The College Crowd Digs Me

"Listen to me people. There's just one way to go. Go ahead and ask me. Believe me I know. Believe me I know. You gotta roll." Bloodrock Bloodrock was a 6 member band out of Texas that tried to carry the flag of "heavy metal" during the early 1970s. The group was similar to Grand Funk Railroad but with the added niche of occasionally creating songs that were filled with a more darker atmospheric sound...ala Steppenwolf. In fact, each Bloodrock album had at least one song that was at home with the darkness...most notably "D.O.A." from Bloodrock 2 (1970) ...famous for wailing ambulance sirens and beautifully creepy organ chords that accompanied the 1st person story of a victim dying from a plane crash. This song surprisingly received heavy AM rotation and helped the album "Bloodrock 2" achieve gold status. Bloodrock 3 , however, is the stronger record. Filled with more memorable songs and solid riffs , along with vocals ( Jim Rutledge...

"Everybody wants to be recognized. Doesn't matter what you've done. Some people find it on a big silver screen; Some find it behind a shotgun. A small young girl downtown south... She saw a starlet in a movie house. She left her momma to stake her big claim. Poor little girl never gonna be the same." Detective NO SPOILERS: "Casablanca." "The Maltese Falcon." "The Big Sleep." "Key Largo." I guess you could say I've been binging at the Bogie Buffet ...tasting one classic after another. All four are just a few considered must-sees...and I'm glad I finally got around to introducing my DVD player to them. But the Humphrey Bogart movie that pleasantly caught me off-guard is the often forgotten “Dark Passage” (1947). There aren't too many directors who would risk keeping the main character's face hidden for nearly half the film...but Delmer Daves pulls it off...shooting from a first person (Bogie) perspecti...

"All should be warned about this high born Hunting Girl. She took this simple man's downfall in hand; I raised the flag that she unfurled. " Jethro Tull Here are a few music lover sites I enjoy and frequent regularly...and encourage you to check'em out. The Daily Vault is a great site for CD reviews. Most are extremely well written with specific songs they like/dislike and other great observations that make for good reading. The site is extremely easy to navigate and well-worth investigating. Setting The Woods On Fire is a nice blog with a slant toward country 'though certainly not restricted to that theme. It's always a pleasant surprise to see what music is flying his kite from post to post. Good stuff! There Stands The Glass is a wonderfully eclectic blog that hovers around jazz and blues ...but offers up terrific finds from all genres. Old and new. I've received quite a musical education Nice! AND ANOTHER THING: A great little show to check...

"I remember rainy nights I thought I'd drown. Was it London, New York, Paris or Amsterdam? I forget the details now, I must admit. But you were there through all of it. And it shook me, and I'm still shaking now." Graham Parker Although never quite reaching the same commercial level of success as some of his peers... Graham Parker has been writing and performing incredible songs for over 30 years. Often compared to Elvis Costello (who I like as well)...I find Graham Parker's songwriting and his "on the sleeve" vocals much more varied and interesting . In fact, in making my top 50 living songwriters list...I have Parker easily making the cut. (an artist Paste magazine ignored on their list..oops!). Parker's clever turn of a phrase and honest observations will make any "wordsmiths of song" smile in understanding. Sadly, hearing any songs from this legitimate RnR HOF candidate on the radio is nye on impossible. This underrated singer...

"When darkness falls...he goes by the stars getting directions from Jupiter and Mars . It was he who created this strife . He is fighting for his life . He is longing to see...his wife and his family. " Gamma Ronnie Montrose has a long and strong RnR pedigree...not only breaking bread with the likes of Herbie Hancock , Edgar Winter Group , and Van Morrison ...but has also rolled some sweet numbers of his own...that add up to over forty years of guitar pleasure. Gamma was the 2nd official rock band lead by guitar wizard... Ronnie Montrose . Not a "great" vocalist himself... Ronnie has always been adept at locating...really strong singers. Like his earlier 70's band... (Montrose) ... Ronnie had Sammy Hagar as his frontman. For Gamma ... Ronnie grabbed the fantastic... Davey Pattison ...a vocalist more easily identified with another guitar great... Robin Trower . With Pattison laying the vocals down and Ronnie bending strings... Gamma was a "don...

"Doors of light...surround the night Chased away...by dawn's new day. As far as the eye can see Your love burns a hole into me." Nutz NO SPOILERS: "Conspiracies " (2000) by F. Paul Wilson is the third Repairman Jack novel...And it's one dandy of a ride. (The 1st and 2nd novel can be found here and here .) Repairman Jack , for those new to this blog, is an urban mercenary with a soft heart for the ill-treated underdog. He has went to the nth degrees in wiping out any record of his existence and has skilled himself in various ways of defense and offense. He'll tackle any job, small or large, if it is a worthy request. And Repairman Jack is not adverse to mysteries bordering the edges of X-file goodness . In "Conspiracies" ... RJ is asked to track down a missing woman scheduled to speak at a conspiracy theorists convention . And, of course, in RJ's attempts at solving this mystery, he encounters various odd, if not paranoid individ...

"Now I have seen that sad surrender in my lover's eyes. And I can only stand apart and sympathize. For we are always what our situations hand us. It's either sadness or euphoria." Billy Joel I sorta dig Billy Joel ...especially his earlier work...and am always dismayed when some of my favorite songs never reach the airwaves. Or seldom, anyway. And most greatest hits or best of collections usually get it wrong, too. But that 's another sore subject. So with that in mind...here are my top twelve early Billy Joel songs that rarely, if ever, receive radio airplay...from 1971 to 1980. Check it out. 1) "Summer, Highland Falls" ---------------- Turnstiles (1976) "They say that these are not the best of times But they're the only times I've ever known. And I believe there is a time for meditation In cathedrals of our own." 2) "Vienna" -------------------------------- The Stranger (1977) ...