POP ETC, “Running in Circles.” Spazzy synths. The repetitive lyrics, about “running in circles without you,” match the riffy rhythms. Then it kicks into power-pop overdrive for the chorus and bridge. Cartoons might like to dance to this.
Songs of the Year
ABBA, “Happy New Year.”
Zager & Evans, “In the Year 2525.”
David Bowie, “Golden Years.”
Paul Simon, “Still Crazy After All These Years.”
The Yardbirds, “Happenings Ten Years Time Ago.”
Conway Twitty, “Fifteen Years Ago.”
The Rolling Stones, “100 Years Ago.”
George Harrison, “All Those Years Ago.”
Cheap Trick, “All Those Years.”
Led Zeppelin, “Ten Years Gone.”
Elton John, “Sixty Years On.”
Five for Fighting, “100 Years.”
Sting, “A Thousand Years.”
Kiss, “100,000 Years.”
The Grass Roots, “I’d Wait a Million Years.”
The Faceless, “Ten Billion Years.”
David Bowie, “Five Years.”
Guns N’ Roses, “14 Years.”
Taylor Swift, “Fifteen.”
The Griswolds, “Sixteen Years.”
Ratatat, “Seventeen Years.”
Tori Amos, “Pretty Good Year.”
Elvis Costello, “A Good Year for the Roses.”
Diana Ross, “Best Years of My Life.”
The Zombies, “This Will Be Our Year.”
Al Stewart, “Year of the Cat.”
Primus, “Year of the Parrot.”
Rock Gods #312: Adventures in Our Little Music Scene
The Fightin’ Men show at Lady Augusta’s neo-speakeasy last week led to poop. The bathroom was behind the stage. The band were either annoyed with the influx of weak-bladdered invaders, or just confused. The inevitable happened—the bushes outside the place saw more action than the bathroom. Then the not-so-inevitable happened—somebody pooped on the sidewalk in front. Not one of those brown-paper-bag-on-fire gags either.
So just like that, the Fightin’ Men were the first and last band to play Lady Augusta’s. Solo acoustic shows by Tasha Dannon and Lee Inster may go on as planned, but the Four Masters and Cum Hail shows? Cancelled.
Thing is, The Fightin’ Men were on good behavior. They didn’t hit a single person with a brick. They didn’t like folks crossing the stage, sure, but we’ve seen folksingers get more irate about that than they did.
This was the crowd’s fault. Too young, too wild, too eager to break in (or just break) a new music den. Move on. Move on.
Tonight: At least we’ve got Hamilton’s. Book of Invasions is there, doing side one of Frot’s Wrampage… The Bullfinch has O’Curry (full band) and the aforementioned Tasha Dannon. Mind your manners… D’ollaire’s is a dance party. No, it’s not.
Riverdale Book Review
Archie #663, arriving just months before the title’s big makeover, deals with some key elements of the character’s legacy. Just one story in the issue, with multiple subplots, trendily titled “Sons of Anarchie.” In the first few pages, Archie’s old Mustang-like automobile falls apart (and into a lake) so he goes to his grandfather (who looks alarmingly like his grandson, even though neither of Archie’s parents resemble him in the least) to see if his previous vehicle, that red Model T jalopy of yore, can be revived in time for that night’s big opera concert, a mandatory event for those who want to pass Prof. Flutesnoot’s music class. Grandpa offers Archie an old motor scooter instead, which turns out to be a hip and influential choice. Veronica, meanwhile, also becomes carless, and rides a house too School. Hilarity ensues.
There are obvious problems with this story. Like, when did Prof. Flutesnoot stop teaching chemistry and switch to music?; did Archie blow up the chem lab one too many times? But in most respects, the tale (written by Chuck Dixon, not an established Archie scribe) follows the comfortable and familiar model of clumsy, penniless Archie getting in scrapes while trying to survive high school and please his girlfriend. If the impending “new Archie” changes too many of these essential characteristics, well at least the old title is going out in classic style.
For Tomorrow We May Die: Diary of a College Chum #262
Our stuff had not been stolen from the Glee Club; they just thought it was junk.
Scribblers Music Review
Jim Beloff, Dreams I Left in Pockets
Jim Beloff found his voice decades ago when he picked up a ukulele at a flea market, struck a chord, and quit his day job. He has done much to improve the Joe’s stature in the 20th century, helping develop the Flea and Fluke models, publishing the “jumping Jim” songbooks and teaching others to play. Beloff is a skilled arranger of songs by other composers, but he’s always tossed an original song or two into his songbooks and they can be exquisite too. He takes simple concepts of beauty, graciousness and passion and applies them to gentle four-string strumming. I’ve heard Jim Beloff play live a few times, and he’s done a few recordings Before this one, including the lovely dust album rare air with his wife Liz. Dreams I Left in Pockets is presented squarely as a showcase for his songwriting prowess. Some are great advertisements for its favored instrument and the culture that surrounds it: “Blues on a Ukulele,” “That Hawaiian Melody,” “I’m Carry a Tiki Torch for You.” Others are odes to wandering, presumably with a uke in hand: “The Open Road,” “At the Magic Laundromat.” Some are both whimsical and wistful: “Scratchy Records,” “I’m So Happy Not to Be Sad.” The best of the tunes, such as “Charles Ives,” are both whimsical and inspirational, clear and uncompromising declarations lightly filtered through an unassuming uke and Jim Beloff’s own gentle soul.
“New” Beatle Songs for New Year’s Eve
• “New,” Paul McCartney. From the album New.
• “What’s the New Mary Jane,” psychedelic trifle left off the White Album and beloved of bootleggers until the Anthology 3 set made it legit.
• “Good News,” Ringo Starr (from Vertical Man, 1998)
• “New York City,” John Lennon & Yoko Ono (from Some Time in New York City, 1972)
• “New Blue Moon, from George Harrison’s Traveling Wilburys (Vol. 3, 1990)
“New Way to Say I Love You,” Billy Preston (Let It Be’s fifth Beatle) & Syreeta.
“Something New,” the third British and fifth American Beatles album.
plus “Ding Dong, Ding Dong,” George Harrison. An actual New Year’s Eve song that never caught on:
Ring out the old
Ring in the new
Ring out the old
Ring in the new
Ring out the false
Ring in the true
Ring out the old
Ring in the new
Ding dong, ding dong
Ding dong, ding dong
Ding dong, ding dong
Ding dong, ding dong
Yesterday today was tomorrow
And tomorrow, today will be yesterday
So ring out the old
Ring in the new
Ring out the old
Ring in the new
Ring out the false
Ring in the true
Ring out the old
Ring in the new
Ding dong, ding dong
Ding dong, ding dong
Ding dong, ding dong
Ding dong, ding dong
Rock Gods #311: Adventures in Our Little Music Scene
How many CDs can one amass on one single Xmas day? Dozens. Thank you bands for the all the disks (some even on vinyl; one was a signed cracked cymbal). We will load them in the 20-disk player and play them all night, as we sort the rest of our CDs and make more room on the shelves.
Red is a popular color on local CDs this year. So is white. The age of two-guitar bands may be over. Drum kits are not as elaborate, in general. Basses have just four strings. Acoustic guitars are only for coffeehouses. At least where we’re from.
Rockers are cutting their hair. It used to give them strength. Now it get caught in the chains around their necks.
There are still fewer women in the scene than many, but they are staying, and getting stronger. They won’t get turned into trees.
Love bloomed in the scene, but it usually didn’t affect bands. Jealousies and divisions came from idiot managers and money misunderstanding more than romantic breakups. At least from what we’ve divined.
Everybody’s changed their sound from album to album. Nobody sounds alike. They all have their own powers. Watching them fight brings thunder and lightning, which can be fun for a moment but then just scary. Watching them get along, gang up, is to witness harmony and wonderment. The heavens open.
Happy New Year to the little girl across the street from the Bullfinch who’s not that little anymore. She’ll have a band soon.
Happy New Year to the tribute bands, in hopes they will come to their senses.
Happy New Year to the unsung, the unheard, the uncherished, that they might find the scene and the scene might find them.
Just happy and new will do for us.
Tonight: Live shows are few and far between. And all of them are R&B bands, retro bands or tribute acts. What a way to start a year. The Bullfinch, often the savior of such a backpedaling night, is closed after the bad vibes of exactly a year ago. Stay home and listen to local bands CDs. That’s what we’re doing.
Riverdale Book Review
Best Archie Digital Only Graphic Novels
Archie at the Chocklit Shoppe. Site of many an ensemble story that can’t be set at a school or party.
Archie’s Jalopy. The original jalopy was of Model T vintage so it could seem ancient in the 1940s when Archie started driving it. The car was retired in the 1970s when it was old enough to be a priceless collectors item (and in fact there were numerous stories based on that concept). It was replaced by a newer really old car, seemingly some kind of Mustang.
She’s Josie. The pre-Pussycats Josie, delineated by Dan DeCarlo who named the heroine after his wife). Her distinction was not ghost-chasing or magical friends or ears for hats. It was simply that she was a female equivalent of Archie.
Archie 1. Archie and the gang’s primitive ancestors discover basic tools of civilization, from arrows to kissing to fire to School. The stories are vaguely creationist, since humans are coexisting with dinosaurs. But the best ones are hysterically funny, true social satire.
Archie’s Campaign Trail. So many school elections! So much corruption! So many bad reasons for running!
Archie—Tennis Racket. There are several sports-based “digital exclusives.” This is the least violent one, even though characters invariably end up with broken tennis rackets dangling from their necks like collars.
Archie Presents: Tales Calculated to Drive You BATS! What panic was to Mad, bats was to madhouse; a comics company”s own knockoff of its popular humor title. Compared to satirical humor mags like Mad, Cracked and Sick, Bats was big nosed and cuddly.
Archie & Friends—Movie Magic. Film parodies and celebrity encounters.
Archie’s Fall Fun! It’s easy to forget how many Archie stories involve the taking of leaves.
Archie & Friends—Father Figures. Archie’s dad Fred Andrews practically ran away with the Archie radio series in the 1940s, and insinuated himself into many a comic story too. Stereotypical harried-Dad stuff: overworked, misunderstood, short-tempered, vain, etc. There’s a digital exclusive devoted to Archie’s mom too, and it’s of a rather different temperament.
For Tomorrow We May Die: Diary of a College Chum #261
We push off from the parents, and head to the new home.