Wet End Of October Friday Random Ten

I did some running around this morning; I had to get some groceries and get the stuff for Adam's Halloween costume. He's forgoing his three-years-running Dick Cheney-shooting-a-rich-Republican-hunting-partner costume (Dick Cheney mask, flannel shirt and toy rifle) and is going as our disgraced former governor (and neighbor), Rod Blagojevich. I ran by my favorite resale store and found a nice black suit that I think will fit him, for 15 bucks. At a dollar store, I also found toy money for him to stuff into his pockets. Since his hair is blonde, I needed some of that washable hairspray dye, in black (which I also need for my Jim Jones costume). I checked in the Jewel's on Western for it, but they were out of black. There is a Party City across the street, so I ran over there and was fortunate to find it still in stock there.

The PA was playing Halloween-themed songs. As I waited in line, Steve Goodman's classic "Lincoln Park Pirates" came on. I'm a huge Steve Goodman fan (his mother is also a regular at the restaurant) so I enjoyed it.

For you non-Chicagoans, the song is about the Lincoln Park Towing Service, a notoriously not-nice towing company that is based not out of the Lincoln Park neighborhood, but the edgy Uptown neighborhood.

As I left the store and walked back across Western Avenue to the Jewel's Parking lot, I noticed something: a tow truck skulking in a corner. You guessed it-- a Lincoln Park Towing truck, waiting to pounce on someone doing exactly what I was doing, or for a student from Chicago's biggest high school, Lane Tech, which is next door, to try to sneak in there.

Fortunately, he hadn't caught on to me. I walked into the store in one entrance and walked out another entrance. He was none the wiser.

I promised some Chicago Autumn pictures. We've had the wettest October in Chicago's history. We did, however, have a few sunny days. These pictures were all taken on my block. You'd never know from the looks of it that the busiest street in Chicago, Western Avenue, is at the end of our block.













1. Turn Me Loose- Loverboy
2. Willie and The Poor Boys- Creedence Clearwater Revival
3. Heroes- Joe Jackson
4. Pride and Joy- Marvin Gaye
5. Bigshot- Billy Joel
6. Joe Stalin's Cadillac- Camper Van Beethoven
7. Baby, Now That I've Found You- The Foundations
8. Midnight Rider- The Allman Brothers Band
9. Goodbye to You- Scandal
10. Are You Gonna Be There (At the Love-In)- The Chocolate Watchband

Notes:
1. A big hunk o' eighties cheese.
2. "Creedence! I LOVE Creedence!"
3. A great cover of the great Bowie song.
4. Marvin Gaye was hugely talented. His early decline and early demise were tragic.
5. I know/It's only Billy Joel/But I like it.
6. I heard Camper's version of the Status Quo classic "Pictures of Matchstick Men" in the grocery store the other day. File that under "Things I never thought I'd ever see or hear in my lifetime."
7. Looked up this sixties one-hit wonder and discovered two interesting things: The Foundations were British (I'd alway thought that they were American) and secondly that part of the song was written in the same Soho, London tavern that Karl Marx wrote much of "Das Kapital" in.
8. Love this smoky little song.
9. I did Scandal's "Love Is Gonna Get You" in my "Occasional Forgotten Videos" a while back, and this one will be following soon.
10. Great Garage Rock/Psychedelia band from San Jose, California. This is on the fabulous Nuggets collection.