The Supremes...and Ultrarunning

I confess to a double entendre here, in referring to both Supremes.

First, regarding the highest court in the land and the dispute over whether President Obama should get to nominate a successor to the late Justice Scalia.  Or defer for a year as the Senate Republicans wish.

It might be illustrative to read about what 3 of those very Republicans said in 2008:

Republicans in Congress are twisting themselves into strange rhetorical knots trying to argue against President Obama's ability and duty to nominate Scalia's successor. The issue came up in 2008, George W. Bush's last year in office. 

At that time, Sen. Chuck Grassley said, "The reality is that the Senate has never stopped confirming judicial nominees during the last few months of a president's term." Now, he's against it.

Sen. Lamar Alexander said back then, "Just because it's a presidential election year is no excuse for us to take a vacation. And we're here. We're ready to go to work."

Sen. John Cornyn said back then, "Now is the perfect time because, of course, we're in a presidential election year and no one yet knows who the next president will be. What a unique opportunity to establish that regardless of the next president's party, the nominees will be treated fairly and on the basis of their qualifications, and not on the basis of ancient political squabbles." Now, he's against it, too.

Now, let's change gears to those other Supremes.  I liked them but didn't love them, I just got triggered by the Scalia thingy and decided to look at the Supremes' song list and create a nexus to Ultrarunning.  

It was quite easy.  Clear your mind, take a look through these song titles, and tell me you are not carried back to some trail race, memorable due to the trail or to the people you ran with, perhaps the nighttime hours of a hundred-miler?  (Supremes info credit here):

Ain't No Mountain High Enough
Am I Asking Too Much
Blowin' in the Wind
Everyday People
Fancy Passes
I Can't Make it Alone
Misery Makes its Home in my Heart
Save Me a Star
Silent Night
Stormy
The Beginning of the End
Too Much a Little Too Soon
Will This be the Day

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!

More Rambling...and Ultrarunning

Can't believe it's been 4 years since I posted about Rock Music, Rambling...and Ultrarunning, here.

Here's the lead-in to that post, which you really, really should go read right now.

As I continue to love my car's Sirius XM Radio, I've noticed a recurring theme for some some rockers from the period/genre of Classic Rock (60s and 70s).  They tend to romanticize the stereotypical artistic, footloose antihero, imbued with wanderlust so as not to dilute the power of their music.  

That post featured Free Bird, Rambling Man, Heard it in a Love Song, and Ramblin' Gamblin' Man.  Well, diligent detective work had uncovered two more classic rock songs about Rambling:

Ramble On (Led Zepplin)
Ramble On, And now's the time, the time is now, to sing my song. 
I'm goin' 'round the world, I got to find my girl, on my way. 
I've been this way ten years to the day, Ramble On, 
Gotta find the queen of all my dreams.


Midnight Rambler (Rolling Stones)
Did you hear about the midnight rambler
Everybody got to go?
Did you hear about the midnight rambler
The one that shut the kitchen door?

The link to Ultrarunning?  As I previously posted, it is simply this: maybe we get our vicarious rambling jones out of the way via trail running, so we can be happy and secure in our personal relationships and not feel the need to roam.

Godmother of Punk...and Ultrarunning

Listening the other day to Public radio, I heard an interview with Patti Smith, who was referred to as the Godmother of Punk.

Hmmmm...didn't know that title existed.

Then that reminded me of a post I did a couple years back, and in searching through my archives, it seems that the post actually ran 5 years ago.  I've come to the realization that when you get older, your time perception gets all hosed up.  So if I think something happened about 2 or 3 years ago, i should double that and make my guess at 5 years, and I'd probably be right.  That would have been the case here.

But, back to music.  In that old post I discussed various music royalty, to which I must now add Patti Smith (I should tell you that the original discussion 5 years ago took place at a wine tasting at the Adams County Winery in PA, so perhaps the talk was somewhat propelled by the fruit of the vine).

Here's the 5 year old list, now with Ms. Smith added at the top:

Godmother of Punk:  Patti Smith
Godfather of Punk:  ??

Queen of Soul:  Aretha Franklin
King of Soul:  ??

Godmother of Soul:  ??
Godfather of Soul:  James Brown

Queen of Pop:  ??
King of Pop:  Michael Jackson

Queen of Rock:  ??
King of Rock:  Elvis Presley

Queen of Blues:  ??
King of Blues:  BB King (maybe?)

The Queen:  ??
The King:  Elvis Presley

Looks like we need more queens.  Somebody brought up Queen Latifah, but we just didn't know how to categorize her.  Ditto for Prince, since his (current) name is itself a royal moniker.

Note also that in the radio interview much was made of the fact that Patti Smith had guts as a pioneering woman in the music industry.  Hmmmm--and that's the second Hmmmm in this post--guts.  Guts.  GUTS.

My mind leaped elsewhere with that word, which normally does not come up very often in conversation.  I, of course, immediately thought of the 70s runner Steve Prefontaine, about whom Runners World set the stage:

In 1975, at the age of 24, Steve Roland Prefontaine died in a single-car accident. At the time of his death, he held every American record from 2,000 to 10,000 meters and was a favorite to win at least one gold medal in the 1976 Olympics. 

But back to the subject of guts, about which Pre once famously said:

A lot of people run a race to see who is fastest. I run to see who has the most guts, who can punish himself into exhausting pace, and then at the end, punish himself even more.

 One final note from the University of Oregon web site, so you contemporary runners may know just how big a deal Pre was back in the day:

He owned every (8) American record between 2,000 and 10,000 meters and between two miles and six miles. He also held eight collegiate records while at Oregon, with his three-mile (12:53.4) and six-mile (27:09.4) still standing. During his career, he broke his own or other American records 14 different times, broke the four-minute barrier nine times, ran 25 two-mile races under 8:40 and 10 5K races faster than 13:30.

Anti-war, Anti-gun? I Guess Not.

A month or so ago I posted about cranking the music while boating around in my minivan, and noted that I particularly like this tune for this purpose.

Turns out I've always garbled the lyrics, thinking that the song was an anti-war, anti-gun sort of anthem:

"Born to be Wild"
Get your motor running'
Head out on the highway
Loookin' for adventure
And whatever comes our way
Yeah darlin' go make it happen
Take the world in a love embrace
Fire all of your guns at once
And explode into space

But what I heard was this: 

Yeah I doubt I'm gonna make it happen

Take the world in a loving place
Buy all of the guns and bust them
Explode 'em to space

Still, it's one of the best minivan tunes ever (YouTube link is here if embed does not work)....although in watching the video, while the band seems to be getting into it, John Kay, the lead singer, seems rather detached as he sings:

Green Tambourine

From time to time, as a public service, Mister Tristan (the blog, not the 7 year old human being) will present a brief lesson on musical instrument history.

Today is your lucky day.

While driving and listening to Sirius XM Radio recently, the bride and I heard an tune on the Classic Vinyl channel that brought back high school memories.  This 1967 hit, Green Tambourine, from the Lemon Pipers "...  has been credited as being the first bubblegum pop chart-topper" (per the YouTube blurb).  It was catchy, but as the bride always says, "I prefer screaming, like Creedence or The Animals."

If embed does not play, here's the link.




But while it wasn't our cup of tea, this piece of music provides a teachable moment.  What most people don't know about this tune is that while the color of the tambourine in the music video is indeed green, the song is actually a music insider's joke--a not-so-subtle reference to the Green Tambourine Company of Terre Haute, IN.  At the time, Green was (and still is) the nation's premiere maker of orchestral quality tambourines.

It's analogous to having a Stradivarius violin, Martin Guitar, or a Tama or Gretch drum kit...only think of having a Green Tambourine.

Now go back and enjoy the clip again--I can't--for what I have told you is a total fabrication.  See, I gave up playing the tambourine in high school, but I know that if I had just stuck with it, I could have been playing sold-out stadiums by now.  So you understand my bitterness toward the instrument, whoever the hell really makes it.

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!

"When the Truth is Found to be Lies"

I'm already tired of the 2016 presidential race.  As John Oliver said the other night, there will babies born before the election whose parents have not even met yet.

And when these candidate open their mouths, all I can think is that they are saying what they need to say to get elected, not necessarily what the truth is.

Which brings to mind one of the earliest performances by Jefferson Airplane, whose opening line is prophetic:

When the truth is found...to be lies...

If the embedded video playeth not, here's the link.

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductees

One of my most pleasant memories is when a pilot friend couple with a Cessna flew us up to Cleveland several years ago just for a day trip.  We flew into a small municipal airport right beside the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum; we walked over and spent an absolutely wonderful day wandering amongst musical memorabilia.

Image credit I. M. Pei, here

Tonight is the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 2015 induction ceremony where 8 artists/groups will become part of music history.  Artists are eligible for induction 25 years after the release of their first record, and chosen based on their influence and contributions to rock music. 

The 2015 inductees are:

• Ringo Starr
• The "5" Royales
• The Paul Butterfield Blues Band
• Green Day
• Joan Jett and the Blackhearts
• Lou Reed
• Stevie Ray Vaughn and Double Trouble
• Bill Withers

But all is not well in Rock and Roll.  Here are three favorites of mine--bands that have never even been nominated--who surely deserve to be so enshrined: Jethro Tull, Moody Blues, Bad Company.

I know that everybody has a story involving love and music from their formative years, but Jim Croce, who is largely responsible for me and the bride getting hitched 40 years ago, has never been nominated either.

Just for kicks, take a moment to Google "Rock and Roll Hall of Fame snubs" and you'll be treated to thousands of hits.  I could have chosen from any number of sites, but here's a great site that you should click on over to and scope out to see who is not in (I can't easily reproduce their list here).

Keep in mind, though, the bigger picture: climate change looms, we continue to be a war-obsessed species, most of the prospective Republican presidential wanna-bes are batshit crazy...so who is in, and who is not in, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is clearly only a first-world problem.

Propane

A couple of years ago I did a post I called  "Embarrassing Moments in Ultrarunning" about the Roberta Flack song "Killing Me Softly" in which I completely turned around the tune and permanently ruined it for any reader (it had to do with wiping my *ss with a snowball, so you really ought to click over and read it).

I'm about to do the same for Eric Clapton.  Ruining a song, that is.  Actually, it's an improvement because the original tune was a real downer.

So this is the Before:

Image credit Target

And this is the After:




YouTube link is here if the embedded video fails.


To close the loop in case it was not clear, every time I see a propane bottle or hear "Cocaine" on the radio, I immediately substitute Propane for Cocaine and burst into song.

It makes for a rather catchy tune.

Possibly the Best That Humankind has to Offer

The day after we read in the Torture Report about the worst that this nation can do, then we see something that has to be one of the best things than humankind can offer.

YouTube is full of cute and touching videos and I almost always blow them off whenever somebody sends me a link.  While I'm sure that it would be interesting, I figure that I just don't have time to do that for every single link that somebody thinks is worthwhile.

Well, the video below is worth 6 minutes of your time.  Trust me, you will not regret spending those few minutes of your life watching this:



(Link is here in case the embedded video does not play)

I should point out that while the musicians are Air Force personnel, this beauty of this piece has nothing to do with the military.  It is simply beautiful music wonderfully played and sung, and, well, is just kinda inspirational.

When we send space probes out to the far reaches of our solar system and beyond, a lot of thought goes into what info is included in case some other intelligent species finds it someday and wants to know who sent it.  I believe that things like stellar maps,  mathematical universal facts such as pi, and the pediodic chart of the elements are included, as well as some cultural info about our species.

In the latter category, they should just include this video.

Guess I'll Never be Michael Buble...and Ultrarunning

The other day, the bride purchased a Michael Buble CD of Christmas music.  I've seen him numerous times on the Today Show, Christmas specials, etc., and he's a very entertaining singer whom we enjoy.  He kinda croons, reminiscent of Frank Sinatra or Bing Crosby.

Oh, and he snaps his fingers when he sings, if the song calls for it.  That act makes me envious.

Why?  Since my snowblower accident last winter where I messed up the ring finger of my right (dominant) hand, I cannot snap my fingers.**  So my possible career as a Michael Buble wanna-be is forever closed to me.

Oh, and the link to Ultrarunning?  There is none.  I wracked my brain for some sort of connection that I could draw, and came up completely empty.  Oh well.



**Note that I could not snap my fingers before the accident, either.

The Turtles

This post is inspired by mine of yesterday.

Some months earlier in 2014, the bride and I and several other Baby Boomer couples went to the Luhr Center at nearby Shippensburg State University to see the Turtles.

Yes, the Turtles.  You can scope out Wikipedia for their history and play list.

The name sounds, well, stupid is the only word that comes to mind today in 2014, but in the 1960s, this group was the bomb.  Rivaled the Beatles.  They had a variety of hits, but the one that always arrested me so was the 1967 song "You Showed Me," a tune that was at once haunting, mysterious, and full of longing:




Wonder what the Reese Hollow turtles might think of this?

Janis Joplin Stamps...and Ultrarunning

A few weeks back I posted about the upcoming Janis Joplin stamp to be issued by the USPS in August.

Well, we like JJ, although the bride and I are certainly not groupies, so I guess it was more the idea of honoring an era in classic rock: since we need stamps anyway, we went ahead and bought $200 worth.

That's about 400 stamps, thusly:

[image credit Gary]

They come in sheets of 16, with a photo of JJ on the back, with the sheet designed to look like an 45 in its sleeve.

The link to Ultrarunning is that probably JJ's most beloved song is Piece of my Heart.  Sometimes when I'm struggling along the trail this tune comes unbidden to my mind...and stays there.  Although it's a song of love gone bad, I focus on the word heart, as in my heart pounding in the effort of the run.

Listen to it here.

Harpsichord Music...and Ultrarunning

The other day I heard The Doors' 60s tune People are Strange, in which I could have sworn I detected a harpsichord.  Turns out I was wrong...but the group's keyboardist Ray Manzerek did in fact use the harpsichord here, in Love me Two Times, courtesy of YouTube:




Which brought me to the point as to where--if one were so inclined--one would even purchase a harpsichord?

Turns out that there is a place called the Harpsichord Clearing House in Massachusetts:

The Harpsichord Clearing House specializes in the global sale, restoration and repair of new and used harpsichords, virginals, clavichords, positive organs and early pianos. In addition we offer consultation services for any of these instruments. Our harpsichords, virginals and clavichords are available in the full range of historical styles and prices. Our work with positive organs and early pianos has led to an expanding market for these instruments both in the Americas and Europe. We are US representatives for Henk Klop of the Netherlands, and offer our own instruments -- including the Bennett/Giuttari continuo organ-as well as instruments from European and American builders.

No need to thank me for this public service I just performed.

Oh, and the link to Ultrarunning?   Although I will never use a iPod or the like on the trails, that doesn't mean that music is unimportant to me when I'm out there.  I frequently have tunes blazing in my head, such as from The Doors.

Another Reason To Go On Living...and Ultrarunning

As widely reported on the "news," this is guaranteed to brighten your sojourn toward immortality:

Musician and media mogul Sean Combs, who has gone by Sean "Puffy” Combs, P.Diddy and just plain Diddy, announced that he is returning to his old stage name Puff Daddy on Tuesday.

And the link, of ocourse, to our fine sport of Ultrarunning, is simply this: I can, without a shred of doubt in my mind, run thousands of miles in the backcountry and never once think of this man.

That said, there are probably runners out there who have Mr. Combs--or whatever he happens to be called--on their iPod playlist, and love his music.

As my mother-in-law likes to say, "There's no pot so crooked that a lid won't fit."  This meme is also known as "Different strokes for different folks."

And so on.

Beethoven's 9th...and Ultrarunning

One of my running buddies--who seems about average in musicality and artzyness--sent me a link to a YouTube video.  I usually don't watch YouTubes if they are much over a minute or so, but I clicked it anyway and sat mesmerized for 5+ minutes.
 

Must be my retirement mentality, of not rushing, of now having time....

I'll let my buddy introduce it:

What a special experience this would be.  Out for a stroll in Sabadella near Barcelona in Spain and a symphony orchestra, accompanied by a popular choir, appears out of nowhere and begins playing Beethoven's 9th Symphony. 

Watch the children's reactions.

It will lift your spirits! 

Here's the link in case the embedded video below does not play.

 

You really should click it and enjoy.

The link, of course, to Ultrarunning, is music.  While I never use any musical device when I run, I always have music playing right here in my head. 

And I am sure that this symphony will be front and center during my next run.

SNL, Mick Jagger...and Ultrarunning

Today NBC airs a rerun of last season's finale show, with Mick Jagger as both the host and featured musical guest.  He was great as a comedic actor, and of course the music was awesome.  An A+ episode for sure!

I was totally smitten with that episode, especially the tune The Last Time, preformed with the Canadian band Arcade Fire.  I've been all over the net but cannot seem to find that clip, other than this short and grainy excerpt, here (cannot embed it, apparently--sorry!).

Anyway, watch it or set your DVR--you will be so glad you did.

Oh, and the link to Ultrarunning?  The continued existence of both Mick Jagger and Saturday Night Live attest to the enduring power of vintage things.  Like me, who has been enjoying this sport for over 3 decades now. 

I know I don't have 3 more, but I'll take what I can get.

 

Another Reason to Go On Living

Don't ask me how I possibly missed this one a few weeks back.

Via People Magazine, on line: Snoop Dogg Changes His Name to Snoop Lion.

[image credit here]

Yes, the artist formerly known as Snoop Dogg has renamed himself after he says he underwent a spiritual and artistic rebirth in Jamaica.

While recording his album Reincarnated in the Caribbean country, he developed a traditional reggae style. The result is a three-part project: a reggae album, documentary and coffee-table photo book, all under the name of Snoop Lion.

"I have always said I was Bob Marley reincarnated," Snoop, 40, told reporters at a news conference, according to The New York Times. "I have always been a Rastafari." (Marley's son, Rohan, gave his blessing at the news conference, which was held at Miss Lily's, a Caribbean eatery in New York.)

So will Snoop (real name: Calvin Cordozar Broadus, Jr.) turn his back on rap completely? Not likely. "I could never become Snoop Lion," he says, "if I wasn't Snoop Dogg first."
 

There you have it.  However--since I love to nitpick--the original Bob Marley died in 1981, at which time Snoop Dogg Lion Calvin Cordozar Broadus, Jr. was about 9 years old.

 

I'm no expert, but I always thought that the whole death-reincarnation thingy was virtually simultaneous, and that it involved babies.  Soul or essence or spirit or whatever leaves the dying body and WHOOSH! it arrives in the newborn.  Makes me wonder what happened to Calvin Cordozar Broadus, Jr. when Marley took over the kid's body?