The All-Star Game came off without a hitch last night, so everyone in the city is relieved — no mayhem, riots or embarrassing sprays of gunfire. Alan and I were downtown the Friday previous, having dinner at Vicente’s, the new Cuban place on Library Street (try the midnight sandwich, mmm), and he remarked that things were certainly looking better outside than when he arrived in December. He recalled driving around to three different pay phones one night, trying to call us back in the Fort, and when he finally found one that worked, he had to stand in three inches of slush to make the call.
It was a short one. I never keep people on the phone long.
Things were looking good. My friend Ron remarked at seeing a city employee driving some sort of apparatus down the sidewalk, something like a riding lawn mower with a suction device attached. She was carefully hoovering up litter. “Where have these things been for the last 10 years?” he wondered. “How long did it take to find the key to the warehouse?”
Ten years, I’d say. Let’s hope it holds for a while. Super Bowl’ll be here in less than six months. And that’ll be in three-inches-of-slush season.
Slow, busy day, so not much bloggage today. But! I have this — blogcritics’ list of the 10 most overrated singles of…whenever. You-all can go to town with this for 30 comments, if you ask me. I’ll start with this:
What? And they forgot “Thriller”?
brian stouder said on July 14, 2005 at 12:23 am
Well, I most avidly AGREE with
8. �Bohemian Rhapsody� � Queen
I despise that piece; it is an instant ‘hit the button’ cue when it comes up in the car.
But I most lividly DISAGREE with
2. “Light My Fire” – The Doors. The guy goes on and on about Morrison – but he’s just wrong.
In a semi-related note, did anyone see the USA Today listing of the Greatest American Rock Bands? I know Nance despises list-articles, but that’s this particular columnist’s whole schtick – she asks a question and then tabulates reader responses. (you’ll have to copy/paste the url, as I don’t know how to do the link thing)
http://www.usatoday.com/life/columnist/popcandy/2005-07-05-pop-candy_x.htm
it’s quite a funny article, when you read the ‘reader’s comments’ – and best of all, EXACTLY and PRECISELY the right band won the thing! And WHAT band is the Greatest American Rock Band?
Is that the question? And if so, who answers?
hahahahahahaha!!
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ashley said on July 14, 2005 at 4:57 am
Brian, sorry, but I think he’s almost right about “Light my Fire”. I can’t figure out the whole Morrison is a god thing. The lyrics are fine, but damn, Manzarek’s organ is the most obnoxious instrumental device since kids thought that Theremins belonged in surf music. The guitar is fine, too, but hey, where’s the bass player? And don’t tell me it’s Manzarek’s left hand!
Once, I was in a deep depression, and I figured out why: I was listening to too much Doors. Simple as that. I quit, and suddenly, shiny happy people. It’s like getting lithium.
They’re dead wrong about Freebird, but then, I grew up in Skynyrdland, so I’m admittedly biased. Also, I think that story about the DJ coming up with it is crap. Freebird simply served as a substitute for Whipping Post, which is what people used to scream at bands when they weren’t playing what the audience wanted to hear. In fact, Frank Zappa got so tired of it, he had the band learn Whipping Post, just so they could play it and shut everybody up. And yes, Zappa’s version rocked the llama’s ass.
Pour some sugar on me is about the most trite thing ever penned by Def Leppard, and that’s saying a whole hell of a lot.
Personally, I can’t listen to any U2 recorded after Rattle and Hum without laughing, ever since I heard Bono say: “Play the Blues, Edge”. I’m still waiting…
And the author is dead, dead wrong about Born to Run. She doesn’t even get the right instrument. If you’re going to try to be pithy, learn the difference between a xylophone and a glockenspiel.
Thanks for the link to the USA article. Man, I hate these lists, too, because there are obviously a couple of bogus entries simply to encite debate.
Pearl Jam number 1?
Fleetwood Mac (I thought 3/5 of them were British?)
Journey in the top 5? Bwahhah ha ha ha ha
Queensryche? Queensryche?
And I truly wish that the Dave Matthews Band would hire a singer. Howzabout Donald Fagen?
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brian stouder said on July 14, 2005 at 3:31 pm
I asked my 18 year old what the most over-rated single is, and I did not recognize the artist or the title – even enough to enable an approximation. (I think band names are now inspired by vanity plate nomenclature – 2 6E4U or whatever)
Our 10 year old now requests that I tune to the local rapper station when we’re out and about…I discovered that our station ‘blip’s the nasty bits during the day….but they go un-‘blipped’ at some point in the evening!
Anyway, if we keep tuning into the rapper station (some of which has grown on me, but most of which has not) I may have to add curb feelers to our sled
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ashley said on July 15, 2005 at 4:22 am
Yo! Get sum fuzzy dice wif dem curb feelers!
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brian stouder said on July 15, 2005 at 9:09 am
You know, I actually DO have dice hanging from the rearview mirror – but they’re not fuzzy (our 6 year old gave them to me for a Christmas present a year ago)
I actually do covet those spinny-wheel things; they’re so silly that they’re cool!
Except I think they’d be hazardous with young folks around to spin ’em on the driveway….plus they’re incredibly expensive….!
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