Rollin' And Tumblin'

Download: "She Belongs To Me" by Billy Preston
Download: "Masters Of War" by The Long Ryders
Download: "One Too Many Mornings" by Burl Ives
Download: "Love Minus Zero/No Limit" by Buck Owens
Buy: The Songs of Bob Dylan From 1966 Through 1975

Quote Of The Week

"The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe. If you try it, you will be lonely often, and sometimes frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself." -Friedrich Nietzsche

1212 Lowlands Avenue

He was thinking that none of it was real; it was all elsewhere, floating slowly just out of reach. Then she whispered in his ear: "you change the way I see colors," and the sky opened up like an epic greek poem; a numerical vision bounced around his skull. He turned on the stereo and played that song again — they were all symbolic at that point, but this one resonated and brought forth joy which lacked the bitter-sweet taste he had become accustomed to. He still had questions, but the answers held not the depth they once had mere moments earlier. It mattered not where he was going anymore, but where he'd been: dancing like a loon, laughing, drinking, smelling, tasting... Living.

He too saw colors differently then.

© 2009 Lee Greenfeld

A.I.T.A. Hall Of Fame: Ronnie Bird

"During the mid-'60s, Ronnie Bird was the only French artist to successfully emulate the sounds of the British Invasion across the channel. Bird was one of the few French singers with a facility for singing rock & roll in French without sounding strained or embarrassing. His first few discs were crafted with the help of expatriate guitarist Mickey Baker, the same Mickey Baker who was half of Mickey & Sylvia and responsible for great session work on numerous rock and R&B songs in the '50s. Baker played on Bird's discs and actually wrote a few tracks with him, although most of Bird's records were French covers of songs by British giants like the Stones, the Who, the Pretty Things, and the Hollies.

Although extremely derivative of the tougher side of the British Invasion, Bird's covers and originals were respectably hard-driving and well-executed. Dabbling in soul and psychedelia at times as the '60s progressed, Bird eased out of the music business and emigrated to New York in the '70s." [All Music Guide]

Download: "Ou Va T'Elle" ("Come On Back")
Download: "Tu Perds Ton Temps" ("Don't Bring Me Down")
Download: "Ce Maudit Journal" ("Almost There")
Download: "I Can Only Give You Everything"
Download: "Hey Girl"
Ronnie Bird 1965 LP (Decca) tracks

Download: "Sad Soul"
Download: "Raining In The City"
A- and B-side of 1969 45 (Phillips)
Note: All downloadable MP3s have been removed by request.

Flower Punk, R.I.P.

Sky "Sunlight" Saxon
Rest In Peace
"Sky Saxon, founder of the brilliant '60s garage band the Seeds, died Thursday morning at St. David’s Hospital." ... Story continues here: R.I.P. Sky Saxon (Austin 360)

Buy: The Best Of The Seeds

Quote Of The Week

"If suffer we must, let's suffer on the heights." -Victor Hugo

The More Loving One

Looking up at the stars, I know quite well
That, for all they care, I can go to hell,
But on earth indifference is the least
We have to dread from man or beast.

How should we like it were stars to burn
With a passion for us we could not return?
If equal affection cannot be,
Let the more loving one be me.

Admirer as I think I am
Of stars that do not give a damn,
I cannot, now I see them, say
I missed one terribly all day.

Were all stars to disappear or die,
I should learn to look at an empty sky
And feel its total dark sublime,
Though this might take me a little time.

-W. H. Auden

"This Is It... This is It!"

Mike Martin aka Iz The Wiz
November 8, 1958 - June 17, 2009
Rest In Peace
"Iz The Wiz was from the New York borough of Queens. Beginning in 1972, he became a long reigning all-city graffiti king of New York known primarily for his quick, simple two letter tag. Iz represented a new breed of fame-obsessed writers concerned with finding the perfect balance between quantity and quality. He was also featured in the 1983 documentary Style Wars.

From years of using toxic aerosol products with no protective mask, Iz was diagnosed with kidney failure in 1996. In early 2000, in an interview for Style Wars Revisited, he commented that he would give up all his past fame for full health." [Wikipedia]

Buy: Style Wars

44 Years Ago Today...

"During the second recording session for his album Highway 61 Revisited, Dylan records "Like A Rolling Stone" at Columbia Records’ Studio A, New York City." [Rock Source Archive]


Download: "Like A Rolling Stone" by James Marshall
Download: "Like A Rolling Stone" by The Wailing Wailers
Download: "Like A Rolling Stone" by Phil Flowers & The Flower Shop
Buy: Like A Rolling Stone: Bob Dylan At The Crossroads

Quote Of The Week

"If a man is offered a fact which goes against his instincts, he will scrutinize it closely, and unless the evidence is overwhelming, he will refuse to believe it. If, on the other hand, he is offered something which affords a reason for acting in accordance to his instincts, he will accept it even on the slightest evidence. The origin of myths is explained in this way." -Bertrand Russell

It's All I Have To Bring Today

It's all I have to bring today –
This, and my heart beside –
This, and my heart, and all the fields –
And all the meadows wide –
Be sure you count – should I forget
Some one the sum could tell –
This, and my heart, and all the Bees
Which in the Clover dwell.

-Emily Dickinson

The Graffiti Gospel

"It’s a small, harmless-looking, soft cover; just over 100 colorful pages. For better or worse, its contents have become a source of inspiration. It has been pocketed from bookstore shelves, reappearing in crime scene photographs alongside spray cans and markers. The images on its pages have been studied like hieroglyphs and copied on surfaces across the globe." ... Story continues here: Showcase: "Subway Art" (NY Times' Lens Blog)

Buy: Subway Art, 25th Anniversary Edition

Dreams

Hold fast to dreams
For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird
That cannot fly.
Hold fast to dreams
For when dreams go
Life is a barren field
Frozen with snow.

-Langston Hughes

Songs For Swinging Lovers... And Losers, Pt.4

IT'S COLD OUTSIDE

"Smoking Cigarettes" by The Golden Earrings
"Every Little Bit Hurts" by The Small Faces
"You Broke My Heart" by The Talismen
"So Sad About Us" by The Who
"Since I Lost My Baby" by The Action
"Leave Me Be" by The Zombies
"Summer Sun" by Beathovens
"Simple Twist Of Fate" by Bob Dylan
"Since I Lost The One" by The Impressions
"It's Cold Outside" by The Choir
"These Days" by Nico
"Shadows Breaking Over My Head" by The Left Banke
"Teach Me To Forget" by The Outsiders
"I Lost Everything" by Sam Cooke
"Here Without You" by The Byrds
"For All That I Am" by The Creation
"So Lonely" by The Everly Brothers
"Tried So Hard" by Fairport Convention

Download: "Smoking Cigarettes" by The Golden Earrings
Download: "You Broke My Heart" by The Talismen
Download: "Summer Sun" by The Beathovens
Download: "Shadows Breaking Over My Head" by The Left Banke

Quote Of The Week

"Don't walk behind me, I may not lead. Don't walk in front of me, I may not follow. Just walk beside me and be my friend."

Lay Down Your Weary Tunes

Download: "Gates of Eden" by The Myddle Class
Download: "Desolation Row" by Les Sauterelles
Download: "I Don't Believe You" by The Heard
Buy: Revolution in the Air: The Songs of Bob Dylan

Quote Of The Week

"Do not be too moral. You may cheat yourself out of much life. Aim above morality. Be not simply good; be good for something." -Henry David Thoreau