Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

Seems that the 2016 slate of candidates for possible induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame consists of the following:

Nine Inch Nails
N.W.A
The Smiths
Deep Purple
Janet Jackson
Chic
Steve Miller
Chicago
Chaka Khan
The Spinners
Cheap Trick
the Cars 
the J.B.'s
Los Lobos 
Yes

I think that voting just closed, and I'm too lazy to Google to find out who actually wound up getting nominated.  Usually 5 or 6 artists make the cut each year.

That said, the purpose of this post is to relate an anecdote about this year's nominees.  A few weeks back, while listening to the Classic Vinyl channel on Sirius XM radio in the car, the deejay mentioned that Nine Inch Nails was a nominee.

I remarked to the bride, "I couldn't name a single Nine Inch Nails song if my life depended on it"

Just then a guy pedaled by in one of those recumbent bikes.  Like one of these:

Image credit here

I'm not a biker, but whenever I see one of these bikes, I think, that's not a real bike (though I'm sure I'll get plenty of emails correcting me.  That's OK, I deserve it for being a smug Ultrarunner who looks down his nose at mere bikers).  

So, half under my breath, I comment "Pussy bike!"

And the bride says, "I thought you didn't know any of their songs?"

After we got done laughing, we went on to imagine what other songs Nine Inch Nails may have done and came up with this fictitious list:

Ratchet Girl
Barbed Wire
Chrome Wheels
Twisted Fence Posts

In the meanwhile, Jethro Tull, Bad Company, and the Moody Blues remain solidly as non-members of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, while vastly inferior groups such Nine Inch Nails--to cite but one example--are considered.  Go figure.

So...in this post I've managed to insult bikers and certain music fans.  Sorry!

Bopping Around in my Minivan

The other day when I was driving my Sienna minivan--that some would call the essence of suburbia--the Who came on the Classic Vinyl channel of my Sirius XM radio, singing We Won't Get Fooled Again (link is here if the embed doesn't play):



I immediately did some cranking: cranked down the window, cranked up the air conditioning (it was 85 F outside), and cranked up the volume to DEAFENING.  Oh, and sang at the top of my lungs.

Passing motorists must have thought I was nuts.  Perhaps I am.

Then I thought about what other classic tunes I would do the same for.  One that immediately came to mind was this gem from Steppenwolf (again, link here if the embed playeth not):





As above, the routine is to crank thusly:

--Window: DOWN
--Air conditioning: UP
--Volume: DEAFENING
--Singing: WITH ALL I HAVE

With the presidential primary circus ongoing, my confidence in the political system coming up with a leader who truly puts the people first rather than "the establishment" is pretty much nil.

So, heed the words of The Who above:

There's nothing in the streets 

Looks any different to me 

And the slogans are replaced, by-the-bye 

And the parting on the left 

Are now parting on the right 

And the beards have all grown longer overnight 

I'll tip my hat to the new constitution 

Take a bow for the new revolution 

Smile and grin at the change all around 

Pick up my guitar and play 

Just like yesterday 

Then I'll get on my knees and pray 

We don't get fooled again 

Don't get fooled again 

No, no!

Classic Rock

Went with friends to Baltimore Wednesday night for some classic rock: Gregg Allman followed by the Doobie Brothers.

Hard-driving 70s rock n roll to the max!  I'm hoarse from singing and my hands hurt from clapping.  

I did clap to the best of my abilities, and "hurt" is relative and comes easily to me...ever since my snowblower accident a year and a half ago where I lost the last joint of my right ring finger, I clap like a sissy.  Much like you would imagine Queen Elizabeth would clap.  But my heart was certainly in it!

We are so fortunate that we have some friends with whom to re-experience rock n roll from 40+ years ago.

[image credit Gary, of Gregg Allman at Pier Six in Baltimore]

More rock n roll stuff coming tomorrow, as part of Cats in Art...stay tuned!

Banjos...and Ultrarunning

During today's run along the C+O Canal I had banjos on my mind.

Just before I parked at Cushwa Basin in Williamsport, MD, my XM radio (on channel 28, The Spectrum) delivered a rousing rendition of Ho Hey by The Lumineers.

And shortly before that, Mumford and Sons' I Will Wait. 

Now these songs are both sing-along, foot-stomping, banjo-featuring tunes that are perfect accompanyment for the trail...in my head.  I still don't and never plan to run with any listening device.  It just seems, well, wrong to me, when I'm in the midst of nature.  But that's just me, because it appears from my personal observation that listening devices are probably more common than not; i.e., a majority of runners I encounter are using one.

But I digress.  The point of this post is that I love the banjo and both of these groups and the tunes mentioned are excellent examples of how the banjo is making a real comeback in the world of contemporary music.

Which takes me back to the Kinks in the early 70s, who were one of the first rock groups to feature the banjo in rock music, with the iconic Lola, some 40 years ago:




[Video credit YouTube, here.  Note: what I find interesting is that the banjo is unmistakably there in the opening chords, yet I can't detect it in the video]

And for your further enjoyment here is a list of the best played banjo in a rock song, from Keno's Classic Rock n Roll.  See # 4:

Anyway, enjoy the trails, and if you're lucky, the banjos will be playing in your head.

 

Tuesdays

Tuesday is my recurring telework day, so it has a special place in my heart.  Why, you may ask, did you select Tuesdays?  Well, Mondays and Fridays were largely taken by other telecommuters in my office, so I had to avoid those days so that we had sufficient personnel coverage.  That left Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday.  Well, at the time our daughter was a commuting college student and was in class all day on Tuesdays.  So I figured it'd be a very quiet day and chose it for teleworking.

Since then I've really come to embrace Tuesdays.  Monday is special because, well, everyone dislikes it.  Wednesday is "hump day," meaning that midweek has been reached, so it has its claim to fame.  Don't need to comment on Friday, everyone's favorite.  So that leaves the two "T" days, and I just like Tuesdays.  Seems like classic rockers do too.

So...here are 3 Tuesday classics.  Enjoy!

Tuesday's Gone (Lynyrd Skynyrd)

Tuesday Afternoon (Moody Blues)

Ruby Tuesday (Rolling Stones)

Hey Jude

Having trouble embedding...see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLVywY5EwoA


Couple posts ago I mentioned listening to a classic rock station while traveling near Philly. Another tune I heard that day was “Hey Jude,” probably for the first time in a year or so.

I just heard it again on a local station. And as I did way back in high school, I had to count the number of choruses of  "Na na na na na na na, na na na na, hey Jude."

The answer is after the jump.