One of those strange things was when I got a call yesterday at about 4 PM from a co-worker from when I worked at the alternative high school. Apparently what started out as a fight between two girls escalated into a full-blown riot, spilling out into the street, involving over a hundred students and people in the neighborhood. The staff was unable to leave for an hour after dismissal. I'm glad I missed it. I'm glad I made the decision to leave.
1. Stone Junkie- Curtis Mayfield2. Sister Moonshine- Supertramp
3. It's Different For Girls- Joe Jackson
4. Concrete Jungle- The Specials
5. The Ballad of Jerry Curlin- The Angry Samoans
6. I'll Be Your Baby Tonight- Bob Dylan
7. A Thing Called Love- Johnny Cash
8. A Dying Cub Fan's Last Request- Steve Goodman
9. A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall- Bob Dylan
10. Don't Let It Break You Down- Graham Parker
Notes:
1. From People Get Ready, the fantastic Curtis Mayfield box set.
2. A guilty pleasure-- I love earlier Supertramp. I've been hearing this one in a commercial lately.
3. One of my favorite Joe Jackson tunes.
4. "You're goin' home in a f*ckin' ambulance." I've mentioned before my friend Suzy asking a member of the Specials what that chant was at the beginning.
5. Great eighties post-punk. My college roommate Jim's punk band, DUI, did a version of this, substituting the name of Barry Shawgo, a hated, asskissing, hypocritical member of the student senate at our college. That's a story I'll have to tell soon.
6. Robert Palmer and UB40 collaborated to do a nice cover of this song in the early nineties (see below).
7. It's Johnny Cash-- what more do I need to say?
8. Goodman, a die-hard Cubs fan, wrote and recorded this one after he found out that his leukemia, which had been in remission for years, had returned. Ironically, he died a month before the Cubs made the playoffs in 1984. Of course, if he would have been glad he missed their pathetic performance in those playoffs.
9. I mentioned this song in a post earlier this week. One of my life goals is to memorize the lyrics to this song very visual song.
10. I kept hearing Graham Parker all day today. That's not a bad thing.
13 comments:
I must brag: I'm going to see Bob Dylan tomorrow night — with Elvis Costello and Amos Lee as the openers! — and some setlists have included "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall." I'm too excited for words.
Great story about Steve Goodman. I don't know that song — but I'll be downloading it this weekend.
Remember:
"When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro."
here's to the end of a strange week.
Your list is brilliant. Concrete Jungle is a favorite, and the Dylan choice is one of my ALL TIME favorite songs. I just love the mood and feeling of it.
What the hell is that on comment section from yesterday's post? That anonymous post aside I am a huge Joe Jackson fan. I have absolutely adored him ever since my university days.
That's a grand list with which to start a weekend. Like Toccata, I loved Joe Jackson in university. In the pre-internetz dark ages, we didn't hear a lot of the cool stuff, but he was a definite bright spot (along with Elvis Costello).
Oooo, I love Joe Jackson. My favorite album of his is Beat Crazy.
Graham Parker is a very Lulu thing to have on your shuffle (actually, it's a very Steve thing to have, you know my friend Steve? as in Jane&Steve)
So, why did one small fight break out into a fullblown riot? Was it race or gang related? (sorry, too lazy to google it) I can't imagine why you'd not miss something like that. No wonder the gray hairs.
Beth-
Brag away, you lucky gal! Can't wait for the review.
I've seen Dylan twice-- the last time right around the time Adam was born. Both times were great. Have yet to see Elvis.
I was lucky enough to see Goodman twice while he was still alive, including once with his best friend John Prine.
Bubs-
The Hunter S. Thompson quote was just what I needed!
Tocatta-
I've seen that spam on a couple of other blogs now.
Joe's long been a favorite of mine as well.
Barbara-
I had a college roomie who was a big fan of Joe Jackson, so I had access to his albums. Have you ever heard his cover of Eleanor Rigby? If not, email me at juanyen@yahoo.com and I'll email it to you.
Skyler's Dad-
That one's a favorite of mine too! Love the song "One To One," especially.
Lulu-
I've dug Graham Parker since high school-- "Passion Is No Ordinary Word," "Hey Lord, Don't Ask Me No Questions" and others. The Mona Lisa's Smile album in 1988 or so was a big comeback for him.
Macguffin-
It escalated in all liklihood down gang lines. The gang in the neighborhood the school is in is a small one and one of the big ones in Chicago is trying to move in. It's amazing-- their world is entirely in that neighborhood. They have no idea how idiotic their actions and loyalties are.
http://johnnyyen.blogspot.com/2007/09/strange-days-friday-random-ten.htmlGood to see your post about Steve Goodman. He often doesn't get his due. Thought you might be interested in an eight-year project of mine that has come to fruition -- an 800-page biography of Goodman published in May, "Steve Goodman: Facing the Music." Please check my Internet site below for more info on the book. Just trying to spread the word. Feel free to do the same!
Clay Eals
1728 California Ave. S.W. #301
Seattle, WA 98116-1958
(206) 935-7515
(206) 484-8008
ceals@comcast.net
http://www.clayeals.com
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