Tom Petty Live

I've been playing some of my live albums in that Random Album Effect of alphabetical order by title and I got to the Tom Petty Live Anthology which is a 4 CD box set released in 2009. This turned out to be one session of great music. It followed the Rick Danko Live Anthology and preceded a Dr. Dog set but it went on long enough to stand by itself.

I've always really loved Tom Petty's music. I have 21 of his albums in my collection including a couple of compilations and his previous live album from 1986. I'm sorry to say that I never got to personally see him live in concert. His death a few years ago was a sad shock. Becky used to listen to his show Buried Treasures a lot on Sirius Radio. She loved his humor when talking about the music he was playing on his show. Some of that came across on this album.

This live anthology album is a great collection of his live music. The songs are from many different years and venues ranging from 1980 to 2007. He played many of his biggest hits but also got into some deep cuts. He played a lot of very cool cover songs scattered throughout the set.

All of his performances here were in large venues and arenas which is why I never got to see him. I haven't been to a stadium or arena show since the mid 1970's. I just prefer to see live music in clubs and theaters. Oh well, my loss.

The Winter Tire Conspiracy

A friend posted this highly satirical piece and it was worth quoting in full. He found it somewhere and it was not attributed to anyone but they certainly nailed it. The photo here is a variation of it. This is the world we now live in with all the anti-vaxxers nut jobs and trumpers.

"I refuse to put on winter tires because:
• It’s my car, my choice, my freedom.
• The effectiveness of winter tires is not proven, except by studies carried out by the manufacturers (like I’m supposed to trust them).
• My neighbor Bob had an accident even after putting on winter tires.
• Some drivers are already on their 3rd set of tires, which proves their ineffectiveness.
• We do not know what the tires are made of.
• The tire manufacturers scare us with winter just to enrich themselves.
• In fact, I read on the internet that the tire giants invented snow and spread it at night when you sleep.
• If I have winter tires, the government can track me in the snow.
Educate yourself, open your eyes, stop being sheep!
This year, I say no to winter tires!"

This is a play on the fact that there really are Winter Tire Truthers who believe that there is a conspiracy among manufacturers and retailers to scam people into buying unnecessary winter tires. They say Stand Up for Tread Freedom.

Random Album Effect - Live (3)

My listening to live albums continues... this next set starts with Stevie Ray Vaughan and that album sounded great. Every song was killer. Becky and I saw in a small club in Buffalo on Seneca Street in 1983 touring on his Texas Flood album. There weren't many people there. It was a great show and this is a great live album.

Next up was a live Thin Lizzy album that I had forgotten I even had in my collection. It was a double album released in 1978 and contained songs from concerts in London in 1976 and Philadelphia in 1977. I was never a fan of this rock group from Dublin and I really only knew there one big hit The Boys Are Back in Town from 1976. I actually enjoyed this set of music very much.

Then I was hit with Nirvana Live and Loud. Yes it was. This was a live recording made at a show in Seattle in 1993. I found the album very boring and bordering on unlistenable. They screamed and ranted through the whole thing and the songs had none of the sound dynamics that made many of the songs on their albums so interesting. None of their slow songs were in the show and the album also did not contain their biggest hit Smells Like Teen Spirit. What happened? I couldn't wait for the set to finish and move on to the next album.

The following album was completely different. Rick Danko from The Band performed a quiet bluesy set of classic blues, country and memorable songs from his time with The Band. This album was a collection of live material from several live albums he recorded during his career that sadly ended early with his death in 1999. Nothing that he did rose to the level of his work with The Band but it was very pleasant and was a wonderful break from the screaming and dissonant guitars from the previous live set.

• Stevie Ray Vaughan - Live Alive, 1986
• Thin Lizzy - Live and Dangerous, 1978
• Nirvana - Live and Loud, 2013
• Rick Danko - Live Anthology, 2011

Expanse TV Show

Just finished watching another television season of The Expanse on Prime Video. This was the sixth season and there were only six episodes this time around. In the previous five seasons there were either ten or thirteen episodes per season so this year I seemed to go through it very fast... about half the time.

The series was originally on the SyFy network for the first three seasons beginning in 2015.  I started watching it when it moved to the Amazon Prime Video. I also started reading the series of books in 2017. 

I found the TV series to be very well done and entertaining science fiction. I was captivated and went through the initial first few seasons very quickly. Then I watched each new season as it was released on Amazon. There were many complex plotlines that ran simultaneously through the seasons and involved many characters. 

I've read that season 6 is the final season but it corresponds with the sixth book in the series which has three more books published. The final episode for season 6 certainly leaves the viewer with the expectation that there is much more to come including me.

I was also reading the books as they were published. I've just downloaded the e-book of the ninth novel from the library and looking forward to starting it this week.

Still Deep Snow and Cold

I took this photo from our bedroom window this evening. The heavy snow that covered Buffalo in the storm last week is still out there and still very deep. It's been very cold in the single digits with the highs in the low teens all week. Tomorrow may be a balmy 28 degrees.

The driveway was shoveled the day after the snowstorm and right before we arrived home from our Philadelphia trip. We were very grateful that we could pull into our driveway but it was so narrow that we could barely get out of the car because of the high snow banks on either side of the driveway. I needed to spend some time shoveling the driveway wide enough so that we could get our luggage out of the car and into the house. Despite that I was very grateful that our neighbors cleared the driveway enough that we could get in there and not need to park on the street first where there were many cars stuck and no plows had gone by yet.

I've been out working on the snow pack every day. Widening our driveway, chopping ice, shoveling a path to the backyard and trash bins and spreading salt where needed. We do have one very large icicle on the house over our side door walkway and I need to constantly throw salt down there below it where there has been some melt and refreezing.

So it looks like we will have mounds of snow for months barring some amazingly high temperatures and deep thaw. Right now we have an old school Buffalo ice pack.

Glass of Beer - Utopias Barrel-Aged World Wide Stout

Utopias Barrel-Aged World Wide Stout from Dogfish Head Brewery, Delaware.

Tonight I had another of the beers Sean gave me while visiting him at Christmas. I considered putting it in the cellar for a year or so but the temptation was too great and I knew it was going to be a great beer. It was. If I had a couple more bottles of it I would have cellared one for more aging but I really wanted to enjoy it now. I did.

It was an incredibly boozy dark complex stout that tasted amazing. It has a high 17.3% ABV and I felt it right away. I'm just not used to high alcohol beers anymore. Well, this was a great beer and I enjoyed every sip and it was a sippin' beer.

Spotify, Neil Young and Misinformation

The Spotify controversy has been going on now for about a week and doesn't look like it will be over any time soon. There had been some criticism of Spotify concerning the podcast show of right wing talk show host Joe Rogan over misinformation about Covid-19. There were doctors, scientist and health officials went on the record to complain about the heath misinformation on the popular Rogan podcast. People were angry about the lies coming from his guests and from Rogan himself. Neil Young demanded that Spotify either remove Joe Rogan from the platform or he would remove all of his music from Spotify. Then Joni Mitchell joined the protest followed by some other artists. Spotify's stock value has dropped and the controversy continues. It is uncertain where this will go or end up. Other artists have joined the protest and many other podcasters on the Spotify have also taken themselves off the platform. A large number of people have deleted their Spotify accounts.

I've been a happy Spotify user for music over the past several years since I retired and stopped collecting music. I've loaded my mixes up to the site and also use it to keep up with new music releases. I've posted about my use of the platform for some of my music listening patterns and especially for classical new releases. However, I really do support the stance that Neil Young has taken and I immediately sent a message to Spotify asking them to consider the issues that have been raised about the misinformation on their site. 

I'm not sure how I am going to proceed. I've been looking at alternatives to Spotify and there are some options out there. The problems with Spotify go way beyond the misinformation and racism of a podcast host and his guests. The way the system pays artists for their streaming music has been an issue for years and that has contributed to the anger of artist against the platform. I'm just scratching the surface here of the many issues involved in this new streaming music world.

There is also the issue of where does this stop. How many of these services should by boycotted and which ones and for what issues? There are so many. Just considering the platforms out there with pandemic misinformation on them... Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and many more. Who is policing them?

Right now I'm taking a wait and see attitude with this stuff. 

Grad School 1990-92

I will have graduated from graduate school 30 years later this year and I just saw of picture of me in my cap and gown. It got me thinking about grad school and how that all happened.

During the mid 1980's I had begun to seriously think about going to graduate school. At that time Becky was doing her MFA at UB. I was tentatively looking at some programs in town and looking at the costs. One that I was briefly interested in was the MPA degree at Canisius College. Masters of Public Administration. 

Then in 1988 I decided to find out about whether or not I had an aneurysm like my father and uncle. I certainly expected to find one and talked with my doctor about the family history but that is another story. I had my brain surgery to clip my aneurysm in June 1989 and it took several months for me to fully recover plus we had a new baby in our life.

I went back to work at the art store in the fall of 1989 but only stayed there a few months. I was ready to move on. 

In the spring semester of 1990 I took a class at UB in computer science. I wanted to work with computers which I had been doing a lot at the store but I didn't really want to work in a high stress business job. Although I had one aneurysm clipped I still had another one that was inoperable and that I would need to live with. I had to take care of myself. I looked into the library science program at UB and specifically with the intent to focus on computers and information technology. I applied and interviewed with the dean of the School of Library Science (SILS) and excepted into the program.

I took two classes as a part time student in the fall of 1990. I spent a lot of time in the department computer lab and ended up helping a lot of other students because I was one of the few people there comfortable with computers. There was a grad assistant for the computer lab but she was not a very helpful person. I was in class with her and knew her well. After that first semester the Department let her go from the lab and she left the program. Then they offered me the position.

I accepted and became a full time student and grad assistant with an office. The best thing was that I did not have to pay any tuition as a GA and could also have a smaller class load and still be considered full time. I ended up in the program for two years and had no debt.

I was fortunate at the time to get an internship in the Business Information Dept. of the downtown Buffalo and Erie County Public Library to work with their computers and setting up their new CD-ROM databases. The photo is Baldy Hall where I took classes and where the computer lab where I did my GA was located. My office too.

I graduated from the program in May 1992 with my MLS. I immediately was offered and accepted two part time positions. One was at the UB Library School where the position of the computer lab person became a part time staff position. I also started working at the downtown public library in the evenings in the TOLIS department which was an early computer database program where I supervised a group of college students entering data. Both of my supervisors said the position would turn into a full time job at some point and my plan at the time was to take whichever one went full time first. Well, that turned out to be BECPL but that again is another story.

Red-Bellied Woodpecker

This red-bellied woodpecker on our bird feeder stopped to look at me in the window. He has a red head too.

Lots of birds on our feeder during this deep cold winter. It's been nice having them around although this woodpecker was actually too big to get any seeds from our feeder. He does get plenty from the feeder in the next backyard.

Random Album Effect - Live (2)

More music from live albums. This was a long all day set. I loved it although by the end I was ready to move on but that's another story and another post.

I started out with a classic live album from 1966. This record was originally released as Raw 'n' Alive at the Cellar, Chicago 1966 in 1992 but was expanded and released in 2015 which is the version I have. It was an awesome sounding live show from a band performing at their height in the mid 1960's which was around the time that I started seeing live rock music. I never did see this band. However, this album sounds great. Very raw and exciting. 

Next up was Simon & Garfunkel who I did see a couple of times in the late 60's and early 70's. This is a nice set from 1969. It was amazing to hear Art Garfunkel sound so young and fresh. They had a laid back sound with limited backup and they were introducing some new songs like Bridge Over Troubled Waters. A very enjoyable album.

Gram Parsons came on next. He had Emmylou Harris with him and they sounded fantastic together and performed the songs from his albums they sang together. The only problem with this album was that it was taken from a live radio show performance and there was too much talk by the DJ introducing the songs and commenting about them. Other than that it was a great set although a little raw in places.

Next up with a double live set from Joe Jackson from performances spread out over a six year period from 1980 to 1986. This collection was a little spotty and Jackson just doesn't hold up across all the music in this set. I really loved the early stuff but he really got full of himself in his later records and it came across here. He did close the album with a more interesting version of Steppin' Out.

Then came the Eurythmics. This was a lot of fun and I enjoyed listening to the live versions of these songs very much. Annie Lennox has always been one of my favorite singers. This was another double CD set of songs from around the same time period as the previous album and spanned there initial output of albums. The shows here were from 1983 to 1989. Very entertaining.

I ended with a very crowd pleasing set of music from Coldplay recorded from a 2003 concert. This certainly had all their radio friendly hits and it actually sounded pretty good. There are actually a few songs of theirs I like a lot and have used in various mixes over the years. However, it was a long afternoon and evening of listening to these albums of live music but of course I have so many more to hear over the next couple of months.

• Shadows of Knight - Live 1966, 2015
• Simon & Garfunkel - Live 1969, 2009
• Gram Parsons & The Fallen Angels - Live 1973, 1973
• Joe Jackson - Live 1980-1986, 1988 (2 CD set)
• Eurythmics - Live 1983-1989, 1993 (2 CD set)
• Coldplay - Live 2003, 2003

Glass of Beer - Cosmic Truth Session IPA

One of my favorite local beers. Cosmic Truth Session IPA from Resurgence Brewery, Buffalo. I've had this beer many times over the years since Resurgence opened first on Niagara Street and then down in the First Ward near the waterfront.

I've had it on tap at the brewery and at several bars in the area in addition to having it in cans at home many times. Becky came home from the grocery store today with a Resurgence Brewery Variety 12 Pack.

The photo also includes the two Maus books from Art Spiegelman which I plan to read again this week after hearing about the republican right wing cancel culture fascist attempting to ban his books from schools.

Station Eleven TV Series

I just finished watching the Station Eleven TV series on HBO Max. I had read the novel in January 2015 and wrote about here. Wow, that was seven years ago. I enjoyed the novel very much and was looking forward to the show when I heard it would be streaming in December. We just signed up for HBO Max a week ago and this was the first show I watched. There were ten one hour episodes in the series and I watched them all in about a week. I never watched two episodes in a row but did watch a couple of days where I saw one in the morning or afternoon and then one at night.

The original book jumped all over a twenty year time period and the television series does the same thing and very effectively explores the various characters. Some parts of the show seem very different from the novel but of course that happens all the time in these kind of adaptations. I don't think the show covered everything that happened in the book and there certainly is a lot of room for the series to continue for another ten episodes at least. In fact I'm looking forward to the story continuing as there are many unanswered questions.

The trailer for the Station Eleven TV show.

Termination Shock Pt. 2

Termination Shock by Neal Stephenson, 2021

I finally finished reading this outstanding near future novel today. I've loved every novel of Neal Stephenson that I've read and this was no different. It was another brilliant work of speculative fiction. I thought this book was engaging at every level: culturally, scientifically, historically, emotionally, socio-politically, geopolitically, economically and personally. It was scary too. There were several plots that converged at the end for a satisfying finish to the novel.

It took me a little longer to read it because I was so busy doing my writing and reading multiple books at one time. It is also a very long 700 page book. I had this e-book checked out of the public library it had to go back when due. There were a lot of people waiting to read it and it took a seven weeks for me to get it again. I was able to finish it when we were back home.

It certainly was worth the wait and I finished it fairly quickly once I had it again. There were also more people waiting for it so I made sure to finish it on time. During the time I was waiting to finish reading this novel and read another techno-thriller climate change novel... Appleseed.

I wrote more about this book in Pt.1 of the post. 

Glass of Beer - Holy Donut Fresh Lemon Glaze Imperial Sour

This was a surprise. I thought I was going to have another Holy Donut Stout until I poured the can into a glass and got a good look at it. Then I realized it was a yellow can instead of the light blue of the previous beer from this brewery. I thought Sean had given me two cans of stout.

This was Holy Donut Fresh Lemon Glaze, a sour ale made with lemon zest, donuts, lemon puree and vanilla extract, from Lone Pine Brewing, Portland Maine. This was also a collaboration with the Portland area Holy Donut Company.

It took a little getting used to the intense soul lemon taste but worth it. I'm glad it was a pint.

Becky got the book for Christmas. It's one of her favorite television shows too.

Random Album Effect - LIve (1)

I could spend a lot of time playing the Random Album Effect with the word Live but I randomly started with some R.E.M. because I always enjoy a live album from them for which I have a few.

Actually I just counted six live albums from this band in my collection and love them all. The first time I saw them live they opened up for the English Beat at Buffalo State College in 1982. They were touring on their Chronic Town EP.

The Greensboro Coliseum album is a double CD set when they were touring the Green album. A very entertaining set.

Next up was a live album from Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. It was wild with lots of great songs. I hadn't listened to any of their albums in awhile and not this live one in quite some time. I saw them once at the Tralf which has always been one of my favorite clubs to see music. I just looked up their tour history in the Tour Archive and saw that they played The Tralf in Buffalo on November 8, 2001. It was a great show too.

Following BRMC next up was a very entertaining double CD live set from Lucinda Williams recorded at the Fillmore in San Francisco and released in 2005. She does have a voice and singing style that really comes across on this live recording that is really an acquired taste. It's a little rough but I like it.

We saw her perform live at the UB Center for the Arts in 2007. Another wonderful show.

• R.E.M. - Live - Greensboro Coliseum 1989, 2013 (2 CD set)
• Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - Live - BRMC, 2009 
• Lucinda Williams - Live @ The Fillmore, 2005 (2 CD set)

Patterns and Routines

Pandemically speaking... our post retirement lives have developed into a series of patterns and routines. That is, of course, when we are not traveling to visit grandchildren.

One of Becky's routines have been making meals and of course going to the market for groceries. Fortunately she can stop at a few different food markets on her way home from her art studio which she goes to every day. 

Of course Becky's art studio has been a wonderful daily routine for her throughout this ongoing pandemic. Another of her routines has been buying and selling stuff on eBay and Etsy. Another pattern has been a group of special shows and movies she watches every evening.

One of our daily patterns has been for her to watch her shows in the living room while I'm in the kitchen writing in this blog or working on mixes. Writing has been keeping me busy the past few years and especially during this stay at home time. I also read a lot of books. I have several reading places including the reading chair in the living room and the chair on the second floor at the window overlooking the street out front. In the warm weather there is the front porch where I usually sit and read every evening. I also sit in the backyard both out in the yard during the day and in the sunroom in the evenings or late into the night. It is very pleasant. I also have the room fixed up for winter sitting although this winter season I've not had many opportunities. I like sitting out there on cold days that are sunny which warms the sunroom up somewhat. 

Snowy Bird Feeder

We've been having lots of activity as usual at our bird feeder with large groups of chickadees, juncos, finches and flocks of sparrows of course but also cardinals. Today there were four cardinals bullying the other birds and trying to get to the seeds which they can't because the feeder is designed for small birds. They simply can't fit inside where the seeds are located. They end up on the ground under the feeder looking for seed droppings but they keep trying to get to the feeder. Bird brains.

Highly entertaining to watch as I sit at the kitchen table with my laptop. 

A couple of days ago we had two hawks hanging around in the backyard. All the birds disappeared and the bird feeder was empty while the hawks were around.

Glass of Beer - Sylvie Stout

Another cold night and another fine stout. Sylvie Stout, a silky smooth English-style oatmeal stout with a rich, darkly malted chocolate finish. Brewed by Love City Brewing, Philadelphia. This was part of the Love City Brewing Variety Pack that I got while in Philly the past few weeks and I brought one of each beers back to Buffalo to enjoy here.

I do like a good stout as long as it doesn't have too much of a coffee flavor. 

The book in the photo is a catalog from the current Jasper Johns show going on simultaneously at museums in New York and Philadelphia given to her for Christmas from Katie. We all went to the show in Philly last October but it looks like we will miss the New York show.

The Night Mixes

I have recently completed (I think) what I'm calling a series of Night Mega Mixes. There are six of them and they each have a runtime of about ten and a half hours. Playing them all together would take about 63 hours. That's a lot of music and I could probably add a few more hours.

I started out combining a group of hour long CD mixes that contained night chill music along with another group of hour and a half mixes. The first group was from 2012 and the second reformation of those late night chill mixes was from 2018. Now they are part of my Mega Mix collection.

These latest versions of the night chill mixes also came about because I wanted something with a little more mindless beat, a long groove, that I would have on my headphones as I rode the stationary bike every evening. It would be something that I would not need to think about. Just play and ride.

I started the mixes first with using the songs on the previous versions of the mixes. Then I looked in my iTunes for remix versions of songs, also extended mixes. I also looked through everything in the electronic genre. I came up with over 500 songs that could have worked. Then I saw down and made the mixes.

They all went into a new directory on my drive titled Night. First was Night Chill which was basically a redo of the original group of chill mixes. Next came Night Groove which was a little more dance oriented with a stronger beat. Then came Night Sound which was more laid back but still with that beat. I stopped for a week or so and listened to what I had. It was good. I wanted more and I had a lot more songs. So then I basically did three more all together and they were more like a mixture of the first three mixes. Night Jams, Night Mood and Might Moves.

I edited all the mixes and got rid of abrupt stops, long fade outs, etc. They sound good together now.

Glass of Beer - 120 Minute IPA

Watching the Bills playoff game against Kansas City and drinking a 120 Minute IPA from Dogfish Head Craft Brewery. This is an imperial IPA with an 18% ABV. Serious stuff. 

On the bottle it says "what you have here is the holy grail for hopheads. This beer is continually hopped over a 120 minute boil and then dry hopped for over a month. Enjoy now or age for a decade or so." Wow.

This is one of the beers Sean gave me while we were visiting with him and Ashley at Christmas. I'm just getting around to trying these beers since we got back from Philadelphia. 

Sports Betting

Since the start of the new year watching any sports on TV has become a chore of wading through all the online sports betting commercials since it has now become legal in New York State. Sometimes while watching a football or basketball game there may be commercials from three different sports betting companies one right after another. I find it to be disgustingly obnoxious. I also notice that each commercial must also post a gambling addiction problem phone number as part of their ad.

Seven sports betting companies have been awarded contracts to operate in New York State. I originally began seeing a constant barrage of sports betting ads recently while we have been in Philadelphia visiting Katie. Sports betting became legal there over the last few years. It was shocking at first to watch a game there and see the constant ads for online betting. I was surprised when suddenly the same ads were all over the TV in New York. 

I really do have a problem with betting and sports and especially the way they are promoting it on every sports program. I also do not like that there are NFL partners with betting companies.

I've always had a problem with gambling and do not support it in any way whatsoever. I saw enough gambling while I was in the Navy among fellow sailors and saw first hand what it can do to someone with a gambling problem. I saw many casinos while in the service including some in Monte Carlo and others in the South of France. I also checked out a couple of Atlantic City casinos when they became legal there. I should add that I never gambled in AC or in France. I played the slots a few times in the Caribbean and never saw the thrill of losing money. I've never played any numbers lottery, horse track betting or have ever gone to Las Vegas.

I also refuse to go to any concert or show that is located at a casino. I absolutely refuse to support them in any situation including going to their facility for any reason. 

There have been several reasons of late to give up on the NFL. I certainly didn't like the way that quarterback Colin Kaepernick was treated after his protest against systemic racism and not ever playing again in the NFL. I do not like the obvious systemic racism that takes place everyday in a league that is 70% Black but has not Black people as team owners or upper management. I also do not like the NFL record of brain injuries and ongoing problems with brain problems. I don't know how any parent could let their child play football.

So much for that rant.

Streaming Change Up

Every so often since we retired and cut the cable cord I change up our streaming services. The only ones that have been stable have been Netflix, Amazon Prime and Sling TV although I do move around in Sling between their services.

Our current lineup includes:

• Netflix
• Amazon Prime
• Sling TV - Blue
• Sling TV - Movie Add-on... mostly for Turner Classic Movies
• Hulu - free with commercials from Spotify
• YouTube - Used mostly for concerts, comedy shows, etc
• Criterion Film Channel
• PBS
• Paramount Plus
• Peacock TV - free
• Crackle - free
• Tubi - free
• Our digital antennae for local channels

Today I added Britbox and HBO Max. The plan is to later remove the movie add-on for Sling because TCM is available both through Criterion and HBO Max. I will also drop Paramount Plus. I am thinking about the Disney+ bundle which includes Disney, Hulu and ESPN+. Still considering options.

Murder in Bel-Air

Murder in Bel-Air by Cara Black, 2019

A quick read in January 2022. This is my fifth novel written by Cara Black and the fourth of her Aimee Leduc Investigations mystery series. I've enjoyed them all and in particularly because they are all very well written but also because each novel has taken place in Paris and have all been lovingly and painstakingly described with a wonderful attention to detail. It is interesting that she is a writer from San Francisco obsessed with murder and Paris.

I previously wrote about Cara Black in Paris. I continue reading her books when I get the opportunity.

Mister Loaf

I leaned today that Meat Loaf has passed away at 74. Wow, didn’t know that Mister Loaf was still around. Always called him Mister Loaf after seeing him referred that way in a record review of his first album in the NY Times. I found out this morning that he actually had more than that one album. Back in the day I abhorred his bombastic show-tuney over the top shlock and avoided him and his music like the plague. Way too much cornball drama IMHO. I should probably give him and his ilk credit for my abandoning AOR/classic rock radio in the late 70’s and my embracing making mixtapes for road trips, parties, etc. Also in my many years playing records in bars I never once played any Loaf and I don’t think I was ever asked. 

His 1977 album Bat Out of Hell was all over the radio in 1977-78 which was the same time as so much great punk and new wave music was coming out. That new music was a direct response to the same old tired AOL corporate rock epitomized by the likes of Meat Loaf.  I really didn't know there was a BOOH 2 and 3. I guess his album is a cult classic.

There were so many great albums released in 1977 and 1978 that I wonder why anyone paid any attention whatsoever to Mister Loaf. Albums from The Clash, Elvis Costello, The Ramones, Talking Heads, David Bowie, Television, Iggy Pop, Wire, Sex Pistols, Magazine, Bruce Springsteen, Little Feat, Big Star, Devo, Buzzcocks, Squeeze, Pere Ubu, Tom Waits, Patti Smith, The Jam, Bob Marley, etc, etc.

I also never liked The Rocky Picture Horror Show and the whole midnight movie scene. I went and saw it down at the TLA and I thought it sucked. Meat Loaf was in the original production. Later people went down to the midnight shows all dressed up as characters and it went on for years. Crazy.

It turns out he died from a bad three day case of Covid after spewing anti-science and anti-vax nonsense for the last few years

Oh, well. RIP. Meat Loaf made me swear off commercial rock radio for the rest of my life.

Rachel Nagy & The Detroit Cobras

We were very sad to hear of the recent passing of Rachel Nagy who was the lead singer of The Detroit Cobras. They were a fun band. They did mostly covers of old rock 'n' roll and R 'n' B songs but would also cover some new music from bands like The Strokes. 

They were a band of two women, the lead singer and the lead guitarist, and some hired guns who changed often over the years. They were basically a bar band and a bar was the place to see them perform. We saw them play once at the Mohawk Place in downtown Buffalo. It was a great show. During a band break Becky went into the ladies room which was always a little sleazy and the two women from the band were in there touching up their makeup. She said they were loud, obnoxious and intense. Drunk too. Well, it added to the charm of the performance when they went back on stage. 

After reading about Rachel's passing earlier this week I spent a couple of days listening to several albums from The Detroit Cobras. Then I listened to the original versions of so many of their songs that were included in the Various Artists double CD compilation Songs We Taught The Detroit Cobras. 

I have most of their albums in my collection including:

• Mink, Rat or Rabbit, 1998
• Life, Love and Leaving, 2001
• Baby, 2004
• Tied & True, 2007

Becky's Drawing of Me - 1982

So at some point in 1982 Becky asked me to pose for her. She wanted to draw me. I had never sat for her before. This would have been during the period for her between undergrad studies at Temple University's Tyler School of Art and her grad school MFA program at SUNY Buffalo. I can remember that day sitting at the kitchen table just outside her backroom studio in our apartment on Putnam Street in Buffalo. I had never modeled for anything and I wasn't very good at it. I sat at that table reading a book while she was drawing until it was time to do my eyes and then I had to sit there and stare at the wall.

She took the drawing to the family art supply store on Hertel Avenue where I had just started working and put it in a frame. Later she gave this drawing to my grandmother and it hung in the living room of her home in Chestnut Hill in Philadelphia. When my brother Tom saw it on the wall he asked "who's that guy?". Apparently he didn't recognize me without my glasses.

The drawing stayed in the same place on the wall next to the front door for almost forty years. Mom moved in with Mom-Mom and then stayed there after she passed. Tom moved in with Mom and stayed there after she passed. Dan moved in with Tom and stayed there after he passed. Recently Dan has been renovating the house and the drawing came off the wall and was set aside. 

Last week while we were in Philadelphia for the birth of our granddaughter Violet Dan stopped by Katie's house and dropped off the drawing along with my high school photo that also hung on a wall there along with my siblings school pictures. We took the drawing home and Becky plans to reframe it and do a little restoration work on it too. In the meantime it is sitting in our front hall leaning against the stairway.

National DJ Day

Never knew there was one but apparently January 20th every year is National DJ Day. I wish I had a picture of me working the sound booth at the Pastime Lounge. I really did enjoy my years behind the turntables. It was a lot of fun. 

I stopped spinning records in early 1987. It was getting to be too much working so late at night, sometimes until 4 am, and then getting up with a two year old. It was hard to sleep in. 

I really did miss it and making mixtapes helped me get by. I envisioned each mix as a session somewhere playing music for people. Back in the 60's I played records at parties but it was mostly arranging a stack of 45 singles on a turntable but I did go to parties with a box of records in hand.

Many years later I brought mixtapes to parties and also for some weddings including our own. I had made what I called an Adult Fun Mix for some of the weddings.

I had also taken up smoking again for a couple of years toward the end although I would only smoke during the time when I was working in the bar. I didn't smoke the first several years in the bar but I eventually succumbed. It was weird but I would go all week without a cigarette but on the night I was working in the bar spinning records I would smoke nearly a whole pack.

I also hated smelling like a smoky bar when I came home from work. It's hard to believe that people smoked so much in public spaces back then.

Covid Traveling

Since the pandemic took hold in March 2020 we have not done much traveling. We had planned to go to Italy again in the Fall of 2020 but fortunately we had not spent any money on the trip yet. We had previously bought plane tickets for a trip to Philadelphia for later in March 2020 but of course that trip was cancelled. The airlines gave us a year to use the tickets but absolutely refused to give any refunds. We did eventually use the tickets but it was not very pleasant flying under the pandemic circumstances. Fortunately it was a less than an hour flight and there were no anti-mask assholes on the plane.

During that summer of 2020 we did get tested and then traveled to the Adirondacks to spend a week at a cabin in Long Lake with the kids where we had a wonderful time. We celebrated Henry's fourth birthday. We did it again in July of 2021. During that first covid summer we pretty much stayed at our cabin and didn't venture into town much except for some lunch on a patio at the Long Lake Hotel. Last year we did get to the Adirondack Hotel for a nice dinner on their patio where we met some very old friends who happened to be camping nearby and stopped in there for dinner.

It was very odd driving across the state on the thruway. Half of the rest stops were closed. There were also hardly anyone on the roads or at the rest stops. We ate our lunch at picnic tables on the road or in the parking lots of the rest stops. We had always ate our lunch at selected restaurants along the way and the past two years has been very different.

The same things were happening on our drive down to Philadelphia to visit Katie. The two winter trips in December were also very strange. We drove to Sean's house for Christmas which was a four hour drive across the state on the thruway. Not a bad drive and the weather was good. Then two days after we got back we had to drive down to Philly again for the birth of our granddaughter who came a couple of weeks early. We had to then cancel our plane tickets for our January 12th flights after we hit the road on December 30th. Now we have a couple of plane tickets that we have a year to use.

We hadn't driven any long distance trip during the winter in decades. We were lucky with the weather and did not have any real snow problems in either trip in either direction. Again there was hardly anyone on the roads again and the thruway rest stops that were open had very people using the facilities. Mostly just the bathrooms. We ate in our car for both trips. The PA turnpike rest stops were very similar but maybe a little more crowded as we got near to Philly. Still not as it usually was. It was all very strange.

We are looking forward to getting on the road again this Spring. We are planning to visit Sean and Ashley for Andrew's birthday on the weekend of April 8-10 and on that Monday we will continue driving another four hours south to visit Kate and the kids for a week around Easter and Passover.

There were plans for a neighborhood reunion party at my friend Tom's house down in Quakertown in May. I'm not sure if that is still going on but we may drive down to Philly again at that time.

We are also looking forward to our week at Long Lake again in the Adirondacks in July. We had been thinking about another Europe trip for the Fall of 2021 to Barcelona and Paris but we will still have to wait and see for that one.

The map above shows the open or closed status for all the NY Thruway rest stops.

Glass of Beer - Holy Donut Stout

On a very cold night... Holy Donut Stout, a dark chocolate imperial stout with donut and toasted coconut from Lone Pine Brewing, Portland Maine. Brewed in collaboration with Holy Donut, a local donut company

This came in a pint can and was given to me by my son Sean along with a few other brews while we were visiting him and his family at Christmas. I brought some of them back to Buffalo to enjoy. 

The book in the photo is one of the Rick Steve travel books that I got for Becky this Christmas. This one is a collection of essays and stories about his favorite places in Europe.

Songs We Taught The Detroit Cobras

It was sad to here the news of the passing of the lead singer of The Detroit Cobras. I really loved their music even though they were almost completely a cover band but oh what great songs they covered.

Here is a wonderful album of their original source material. Songs We Taught The Detroit Cobras.




Disc 1:
01 Tony Valla And The Alamos - Maria Christina
02 Gino Washington - Out Of This World
03 Nathaniel Mayer - Village Of Love
04 Brice Coefield - Cha-Cha Twist
05 Irma Thomas - Break-A-Way
06 Ronettes - He Did It
07 Mary Wells - Bye Bye Baby
08 Shangri-Las - It's Easier To Cry
09 Gabriel And The Angels - Chumba
10 Mickey Lee Lane - Hey Sailor
11 Otis Redding And The Pinetoppers - Shout Bamalama
12 Shirelles - Putty (In Your Hands)
13 Solomon Burke - Stupidity
14 Marvelettes - I'll Keep Holding On
15 Hank Ballard - I'll Be Home Someday
16 Dusty Wilson - Can't Do Without You
17 Charlie Rich - Midnite Blues
18 Barrett Strong - You Knows What To Do
19 Irma Thomas - Hittin' on Nothin'
20 Solomon Burke - Home In Your Heart
21 Oblivians - Bad Man (aka Bad Girl)
22 Deviants - Slum Lord
23 Question Mark And The Mysterians - Ain't It A Shame
24 Billy Lee And The Rivieras - Won't You Dance With Me
25 5 Royales - The Slummer The Slum
26 Polka Dot Slim - A Thing You Gotta Face (aka Down In Louisiana)
27 Geeshie Wiley & Elvie Thomas - Over To My House


Disc 2
01 Gary U.S. Bonds - I Wanta Holler (But The Town's Too Small)
02 5 Royales - The Real Thing
03 Nite Riders - Lookin' For My Baby
04 International Kansas City Playboys - Everybody's Going Wild
05 Percy Sledge - Baby Help Me
06 Gloria Jones - Heartbeat Part 1
07 Hoagy Lands - Baby Let Me Hold You Hand
08 Ike & Tina Turner - You Can't Miss Nothing That You Never Had
09 Irma Thomas - Cry On
10 Jimmy Robins - I Can't Please You
11 Sister Rosette Tharpe - 99 And Half Won't Do
12 Davis Jones & The Fenders - Boss With The Hot Sauce
13 Clarence Carter - Slippin' Around
14 Betty Harris - Mean Man
15 5 Royales - Right Around The Corner
16 Olympics - Secret Agents
17 Ruby Johnson - Weak Spot
18 Staple Singers - Don't Knock
19 Irma Thomas - It's Raining
20 Koko Taylor & Willie Dixon - Insane Asylum
21 Gardenias - I'm Laughing At You
22 Dorothy Love Coates - 99 And A Half Won't Do
23 Chiffons - Oh My Lover
24 Clyde McPhatter - Let's Forget About The Past
25 5 Royales - When I Get Like This (Silver And Gold)
26 Bobbie Smith - Now He's Gone
27 Strokes - Last Nite

Glass of Beer - Love City Lager

Another very cold night and enjoying a Love City Lager, a tasty crisp easy drinking golden lager from Love City Brewing, Philadelphia, my hometown. Looking forward to going back there in the spring and checking out that brewery.

This was also part of the Love City Variety Pack I picked up at the Brewer's Outlet on Germantown Avenue at Gowen Ave in Mt. Airy which I wrote about earlier here.

I had my first taste of this beer at Katie's house in Philly and brought some back with me to Buffalo where I am enjoying it right now after driving all day from Philadelphia to Buffalo.