The College Crowd Digs Me

"S in's a good man's brother, but is that right?" --> Grand Funk <-- The thunderous power-trio Grand Funk (Railroad) released "Closer To Home" (1970) ...with the flagship 10 minute title track that closes out the album...and forever cemented their lofty spot upon the h eavy metal rock and roll shelf. With Mark Farner's crank vocals and guitar spank, Mel Schacher's ear-bleeding bass runs and Don Brewer's thunder sticks... GFR were pulling down the elusive 11+ on the amplifier knob. And though mostly panned by critics, GFR could flat out bring the noise. Crunching riffs and bass made for some tasty must-own vinyl for stone-rockers.  And in this instance, the remastered version is stunningly worth grabbing! Lost Gem:--> "Sin's A Good Man's Brother" ...is a worthy opening track that gently tiptoes onto your front porch and then starts kicking the door in. Rarely receives radio p...

"These days... it seems like indie artists  are a dime a dozen. T he word has lost its meaning . " --> Michael Carmody <-- The College Crowd Digs Me ...is passionate about drawing attention to the under-appreciated or forgotten "lost gems" in media.  Revisiting music, books, and movies that might have been missed and are deserving of fresh ears, eyes, and minds. And now a new feature that will allow others a platform to share their likes and opinions... The Horse Head Five. Michael Carmody Michael Carmody , along with partner/co-owner Angela Mallory , runs the must-visit Donut Whole . (A widely known hangout for good coffee, hard-to-find beverages, live music, comedy, and a delicious Dali-esque donut selection.) Host of an internet radio show.. . "Background Noise" . Creator of Wichita Vortex ...a fascinating "then and now" pictorial of Wichita, KS. Provides guitar and vocals in the Power-Frock band ... The Slugg...

"I never heard you shout. The flow of energy was so fine." --> Poco <-- For over 40 years, Poco has been kool-harbingers of the laid-back LA country rock sound. Founded in 1970, this band has seen a who's-who of talented musicians pass through the door. Country rock icons like Jim Messina ..... Randy Meisner ..... Richie Furay and Timothy B. Schmit have all at one time or another been members of Poco . In 1978, Poco's commercial success peaked with... "Legend" ...which went sailing into the Billboard charts on the strength of the Rusty Young penned single... "Crazy Love" . But it is Poco's lesser-known offering... "Head Over Heels" (1975) ...that has aged the most gracefully. And it has recently been welcomed into my "must-own" stash. Lost Gem:--> "Keep On Tryin'" ...is a gorgeous acoustic gem written by pre-Eagle member Timothy B. Schmit ...surrounded by "nail it-to-the-...

"We're the kings of the party, cause we're the baddest people alive." --> Brownsville Station <-- To be a member of the Mafia...a "wiseguy"...is to be a member of an incredibly exclusive club. To borrow a famous George Carlin line, "it's a big club...and you ain't in it!" Such was the life for Henry Hill .  From a young kid being a gopher for Paul Vario (a high ranking made-member of a crime family) until reaching the level of a bonafide mobster... Hill had been dipping his hands in a variety of criminal pie. Living fast and having fun.  And then it all came crashing down. Though most have seen the Scorsese film... "Goodfellas" ...there are still plenty of intimate details within the pages of this book that will fascinate and surprise.   The day-to-day living conditions alone...for many wiseguys doing time behind bars ...were nothing short of amazing. Brownsville Station - "Kings of the Party" / S...

"The only thing that I got's been botherin' me my whole life." --> Bruce Springsteen <-- That uncomfortable feeling you get when you've been driving a while ...and you glance into the rear-view mirror and see a cop behind you. You feel guilty...and try to retrace every maneuver you've made for the last 16 miles. Just like that. This is simply Springsteen, guitar...and miles and miles of loneliness. Powerful loneliness. Lo-fi, stripped-down, late-night highway music. Solo...no passengers. Lost Gem:--> "State Trooper" ...utilizes a claustraphobic echoey reverb that is both haunting and effective. And made even more ominous by two relentless underbelly notes. Together it creates a cheap film noir vibe ...listening to private thoughts of a desperate man losing control of his life. Wonderfully unsettling. Have you heard this gem? New jersey turnpike, ridin on a wet night 'neath the refinery's glow Out where the...

" Man comes home, chase the crowds in the rain. That's a vigilante man ." --> Nazareth <-- I enjoy the occasional Western from time to time...but rarely am I surprised by the methodology the movie chooses to take from point A to point B. "The Deadly Trackers" is a wonderfully weird and extremely violent journey of vengeance. Sure, the vengeance theme is familiar enough...but the cast of characters thrown into the mix are a tripper's dream. Richard Harris Richard Harris is the pacifist Texas sheriff who quickly gets over that...when his family are killed in a bank robbery gone bad. Then he becomes a one-track-minded terminator. The antagonists in this film are Rod Taylor , the snake-nasty leader of a snake-nasty gang that include... one mentally-challenged muscle head . one flashy-glam black cat gambler . one angry hoss with a heavy chunk of train-rail grafted to his arm from the elbow down...(I'm not kidding)...and played ...

"So they've made you a star Now your head's in a cloud." --> Stealers Wheel <-- Lost "Radio" Gem :... a single that may have charted, but deserved better. Stealers Wheel were a talented Scottish singer/songwriting duo of Gerry Rafferty and Joe Egan ...along with a swinging door of various backing musicians that never hung around long enough to get any bang on their shang-a-langs. (Egos. Stubbornness. Poor management. All figured into the bands destruction. You can look it up.) But this is about the music. Admittedly... Stealers Wheel ...will forever be remembered for their one-hit wonder...a Dylanesque top-ten mega-hit... "Stuck In The Middle With You" (1973) off their debut album. Gerry Rafferty and Joe Egan But it's their follow-up album... "Fergusie Park" (1974) that appears to have aged the best. The classic folk-rock sound is solid with tight vocals blending nicely. Well-written songs (especially ...