Wednesday's Forgotten Oldie...

Liar was Three Dog Night’s single release after their chart topping song of 1971, Joy To The World. The song peaked at number 7. The song was on their 1970 album Naturally and was the third and last single released off of the album. Liar was originally recorded by the group Argent and was written by Russ Ballard, Argent’s lead singer and guitarist. Argent’s version of the song barely made the charts. Personally, I think the Three Dog Night version is a much better rendition. According to Chuck Negron, Danny Hutton recorded the studio version of this song by singing it into a toilet, with his head just a few inches above the water. It makes sense since there is that great vibration in the vocal. I wish I could understand why this song is largely forgotten. A top ten hit, a great song and my all-time favorite from a great band!

Survivor - One World update

The women are in control. This week's episode left me wishing this whole thing wasn't so predictable. Last week was the final nail in the men's collective coffin. When Jay was voted off despite his fervent belief that he was safe, the last three men should have had huge lights over their heads... but no, for at least one of them (Tarzan) it didn't happen.
This week the reward challenge was the annual food auction. Troyzan (the only guy who seemed to have the women figured out) held off on bidding for goodies until the item included a bonus advantage for the immunity challenge. And it worked, he won the challenge - huge for him because he would have been voted off.
At tribal, Leif got the axe despite Troyzan's sensible plea for the other two men and the two women at the bottom of the women's alliance to join him and vote Kim off. But ironically, Leif was the only one to see the light and vote with Troyzan, too little too late.
So now we have our usual blind doofus Tarzan, and the loner Troyzan (see photo), and six women... gee, I wonder what will happen next week? And the obvious answer - whichever man doesn't have immunity!

Wednesday's Forgotten Oldie...

Today a song that's been covered by some of the greatest names in rock and roll; Jimi Hendrix, AC/DC, the Doors, David Bowie, Rick Springfield and many others. The song was a big hit, but by a different band. "Gloria" is a rock song classic written by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison and originally recorded by Morrison's band Them in 1964 as the B-side of "Baby, Please Don't Go". The song became a garage rock staple and a part of many rock bands' repertoires. It is particularly memorable for its "G–L–O–R–I–A" chorus. It is easy to play (three-chord) and thus is popular with those learning to play guitar. The song continues to be played by thousands of bands from famous recording artists to unknown garage bands. Humourist Dave Barry joked that "If you drop a guitar down a flight of stairs, it'll play 'Gloria' on its way to the bottom."
The beauty of the original is that Van Morrison needs only to speak-sing, in his Howlin' Wolf growl, "I watch her come up to my house/She knocks upon my door/And then she comes up to my room/I want to say she makes me feel all right/G-L-O-R-I-A!" to convey his teenage lust. Them never varies from the three chords, utilizing only dynamic changes to heighten the tension.
"Gloria" was rated number 69 on Dave Marsh's list in the 1989 book The Heart of Rock & Soul: The 1001 Greatest Singles Ever Made.
What a great forgotten oldie, Gloria by Them!

Now this is fun!

Over the years I've seen a lot of neat optical illusions... but this one has to be the best! I've never seen this one before and my hat is off to whoever figured this one out, it's awesome!

On gloomy days....

On days like today when it's rainy, chilly and windy (i.e. miserable as heck) I like to do three things... read, watch movies, and listen to music. And if I listen to music I usually find myself choosing something from my large collection of 60's and 70's rock and roll. Today when I get home I think I'm in the mood for some Jimi Hendrix. Guess which album...

Friday giggle...

Survivor One World - recap

Hmmmm, last night's episode was kind of scary... especially if you're a guy. The six remaining women voted off one of the four remaining guys. And somehow they did it while convincing the guy they voted off that they weren't going to vote him off. Poor Jay, he just didn't see it coming at all.
So, recapping... the tribe is told to conduct a bolo/ladder golf sort of throwing contest between two teams to win a reward eating and drinking on an island. They divvy up and Alicia's team (the team with 3 guys) wins the reward.
After all this, Jay and Troyzan (see picture) chat it up with their old alliance and try to convince their old alliance to vote Alicia off. But Kim has done her work well, and those darned women are solidly determined to lie to and get rid of the guys. So, Jay believes... Troy doesn't believe... Troy plays his immunity idol... Jay gets voted off. So far... three guys on the jury, three guys left in the game, and six women left in the game. Not a good time to be a guy on Survivor folks.

Wednesday's Forgotten Oldie...

He was a one-hit wonder, and best known for his Elvis sound-alike single "Suspicion," a Top Five smash at the height of Beatlemania in 1964. He was Terry Stafford, born in Hollis, OK, on November 22, 1941. He grew up in Amarillo, TX. and moved to Los Angeles after high school to pursue a singing career. He got the chance to record a demo and chose "Suspicion," an album track from Elvis Presley's Pot Luck LP (1962). A local DJ took the song to Crusader Records, which remastered it and released it nationally in 1964. It went all the way to number three on the pop charts and did so during a week when the Beatles held every other spot in the Top Five. Stafford was never able to duplicate its success, though he did reach the Top 30 with his follow-up single, "I'll Touch a Star." Stafford died of liver problems in Amarillo on March 17, 1996.
But his big hit "Suspicion" is largely forgotten today... until you hear it. It's one of those songs that always makes people say "oh, I remember that!!"

Spring!! Watch out for Motorcycles!

Beautiful weather means more two-wheelers on the road... time to watch for motorcycles!

Survivor Re-Cap

I'm convinced that the people that play Survivor are not like other people. This season I've marveled at their thinking, their gullibility, their follower mindset, and many times their stupidity. The last two shows were perfect examples. Last week the tribe voted Jonas off. Jonas was unique in that he was always working, and he was one of those rare people that could transform their meager food stores into edible meals. Apparently starving has become preferable to the alternative.
And this week, the tribe blindsided Mike. The rationale as far as I could tell was that having someone that hauled wood for the fire was a bad thing.
Okay, so here's what's happened... last week, Tarzan and Jonas got into a nose-to-nose confrontation, after which, everyone complained about what an unlikable cuss Tarzan is and how he should be voted off... so of course Jonas was voted off. Sheesh.
This week, Kim (see picture) decided to take control of the game but was torn between her Salani-man/woman alliance, or her original all-girl alliance. Hmmmm... is this predictable or what?
Soooo, after Jay won immunity, they voted Mike off. The only part that was kind of interesting was how two of the women weren't told who to vote for so they voted for Tarzan. Amazingly, Troyzan helped her orchestrate the removal of Mike... hey Troyzan... can you count? Six women left... four men left... buddy, the writing is on the wall! At least Kim is kind of hot...

Wednesday's Forgotten Oldie...

If you listen to oldies because it takes you back to a saner, safer, more innocent time, you've come to the right place!! Back in the days when our biggest worry was whether to buy Tiger Beat or 16 Magazine with our allowance, Bobby Sherman was starring in Shindig, Here Come the Brides, Getting Together, and Sanchez of Bel Air. He was also recording such hits as Little Woman, La La La, Easy Come, Easy Go, and Julie Do Ya Love Me.
Even though our song today is Julie Do Ya Love Me (#5, 1970), the true Forgotten Oldie is Bobby Sherman the artist. Considering his list of credits and accomplishments, it's amazing how little respect he receives nowadays.
These days, Bobby is a reserve officer with the Los Angeles Police Department where he teaches CPR. And even though we no longer have to worry about allowance, the world and our lives have gotten more complicated. So, let's go back to that saner, safer, more innocent time...the time of Peace, Love and Bobby Sherman!!