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 ?
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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…?