Wednesday Forgotten Oldie...

Today a group that was considered a lightweight contender back in the 60's because of the strong influence of their parents. Dino (son of Dean Martin), Desi (son of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz) and friend Billy Hinsche, recorded and performed as Dino, Desi and Billy between 1965 and 1969. I'm A Fool reached #17 on the charts in 1965, before any member of the group was 15 years old. Primarily a cover band on their first four albums, they had a great deal of help from Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys, and eventually wrote a fair amount of the material on ensuing records. Many critics hated them but they were true teen heart-throbs because of their youth. I saw them perform at the end of their career and they surprised me with the strength of their musical ability. Personally, I think "I'm A Fool" is a great record... but largely forgotten now.

Survivor -One World

2/22/12 recap - This is becoming the most interesting Survivor in a long time. It's supposed to be the guys VS the girls but living together in one camp. But instead, it's becoming the muscle guys against everyone else in the men's tribe, and the young hotties against the distrusting others in the women's tribe. And sadly for the females, the males are dominating every challenge.
And there's some funny stuff going on. There was a do-it-yourself challenge where Jeff Probst wasn't around to give instructions... the men untied their ropes first and won a huge tarp.
In the immunity challenge we discovered that the women struggle with coordination, and Kat is pretty doggoned ditzy. Each team had to balance on a narrow beam and one at a time work around their teammates to reach a safe platform. If they touched more than one teammate at a time, into the water and start over. And even though she didn't commit a violation, twice when her teammates fell in the drink ditzy Kat jumped in too! Weird! Anyhow, the men won easily.
Another funny thing... Colton, who wants nothing to do with the men in his tribe, has now annoyed the women to the point that they don't want him around either. And on camera he pronounces himself the king of the game every time he talks. Okay he's got an immunity idol, but nobody likes him! And if the men would lose a challenge or two, my guess is Colton would be voted out FAST.
At tribal council it was Nina (see picture) the ex-cop that got the axe despite Kat's admission that she cost the women the immunity challenge. Remember, there's no redemption island now so she's gone for good.
Incidentally, whether you're a guy or a gal - this is one season with a lot of attractive competitors - i.e. eye candy. ;)

Keith's Forgotten Oldie...

Today I'm playing a song by the Kinks that made it to #13 on the Billboard Hot 100 in October of 1965. This song is even one of three Kinks' songs included in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's list of the 500 songs that shaped Rock and Roll... and yet, it rarely shows up on oldie station playlists. The song is "A Well Respected Man" and Ray Davies wrote the song as a satirical commentary after staying at a luxury resort and observing the upper class guests. But it's a great song, and it dominated the airwaves during the height of the British Invasion.

Survivor - One World

The 24th season of Survivor kicked off last night with a bunch of changes designed to make this a great season (or keep us guessing). First of all, no returning has-beens. No Coach, no Russell, no Ozzie. Plus, no redemption island, which surprised me because the opportunity to work your way back into the game added mightily to last season's appeal. Finally, it's the guys in one tribe, the girls in the other tribe, and they all live together on the same beach. You may remember they did the split of the sexes in season 12, but the tribes have never lived together before.
Right away, lots of fun stuff unraveled... the guys stole some supplies from the girls, the girls caught two chickens while the guys caught none, the guys got a fire started, the girls tried unsuccessfully to trade a chicken for fire, Sabrina finds a hidden immunity idol however it's clearly marked to be given to the guys, and Kourtney the lady motorcycle repair-lady breaks her wrist in the immunity challenge and is out of the game so nobody gets voted out at tribal council.
Okay so it's too early to start zeroing in on favorites... but I have one non-favorite... Colton. He's gay (as his tribe-mates were quick to spot), but he's also the most effeminate person I've ever seen, so much so that at first I thought it was an act. But he also refused to work at all when his tribe was hard at it, instead spending his time bonding and chatting with the girls or watching the guys work. Sabrina even slipped him the hidden immunity idol, which as he was quick to point out, may be his saving grace since he didn't fit in with his macho tribe-mates. Survivor has had several gay contestants over the years, but Colton is more like an alien from another planet.
He'll make this an interesting season.

Keith's Forgotten Oldie...

"Caroline No" was Brian Wilson's first solo single, released on Capitol records on March 7, 1966. Brian is the only Beach Boy to appear on the record, and the famous LA "Wrecking Crew" of session musicians provide the instruments. Although released as a solo on 45rpm, it was included on the Pet Sounds album and has since appeared several times on compilation Beach Boys' albums. Although the song reached the top 40, it never cracked the top ten which was a big disappointment to Brian. He has called "Caroline No" the prettiest song he ever recorded... and I have to agree!

Happy Valentine's Day!

But please do the world a favor... don't wear pink today unless you look really good in it!

February 9, 1964

On this date in 1964, 73 million of us tuned in to see the Beatles for the first time on Ed Sullivan. Performing "All My Loving", "Til There Was You", "She Loves You", "I Saw Her Standing There" and "I Want To Hold Your Hand", the Fab Four captivated the country and changed Rock and Roll forever. It was a great night to be a teenager!

Keith's Forgotten Oldie...

Jo Jo Gunne is a rock band that formed in L.A. in 1971 by Jay Ferguson and Mark Andes after they left the band Spirit. The band had a one-hit wonder in 1972 with "Run Run Run", breaking into the top 40 and staying there for 11 weeks.
The band was probably notable for it's members' presence in other bands... Jay Ferguson had a notable solo career with hits like "Thgunder Island" and "Shakedown Cruise", Andes joined Firefall and later Heart and scored many hits with both bands, and drummer William Smith was successful with Boston.
The original lineup re-formed in 2005 and still tours today!

Super Bowl - I'm disappointed

The game was okay, the National Anthem was good, the half-time would have been better with a good classic-rock band... but the commercials weren't half as good as past years. Overall I give the whole thing a C+.

Jimmy says Early Spring!

Wisconsin's answer to Punxsutawney Phil, Jimmy the Groundhog in Sun Prairie, did not see his shadow this morning! According to Groundhog Lore, that means an early spring for Wisconsin. To be honest, Phil did see his shadow but Jimmy has a better record of accuracy... at least if you believe the locals. I choose to believe Jimmy (probably because I'm anxious for spring). Remember last year on this day? The U.S.A. had one to two feet of snow in the midwest and east and the worst blizzard of the winter along with billions of dollars of storm damage... with over 100 million of us affected. Now, isn't 2012 a lot better?

Keith's Forgotten Oldie...

Today a record that was one of the first big garage-band hits, and is credited with pioneering punk-rock. The Seeds "Pushin' Too Hard" broke into the top 40 in February of 1968 and stayed on the charts for 11 weeks. Sky Saxon was the writer and vocalist on the song, which he wrote sitting in a car waiting for his girlfriend to finish grocery shopping. The song is on the soundtrack of several movies, and was selected to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's list of the 500 songs that shaped rock and roll. I just think it's a great song!