is all.

Forgotten Christmas Songs, Part 4

I kinda miss 'em, I just don't wanna kiss 'em

This hasn't aged well... but maybe that's okay.

Forgotten Christmas Songs, Part 3

The Christmas you get you deserve?

Perhaps only the 1970s and a voice like Greg Lake's could produce this next song.

Its mixture of pseudo-profundity and vagueness seem perfectly matched to Lake's bombastic voice that seems to be saying something really amazingthat you can't quite put your finger on. (Which is all the more appropriate since the lyrics were written by Peter Sinfield, a poet, songwriter, and co-founder of King Crimson.)

I used to hear this all the time on the radio, but it seems to have fallen out of favor recently.

But that doesn't mean you can't enjoy it now... even if it's just a guilty pleasure.

Thirty Three Years

Forgotten Christmas Songs, Part 2

Or... reasons why Glenn Tilbrook should not have a mustache and huge glasses.

Forgotten Christmas Songs, Part 1

Maybe this hasn't aged well, but it was everywhere back in the day and I pretty much never hear it these days.

Making Lists

I suppose it's finally time to listen to Christmas music.

So here's this: