This Is The Modern World

Bye Bye Ding Dong Daddy

Jerry McCain

Rest In Peace

Jerry "Boogie" McCain, a Gadsden native who gained international acclaim as a prolific singer/songwriter and harmonica player, died today. He was 81." ... Story continues here: Legendary Bluesman Jerry "Boogie" McCain Dies (The Gadsden Times)

Download: "Geronimo Rock'N'Roll"

Buy: Jerry McCain jukebox series 45s

45 Revolutions: The Little Roosters

"When Joe Strummer went to see The Little Roosters play at the Hope And Anchor in Islington, North London in 1979 it turned out thankfully to be on an evening of one of the band's most legendary and highly charged raucous barroom gigs ever." -James Duggon

The Little Roosters were founded and fronted by Gary Lammin, shortly after the break-up of his first legendary group, Cock Sparrer. (Steve Burgess and Steve Bruce of Sparrer were also to join the Roosters after the group's debut 45 on Pye in 1979.) The Roosters' excellent pub-rock meets glam-rock debut LP was released in France by Polydor in 1981, and was produced by super-fan Joe Strummer, who also plays piano on the LP. Legend has it that Strummer was paid for his production in dental work, rather than cash. 1981's "People Break Down" was the group's fourth, and final single.

Download: "People Break Down" b/w "Ain't Proud"

( Bonus download: "I Need A Witness" * )

* From The Little Roosters' second 45 (Ami Records, 1980),

originally recorded and released by Cock Sparrer in 1978.

Quote Of The Week

"I refuse to be told what to think, or how, let alone what to say or write. But certainly not by people who claim the authority of fabricated works of primeval myth and fiction, and want me to believe that these are divine. That I won't have. That's the original repudiation. The first rebellion against mental slavery comes from saying, this is man-made, it's not divine."

50 Years Ago Today...

Bob Dylan LP (Columbia 8579)

Released March 19th, 1962

Ramblin’ outa the wild West

Leavin’ the towns I love the best

Thought I’d seen some ups and downs

’Til I come into New York town

People goin’ down to the ground

Buildings goin’ up to the sky

Wintertime in New York town

The wind blowin’ snow around

Walk around with nowhere to go

Somebody could freeze right to the bone

I froze right to the bone

New York Times said it was the coldest winter in seventeen years

I didn’t feel so cold then

I swung onto my old guitar

Grabbed hold of a subway car

And after a rocking, reeling, rolling ride

I landed up on the downtown side

Greenwich Village

I walked down there and ended up

In one of them coffee-houses on the block

Got on the stage to sing and play

Man there said, “Come back some other day

You sound like a hillbilly

We want folk singers here”

Well, I got a harmonica job, begun to play

Blowin’ my lungs out for a dollar a day

I blowed inside out and upside down

The man there said he loved m’ sound

He was ravin’ about how he loved m’ sound

Dollar a day’s worth

And after weeks and weeks of hangin’ around

I finally got a job in New York town

In a bigger place, bigger money too

Even joined the union and paid m’ dues

Now, a very great man once said

That some people rob you with a fountain pen

It didn’t take too long to find out

Just what he was talkin’ about

A lot of people don’t have much food on their table

But they got a lot of forks ’n’ knives

And they gotta cut somethin’

So one mornin’ when the sun was warm

I rambled out of New York town

Pulled my cap down over my eyes

And headed out for the western skies

So long, New York

Howdy, East Orange

"Talkin' New York" lyrics by Bob Dylan. Copyright © 1962, 1965

by Duchess Music Corporation; renewed 1990, 1993 by MCA

"I Drink Because I'm Thirsty"

"I'm just following the Irish tradition of songwriting,

the Irish way of life, the human way of life. Cram as much

pleasure into life, and rail against the pain you have to suffer as

a result. Or scream and rant with the pain, and wait for it to

be taken away with beautiful pleasure..."

When I Paint My Masterpiece

"In the graffiti underground, Piece Books — or sketch books —have been a secret weapon for the mysterious artists who pioneered the culture back in 1970s New York."

Buy: Piecebook: The Secret Drawings of Graffiti Writers

Teenage Heart

Bruce Roehrs

Rest In Peace

Two years ago today, the world lost one of the truly great, unbridled rock'n'roll enthusiasts... You are still missed, Bruce.

Dig: MRR #324 excerpts (The Bruce Roehrs' Memorial Issue)

Quote Of The Week

"We are weighed down, every moment, by the conception and the sensation of Time. And there are but two means of escaping and forgetting this nightmare: pleasure and work. Pleasure consumes us. Work strengthens us. Let us choose."

Faces Come Out Of The Rain

"The papers were always talking about the debt owed to society. According to them, it had to be paid. But that doesn't speak to the imagination. What really counted was the possibility of escape, a leap to freedom, out of the implacable ritual, a wild run for it that would give whatever chance for hope there was. Of course, hope meant being cut down on some street corner, as you ran like mad, by a random bullet. But when I really thought it through, nothing was going to allow me such a luxury. Everything was against it; I would just be caught up in the machinery again."

From The Stranger, 1942

Quote Of The Week

"Do you really think it is weakness that yields to temptation? I tell you that there are terrible temptations which it requires strength, strength and courage to yield to."