LATE NITE AFTER ROCKLINE

STEADFAST FUMBLE KNOWS THE WHERE, ALL TOO WELL
BUT THE WHY IS STILL LOOSE
AND LOOSE IT SHALL REMAIN FOR EON FARING
IT LOSES NOTHING IN TRANSLATION, FOR IT IS NEVER TRANSLATED
IT HAS NO NEED TO IMPOSE UPON ITSELF.
INSISTENCE FOR THE SAKE OF HATE, FUELED WITH OBSESSION
THE OBSESSION THAT CAN ONLY BE OBTAINED BY BIRTH
CURSED INHERITANCE…
THE COUNTRY COUSIN OF BIG CITY DRINK-DEMON.
OH DRINK-DEMON. THOU ART FEISTY…AND OH SO QUICK TO CHANGE…
CHANGE TO WHATEVER SERVES THY LEGION BEST
THY LEGION, BEING WHAT IT IS, EXISTS FOREVER THIRSTY…
AND NOT SO MUCH FOR THE WATER, AS FOR THE KNOWLEDGE…
THE KNOWING…
THE KNOW…
KNOW.
EYE GAWT GAWT GAWT GAWT KNOW THYME…
ROCK’S STEADY WE KNOW, BUT THE PLAYERS, THEY COME AND THEY GO.
ROLL THE OLD LADY.
ROLE THE OLE LADEE.
ROAL-THEE-OAL-LADEE-HOO.
SOMEONE HAD LET THE YODELERS IN THE BACK DOOR AGAIN.

OH BROTHER.
A GUY CAN COME AROUND HERE TO GET THE SKIN AND SUSS THE SITCH, AND WHAT DOES HE END UP GETTIN’…? ANOTHER DIM, PRODDING TRY AT BLANK VERSE…
HONEST TO GOD, I LIKED OL’ FATTY MUCH BETTER WHEN HE JUST MADE SONGS…ALL THIS “WRITIN’ ” STUFF…WAY OFF THE MARK, MY MAN…RANK PALE…HE THINKS HE’S A WRITER NOW…OR SO HIS FRIENDS ALL SAY…
COME TO THINK OF IT, WHO ARE HIS FRIENDS…? I DON’T KNOW ANY OF ‘EM PERSONALLY…MAYBE HE JUST “WRITES” ‘EM WHEN HE WANTS ‘EM…

YA THINK SO…? REALLY…?

SURE, MAN…HE’S ALL A FAKE…HE EVEN WENT BACK TO THAT ST. JOHN’S WEEKEND AND TRIED TO FIT IN, WHEN ALL HE WANTED TO DO REALLY WAS STRUT AROUND WITH HIS GOLD RECORDS TIED TO HIS BACK, ALL TRAILIN’ BEHIND HIM, WALKIN’ THROUGH THE PEEPS ON THE DANCE FLOOR… HE’S ALL ABOUT HIMSELF, MAN…THEY BEAT HIM UP ENOUGH TO GET HIM DOWN TO THE MANITOBA MUSEUM ROCK SPECTACLE AND THEY “HAPPENED” TO GET HIM UP TO SING ONE AT THE PIANO…MUCH WAS THERE AND IT WAS ALL A BIG DEAL BEFORE HE EVEN HAD A CLUE OR A BREATH. HE SHOULD JUST GET THOSE ELEVEN OR TWELVE DOGS HE’S ALWAYS YAPPIN’ ABOUT AND HEAD UP TO THE NORTHWEST TERRITORIES. HE’S ALWAYS YAPPIN’ ABOUT THE TERRITORIES…TERRITORIES THIS, TERRITORIES THAT…

YAH…WELL, YA KNOW, HE HAD A FRIEND NAMED RONNIE LITTLEY WHEN HE WAS VERY, VERY YOUNG ON LANSDOWNE…THIS WOULD HAVE BEEN WHEN HE WAS AROUND SEVEN…AROUND 1954 THROUGH 1956. EVERY SUMMER, RONNIE WOULD COME DOWN THROUGH JULY FROM YELLOWKNIFE AND STAY WITH HIS GRANDMOTHER, WHO LIVED DOWN THE BLOCK AT 72 LANSDOWNE OR SOMETHING. LITTLE BUTCHIE ALWAYS THOUGHT THE NAME “YELLOWKNIFE” WAS REASON ENOUGH TO MOVE UP TO THE TERRITORIES RIGHT THEN AND THERE…”YELLOWKNIFE”…TO A LITTLE IRISH KID WITHOUT A DAD IN THE WHEATFIELDS IN THE FIFTIES, THE VERY NAME “YELLOWKNIFE” CARRIED WITH IT SOME SORT OF VIBE OR ENERGY, OR MAGICK (WITH A “K”). I THINK EVER SINCE THAT DAY WITH RONNIE WHERE THEY HAD THAT LOONEY TUNES COMIC WITH BUGS GETTIN’ CARROTS OUT OF A 1c GUMBALL MACHINE, HE’S BEEN THINKIN’ ON SOME LEVEL OR ANOTHER ABOUT MOVIN’ UP TO THE TERRITORIES…AND IT ALL STARTED WITH RONNIE COMIN’ DOWN FROM YELLOWKNIFE.

YEAH, BUT DIDN’T THEY BANTER THAT NAME AROUND YEARS LATER ON THAT CHEESY, EARLY, BLACK AND WHITE CANADIAN SHOW “RADISSON”…?

NAH, THAT WAS MORE ABOUT THE HISTORY OF QUEBEC…LOTSA IRIQUOIS STUFF AND BAD FAKE BIRCH TREES AND SCENERY…PIERRE WAS ACTUALLY CAPTURED MORE THAN ONCE BY THE IRIQUOIS…ALL HIS SHENANIGANS LED TO THE FORMATION OF THE HUDSON BAY COMPANY… I ALWAYS THOUGHT THE SHOW WAS KINDA SEMI-TAILORED FOR THE BUILT IN AUDIENCE OF MILLIONS IN THE PROVINCE WHO SPOKE ONLY OR MOSTLY FRENCH. COME TO THINK OF IT, MAN, THAT WAS WHAT SPAWNED “THE PLOUFFE FAMILY”…THEY ALL TALKED LIKE AN EXAGGERATED ROCKET RICHARD, A REAL UNBECOMING STEREOTYPE “FROG” DIALECT. HE SAYS HIS MOM AND GRANDMA LIKED “THE PLOUFFE FAMILY”, JUST BECAUSE IT WAS ABOUT PEOPLE WHO HAD NOTHIN’ , JUST LIKE THEM…A BIG RC FAMILY IN QUEBEC WHO ALL ATE AND ARGUED AND PRAYED TOGETHER.
THAT WHOLE DEAL THAT HE, HIMSELF, NEVER REALLY HAD.

AHHHH….THAT’S ANOTHER THING THAT PISSES ME OFF ABOUT HIM…HE’S ALWAYS WHINING ABOUT THAT “I HAD NO FATHER” THING…GEEZ, MAN…GIVE IT A ROYAL REST…
RHYMES WITH “PAST TENSE OF GROW SMALLER”…
RHYMES WITH “A LARGE BUNDLE OF HAY, BOUND FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT”…

YEAH, I’M WITCHA THERE, MY MAN…HE GETS ALL THIS CRAP GOIN’ IN THE PITY PIT, AND ALL OF A SUDDEN EVERYBODY’S ANALYZIN’ HIM AND HIS “DRIVE” AGAIN, AND IT’S ALL JUST SILLY…I THINK HE ACTUALLY PLANS ALL OF THIS, HONEST I DO…I THINK HE LIKES IT…CAN YOU BELIEVE IT…? I THINK HE LIKES IT…

WELL, IF HE DOES, HE’S SURE PUTTIN’ A LOTTA ENERGY IN A REAL STRANGE PLACE…
BUT HELL…DOESN’T THE RISIN’ OF THE SUN EVERY MORNIN’ DO JUST THAT ANYWAYS…? MAN…ALL THIS RADIO STUFF…HE’S SITTIN’ DOWN THERE IN BURBANK, OUT WHERE JAY LENNO’S DAILY LIFE IS SENT OUT EXPRESS, TALKIN’ TO PEOPLE FROM RIGHT HERE IN THE HOUSE…I HEAR TELL THAT SOME O’ THE REAL REGS GOT THRU…WOW…MUSTA SEEMED LIKE THE OLD CHAT ROOM DAYS, BEFORE SOME O’ THEM “UNSAVORY INCIDENTS”…HEARD HE SHOUTED OUT TO THE FOLKS HERE…IS THAT TRUE…?

YEAH, SO THE MAID TELLS ME. SHE TUNED IN, RIGHT AFTER SHE FINISHED HER NAILS. SPIFFY STUFF, OL’ FATTY TALKIN’ ABOUT THE KARAOKE BAND ON ROCKLINE…INNER-ESSING…MY COUSIN TELLS ME THAT THEY PLAYED “CRAZY IF YOU MESS WITH THE GODS” ON THE SHOW AND IT ROCKED ALONG OKAY…HE ALSO TELLS ME THAT THEY HAD A KEYBOARD FOR FATTY, AND HE SANG A FEW OF THE BIG SONGS, OR PIECES…I DON’T KNOW…I CAN’T KEEP UP WITH HIM ANYMORE…HE’S TEN YEARS OLDER THAN ME AND HE FLIES MORE IN A MONTH THAN I HAVE IN MY LIFE…
AND IT’S THE PRESH…THE CONSISTENTLY BRUTAL, TOP O’ THE TOTEM POLE PRESH…
THE PRESH…
TRY IT SOMETIME…
THE PRESH…
PLAY ON A THURSDAY FOR ALL THE PREMIERS OF ALL THE PROVINCES (INCLUDING, BY THE WAY THE PREMIER OF THE NORTHWEST TERRITORIES, SO THERE’S OL’ FATTY’S IN FOR A HUGE SPREAD WHERE YA COULD HAVE FIFTY DOGS…) ON A PRAIRIE EVENING, FLY FRIDAY, PLAY SATURDAY IN TORONTO FOR THE BRIDLE BASH, WHICH ONLY GETS BIGGER AND MORE REMARKABLE EACH YEAR. SHAZAMMABAMSTERS, THAT’S A LOTTA SEN-SEN…
THE PRESH.

YEAH, MAN, BUT THAT’S WHAT BUYS HIM HIS “FLEX”…HE CAN SOMETIMES JUST VISIT MRS. GREEN AND LISTEN TO MUSIC FOR A WEEK AT A TIME…JUST DRIVE AND LISTEN…JUST SIT AND THINK. NO OFFICE TOMORROW MORNING, LIKE YOU AND ME. SEE, THAT’S WHERE I ENVY HIM…BUT NOT THE PRESH…
NOPE, NOT THE PRESH…

I’M WITH YA MAN…WELL, I GOTTA SKEEDADDLE, SEATTLE…GETTIN’ SOME MP3′S OF A WHOLE BUNCHA NOTHIN’ TONIGHT, AND I’M PLANNIN’ TO GET LOST IN MEDIOCRITY…SEE, I’M EVEN LEARNIN’ SOME NICE WORDS, HANGIN’ AROUND HERE…
“LOST IN MEDIOCRITY”…NICE FEEL TO THAT, DONCHA THINK…?

YEAH, WELL GOOD LUCK WITH EVERYTHING….YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN……..
DONCHA…?

OH BROTHER…TALK ABOUT A KOLLUM ABOUT NOTHIN’ …………

SAME COOKE AND OTHER STUFF MAYBE

LISTENING TO DAVID RUFFIN’S “I GOT A THING FOR YOU” FROM THE LP “GENTLEMAN RUFFIN”, 1980. PROMPTED ME TO GO OVER AND HEAR “SHAKY GROUND”, BUT I KNOW SO WELL THAT HE WAS GONE BY THEN…FAR AS I KNOW, DENNIS EDWARDS SANG SHAKY GROUND, MAYBE I’M WRONG.
I SPENT THANKSGIVING DAY WITH DENNIS EDWARDS IN A HOTEL IN 1974. THE GW AND TEMPTATIONS HAD BOTH BEEN IN THE THANKSGIVING DAY PARADE, MIGHT HAVE BEEN CLEVELAND, BUT I’M NOT SURE.
BOY OH BOY…DAVID RUFFIN WENT OUT CHEAP…WOW, AS R. CRUMB SAYS “THE CHEAP SUIT SERENADERS”. GEEZ. THE GUY WHO SANG MY GIRL AND AIN’T TOO PROUD TO BEG WENT OUT IN A PHILADELPHIA C-HOUSE…HE AND A FRIEND DID TEN VIALS IN AN HOUR, SO IT SAYS ON LINE, SO IT MUST BE TRUE. THE TELEVISION SPECIAL THAT WENT ON FOREVER ABOUT THE “INSIDE STORY” OF THE TEMPTATIONS, DID IN NO WAY PAINT ANY KIND OF FAVOURABLE PORTRAIT OF MR. RUFFIN. GREAT SONGS, NOT WRITTEN BY HIM, BUT SUNG TREMENDOUSLY BY HIM…BUT THERE WAS NEVER ANY EXCUSE FOR ALL THAT “HELLO, I’M DAVID RUFFIN AND THESE ARE THE TEMPTATIONS” BULLSHIT…THAT WAS WAY, WAY OVER THE LINE.
GEEZ…THIS CUT IS SOULFUL…
SO I JUMPED OVER TO “CRIME IN THE STREET” FROM THE MOTOWN SOLO ALBUMS VOL. 2…IT’S OKAY, BUT KINDA TIRED AND CERTAINLY OVERLY PREDICTABLE. I REALLY DON’T MIND PREDICTABLE IF IT’S WONDERFUL, BUT THIS IS PREDICTABLE AND SORTA TIRED. THEN I HEARD A BIT OF “COMMON MAN”…AGAIN, JUST OKAY…THEN “NIGHTMARE”…WELL, THIS IS JUST DISCO.
AND I’M NOT A FAN OF DISCO. I DON’T DANCE. I DON’T GO TO CLUBS AND DRINK AND TALK TO NINETEEN YEAR OLDS…WHY WOULD I LIKE DISCO ?
JOONGA-JOONGA-JOONGA-JOONGA
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GOTTA GET AWAY FROM DAVID RUFFIN. NOT KNOCKED OUT BY HIS SOLO STUFF, BUT HE SURE DEFINED A HUGE PART OF THE TEMPTATIONS. HIS ERA WITH THEM WAS WHAT INITIALLY MADE THEM BIGGER THAN LIFE. THEY DIDN’T JUST CROSS OVER INTO WHITE MAINSTREAM, THEY DOMINATED RADIO FOR A WHILE…ALL RADIO. EVEN WELL INTO THE PSYCHEDELIC ERA…REMEMBER “BALL OF CONFUSION…?” THAT ONE AND “PSYCHEDELIC SHACK” BOTH CAME OUT IN 1970, WHEN THERE WERE STILL PLENTY OF HIPPIES AROUND…I KNOW, I WAS TRAVELLING THE U.S. EXTENSIVELY IN 1970. RUFFIN LEFT THE GROUP IN 1968, BUT BEFORE HE LEFT THEY ALSO DID “BEAUTY IS ONLY SKIN DEEP”, ” I WISH IT WOULD RAIN” AND “LOSING YOU”. LOSING YOU WAS SO BIG THAT RARE EARTH COVERED IT AND IT WENT TO #7 IN BILLBOARD…
SO WHO DEALS THE CARDS THAT BRING DOWN THESE SPECIAL PEOPLE…?
WHAT DECIDES A DRAB FATE FOR SOMONE WHO HAD LIVED “IN THE CASTLE…?” I AM CONSTANTLY MYSTIFIED BY WHAT I SEE AND HEAR.
WHEN I LISTEN TO SAM COOKE I AM ALWAYS TAKEN SOMEWHAT ABACK, RELIVING THAT SORDID STORY OF HIS EXIT, OVER AND OVER AND OVER AGAIN THROUGH THE DECADES. STILL LOVE THE VOICE, THOUGH. SAM COOKE IS ONE OF THE BEST REASONS FOR US TO HAVE EVOLVED TO THE POINT WHERE ONE’S UTTERINGS CAN LIVE ON PAST HIS PHYSICAL BODY.
AND HE EVEN SMOKED…
I’M PROFUSELY GRATEFUL FOR MY MUSIC LIBRARY…MORESO EVERY YEAR THAT PASSES. IT’S THE OL’ TIME TRAVEL THING.
WHY ARE THERE THESE “CREASES” IN OUR BRAIN THAT RETAIN SUCH DETAIL…? I CAN RE-HEAR CONVERSATIONS FROM THE MID 1950′S OVER AND OVER AGAIN…CERTAIN PHRASES…THEY’RE RIGHT THERE, AS GOOD AS BEING ON A CD…
DAMN, THAT MANCINI STUFF FROM PETER GUNN IS SPECTAC. IT’S DISPROPORTIONATE HOW MUCH I VISIT MANCINI, ESPECIALLY PETER GUNN ONE AND TWO, CONSIDERING I HAVE ACCESS TO AN ENTIRE CENTURY OF MAN’S MUSIC.
EARLIER I HAD A REAL URGE TO SEE A COUPLE OF EPISODES OF “RANGE RIDER” WITH JOCK MAHONEY…WOW…I DON’T OWN ANY, AND COULDN’T FIND EVEN ONE AT “HULU”, ALTHOUGH SETTLING FOR AN EPISODE OF “HIGHWAY PATROL” WITH BRODERICK CRAWFORD ENDED UP BEING JUST AS GOOD…
MUST SAY, “HULU” IS QUITE THE THING. STARTED OFF ABSOLUTELY ONE HUNDRED PER CENT PURE, BUT WE ALL KNEW THAT COULDN’T LAST TOO LONG…NOW IT’S GOT COMMERCIALS, BUT STILL…YOU CAN BOUNCE AROUND FROM GENE BARRY AS BAT MASTERSON RIGHT TO LLOYD BRIDGES IN SEA HUNT, AND BACK AGAIN TO HIGHWAY PATROL…
TREMEND…JUST TREMEND…SO MANY OF THESE EARLY TELEVISION CLASSICS WERE SHOT IN BEAUTIFUL B/W PANAVISION FILM, THAT THEY LOOK EVEN BETTER NOW THAN I SAW THEM ON EARLY CANADIAN TV TRANSMISSIONS…YOU KNOW, YOU OLD FOLKS…THE DAYS OF “RABBIT EARS” ON YOUR 17 INCH SCREEN…
OH BROTHER…I SOUND LIKE I NEED A WALKER…STILL TRYING TO GET ALTOGETHER BETTER…STILL HACKING LIKE I USED TO WHEN I SMOKED CIGS. THREE KINDS OF DROPS FOR MY EYES…TWO KINDS OF DROPS FOR THE NOSE…OH BROTHER…
WELL COMPARED TO WHAT MANY FROM THE CLUBHOUSE HAVE FACED, I SOUND AS THOUGH I’M WHINING…AND I DON’T MEAN TO MAKE MOUNTAINS OUT OF MOLEHILLS…BUT I’VE SURE HAD A LOUSY COUPLA WEEKS…MANY LEVELS…MANY…
SOMETHING ABOUT THREE OF THE PLANETS BEING VISIBLE SIMULTANEOUSLY, PERHAPS…? GEEZ, EVEN STUFF BESIDES MY HEALTH…ATTACKED FROM ALL ANGLES…CAR SMASHED, WALLET GONE…
LOST DAYS IN THE PRECAMBRIAN SHIELD…
OH BROTHER.
I GOTTA BE UP IN THREE HOURS FOR A DAY OF ENDLESS MINUTIA…THEN THE NEXT DAY I DO ROCKLINE AT THE CRACK OF DAWN, GOIN’ OUT TO WELL OVER A HUNDRED STATIONS, MAYBE EVEN 150…THAT’S BIG RADIO.
FIGHTING BACK, NOT LYING AROUND TOO MUCH, BUT STILL WEAK…
IT’S BEEN A WEAK WEEK.

I’M GONNA LISTEN TO THE KILLS FOR A WHILE…ALISON AND JAMIE’S ATTITUDE ALWAYS BRIGHTENS MY SPIRIT…
SUGGESTED LISTENING FOR THOSE WHO HAVE NOT HEARD THE KILLS, AND WOULD BE INTERESTED…

AT THE BACK OF THE SHELL-FROM “NO WOW” 2004
WHAT NEW YORK USED TO BE-FROM “MIDNIGHT BOOM” 2008
ALPHABET PONY-FROM “MIDNIGHT BOOM” 2008
CHEAP AND CHEERFUL-FROM “MIDNIGHT BOOM” 2008
MAGAZINE-FROM “RUN HOME SLOW” EP 2005 (TO ME, THIS IS DANGEROUSLY CLOSE TO PLAGIARISM FROM “GHOST OF A TEXAS LADIES MAN” BY CONCRETE BLONDE…) STILL A GREAT LITTLE SIMPLE GUITAR RIFF FROM JAMIE…

THE KILLS ARE THE ULTIMATE COOL DUO, IN THIS, THE TAIL-END OF AN ERA OF DUO’S…THE TING TINGS MUST HAVE REALLY STARTED SOMETHING, WAY BACK THERE IN 2007 IN SALFORD IN MANCHESTER…

HEARD “GOT MY OWN THING” BY LIZ PHAIR IN MY CAR LAST NIGHT…AS GREAT AS EVER…FEMALE KEITH RICHARDS KINDA…
JUST HEARD “YOU LEFT THE WATER RUNNING” BY MACK AND MAURICE ON “CHESS SOUL”…
FLIPPIN’ ROUND THE OTHER NIGHT, CHANNELS IN THE HUNDREDS AND NOTHIN’ ON…PATHETT…AND ON COMES A RE-NARROWCAST OF LAST YEAR’S BIG ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME 25TH OR SOMETHING…AND THERE’S SAM MOORE SINGIN’, FRONTIN’ THIS HUGE LINE OF LEGENDS, SINGIN’ “SOUL MAN” AND THE VOICE WAS JUST AS CUTTING AS EVER…SAM WILL TURN 75 ON OCTOBER 12TH OF THIS YEAR…
I’M FOREVER A FAN OF LIVE MUSIC, BUT LOVE RECORDS FIRST…ALWAYS LOVE RECORDS FIRST…THEY’RE MOSTLY PERFECT AND YOU CAN HEAR THEM OVER AGAIN, EXACTLY THE SAME WAY FOREVER…BUT WHEN A GUY COMES ALONG LIKE SAM MOORE DID THE OTHER NIGHT, GOOD GOSH, OH GOLLY…THAT VOICE…
THERE’S NOTHING LIKE THE REAL THING.
SPEAKIN’ OF THE REAL THING…YA THINK RICHARD EVER GOT INTO ANY SCRAPES DOWN SOUTH IN THE EARLY NINETEEN FIFTIES LOOKIN’ LIKE THIS…?