For years I have been telling anyone who would listen that  real Country music has more in common with Punk and Rock than anything you hear on the radio, on any station, these days.   I usually use Gram Parsons relationship to the Stones, and the mountainous amount of drugs done by the Country Outlaws as my initial evidence, but the argument should be made by playing songs. Unfortunately, it's hard to get someone to really listen to an old Waylon Jennings song. 

Someone else once pointed out that Guy Clark,  who is folk-county through and through, has the smoothest spoken-word delivery since Tribe Called Quest (Either I am misquoting, or they got the chronology wrong).   Since then I have played around in my head with turning his songs into rap songs.   My artistic ability fails me, but thankfully Townes Van Zandt offers us a few talking blues songs, which shed some light on the short distance between folk and and rap.  

But now the truth has been laid bare.  Lauren sent me this video. The discussion is closed.

I am typing this with one ice pack on my toe, and the other on my cheek.  I will have a black eye tomorrow.

I took another Jujitsu class.   The last time I took one was in December. That time I was tapped out 7 times in five minutes, and left with a sprained toe that hampered me through the ski season.

I did much better this time. It took me four minutes to be tapped out out five times, and even less time to re-sprain my toe. It was hard not to continue for that fifth minute, as I felt I was denying my opponent his shot at the record, but  I really want to have a good ski season this time around.

I don’t have to get tapped out so much. I could sit and play patty cake with the guy like everyone suggests, denying him anything to grab on to.  But that’s no fun for anybody.  My grand tactic is to attack with full force enough times to wear  them out. (If you are having trouble visualizing, it might help to imagine me yelling “I am Godzilla, you are Hong Kong” and then leaping onto my opponent like Superfly Snuka. <sp?> ) He kept telling me that it’s not a strength thing, but he was simply ignorant of my plan.  I think  that had Pudge held up,  I could have worn him down over the course of ten minutes (Pudge is my big toe). My Opponent,  was definitely is worse shape than me after four minutes. Except for the black eye and sprained toe thing.

It’s great fun, but I think I may have to give up the sport.

Ran into Ill Will at the Gym. He was excited to hear that Hatton was coming to town.  I think I will host a pre-fight party or something.  Something.

Pudge is cold. 

Its Hard to get the whole fanclub together in one photo.     Without cropping off the Camero, that is.

Happy Birthday Lauren

On Saturday Night I went to a piano bar on Power's Ferry. Olives, somethng or other. The dueling pianos were doing their thing and I was just getting settled in when the second Bachelorette party arived.  Sensing the inevitable I quickly requested "Suspicious Minds" , "Anything by Tom Waits" and kicked in an extra five dollars "to not play Brown Eyed Girl". All of this was written, with line item dollar amounts, on a napkin, and delivered to the leftmost pianist withen seconds of the arrival of  the second Bachelorette.  No sooner had he finished reading my request, had the other pianist starting playing the opening bars of the demon song. "Wait, Wait, Wait! I just got a five dollar request to NOT play that song!" Leftie exclaimed. 

"Well, I just got fifteen to play it".

This, after I just paid six dollars to get them to stop playing Britany Spears.  

Now here's the thing. I really don't hate Brown Eyed Girl.  Quite frankly, A piano bar is the one place where that song ought to be allowed. But who pays fifteen dollars to hear it!?   They are going to play it anyway! Paying fifteen dollars to hear that song at a piano bar is just batty.   (Alex, provide an analogy please. Mine are all running towards the Bawdry)

So I left.  The rules is the rules, and my rule is to leave directly.

I got in the car and drove in expanding circles lookng for a new bar. Dave called and invited me to East Andrews, so I ducked back into the piano bar to close my tab, and then headed to Buckhead.   While I was waiting for my bill, Rich told me they played the song for twenty minutes.

I reallize a few of you are probably thinking that the Brown Eyed Girl Ritual is evidence of me trying to hard   (Heck I shouldn't put it quite so neatly, y'all who think that probably wouldn't have been able to put your thoughts into such precise words. And now I've stung myself) .

But at the end of the day, what are the odds that the best place for you to be is a place where woemn are cooing to that song?  Am I being unfair? Yes.   But the ritual has never caused any harm.  Except for that time in Savanna when Dave and I wern't allowed back into the bar, where we had just left the two sisters we had driven a few hundred miles with on an ambitious double date.  That weekend didn't end so well.

hey, I got the comments working again, just in time.

You have to hit the "post a comment button" right now, I think.  It's late, and I have had a few.

The Lost Episodes

I havn't watched them yet. 

I was just thinking about how nice it was to have things return to normal.  

The support crew of my blogger software say that my comments are working for them.  If any of you can post comments, please do. I have reason to believe that once one comment is posted, people will be able to reply to it.

Bob Schneider has a new album out. I am downloading now.  From what I can tell its all the songs he's been playing live over the last few years that weren't on any albums.  Blau, Sons Of Ralph, boombox, etc.

Heh.  Sons of Ralph.

He'll be playing a solo show at smiths on October 2nd.    The Hold Steady are here on the 4th.  Both shows are during the week.