Baseball is no longer a concern, but the Cubs are moving coaches left and right. Chili Davis and Jim Hickey are now in tow. Davis is the new hitting coach, hopefully he can find a way to get the Cubs bats going when the temp drops before 50 degrees in April and October. Jim Hickey replaces Chris Bosio is now Detroit's pitching coach. Dave Martinez is the new Washington Nats manager, replacing Dusty Baker. I do think Martinez has potential to be one of the best managers if given the chance, however he chose a team who's owners are not very patient guys. As one person pointed out, D.M got a three year contract, however in Dusty Baker's case he was there for two seasons, got them to the playoffs only to get shown the door and after the Cubs won this season, ownership cleaned house. If you're going to established a winning team on and off the field, changing managers every two seasons will eventually get you thrown into the scrap heap with or without a Steve Strasuburg or Bryce Harper. I could be wrong but if Washington don't make it to the World Series before 2020, Martinez will be shown the door. Unless he put in a buy out clause that will bankrupt the Learners as owners. The decision of Martinez being manager is not quite finalized but Martinez will have three years plus a option for a fourth season subject to Learners' approval, but D.M. will have better security than Dusty Baker or Davey Johnson ever had, and they were winning managers. If Martinez decides to be manager, rumors are that former Red Sox manager John Farrell might be Joe Maddon's bench coach.
So much for turning things around. Arizona State had won two games and beat Washington at home and Utah on the road and got to host USC, who got lambasted by Norte Dame last week. So basically it seemed that ASU could win this game at home right? Nope. USC managed to run away to a 31-10 half time lead, it would have been 31-3 had the referees give the Plastic Forks a last second TD before the half but by all means the game was over and done. It's pretty bad when your punter has more punting yards than the total yards of your offense. But basically USC was simply too much. 48-17 the final score and it brings into reality that ASU isn't that good anyway. And since it was Halloween, the fans had parties to go to, it looked like a ghost town after halftime.
(Photo NY Daily News)
Before we go into the Iowa Hawkeyes side of things, let's give a big shout out to Iowa State, to which it looks like after three weeks that they have turned things around and starting to win the big games unlike Arizona State. 4th ranked TCU found out the hard way that Iowa State means business and came up short to a 14-7 Cyclone win. To which Kyle Kempf threw two TD passes in the first half and then Iowa State Defense bend but didn't break, leading to a Marcel Spears intercepting a Kenny Hill pass with a minute fourteen left in the game.
(Sorry Kenny, it's not your day. Photo: S.I)
In fact the Iowa State Defense didn't give up a TD (that came on a 94 yard kickoff return) but Kenny Hill had his worst game of the season, throwing two INTs and a fumble. Needless to say it's a good thing Iowa wasn't playing the Cyclones right now, for Iowa State is the best team in the state. And TCU is no longer undefeated. However ISU can't take things for granted, they go play West Virginia there and WV got outpointed by Oklahoma State 50-39 at home. As they say, ISU controls their own destiny. Just keep winning.
(Floyd stays in Iowa for another year)
It wasn't pretty but Iowa did beat Minnesota 17-10 to keep Floyd of Rosedale home for another season. Iowa won the toss and streaked down the field to score the first points and then lollygagged for the rest of the game. Critical Minnesota mistakes (a missed pass on forth down, and a tipped pass for a INT sealed their fate) were made and the other Iowa TD, was a Nate Stanley pass to Noah Fint for 47 yards was the other TD score. Good things happen when you don't drop the ball. Minnesota did score late in the 3rd quarter to get back into the game, however Iowa's defense managed to do something they don't usually do, stop the QB with 2 minutes left in the game, Anthony Nelson sacking Demitry Croft on forth down. The bacon stays home. for the 3rd straight year and five of the last six seasons.
(Solon Legion hall photo from D.O.A Duo)
Happy Halloween. Y'all. The bars were packed on Halloween weekend as Hostage played to a capacity crowd at Rumors and Four Day Creep and Inch 75 packed CRL. Even Dreams Of Arcadia enjoyed a very good crowd at The Solon Legion Hall, with special guest star, your's truly in the spirit of Halloween, with my trademark dollar fifty shirt, pumpkin spice colored pants and for 7.99 a pair of Made In China goofy eyeball sunglasses which drove the girls wild for some reason. Got to dance with a few of them that night, however they all went elsewhere after the first break. It turned out to be my return to the stage after a three week layoff due to cold and flu and us getting busy at work.
Ivy Doomkitty in Halloween fashion. (Photo from her FB site)
Maxey Greene continues to be one of the more beautiful models out there, Happy Halloween picture from her.
(Photo: Panoramio-The Haunted Matsell's Bridge)
Record Reviews:
Weezer-Pacific Daydream (Crush Recordings 2017)
Last album they got a bit more heavier than usual so it's a return more to a updated sunshine mall pop sound that doesn't sound out of line with Maroon Five and even (Gasp!) Sugar Ray. Mexican Fender really is the only true rocking cut that would been better on the white album. While it would be fun to make fun of Weezer of going the route that Train did on Save Me San Francisco, Daydream works better since Rivers Cormo has a sense of humor. Oh he loves the Beach Boys enough to name check them on The Beach Boys Song. and Feels Like Summer does echo Sugar Ray. It's strange for me to even review Weezer albums (I've done five so far in their career, Pinkerton gave me the incentive to cut them some slack as well as the Green album) and in some ways I really shouldn't, but since 2017 has been a subpar year of new music, I resigned to the fact that Weezer is one of the better bands making so so music in this day and age. It ends on a good note with Any Friend Of Diane's, and like Weezer albums end around 35 minutes give or take a second or two. In the end Pacific Daydream, despite a sleepy middle of the CD, is certainly a more honest effort than anything Maroon 5 or Train has thought up lately.
Grade B
Spike Jones In Stereo (Warner Brothers 1959)
I grew up watching old horror movies on a Friday Night called Creature Feature, which most were old B movies or Vincent Price Gothic horror films directed by Roger Corman (they have dated badly 60 years after the fact but I still enjoy watching them) and of course the original 13 Ghosts directed by William Castle. But anyway, Spike Jones was past his prime and managed to cohort a concept album about Halloween and using the brand new Stereo side of things, echo, reverb, strange organ sounds (to which were made of good use in the 1938 broadcast of War Of The Worlds with Orson Wells). Fact of the matter was that Spike Jones didn't care for rock and roll, it was basically putting him and his big band novelty songs out to pasture. But unlike Stan Freberg, Jones at least didn't have a hatred of rock to lambast it. The only thing that rocks is Ken Stevens' Monster Movie Ball which is somewhat similar to The Purple People Eater, but a surprise that Jones didn't tap, fellow labelmate Tab Hunter for this song. Anyway, the main voices was Paul Frees, next to Mel Blanc, one of the best known voice over for cartoons, (Boris Bentonoff from Rocky And Bullwinkle comes to mind) and Louie Jean Norman who did Vampira to Free's Dracula. Mostly corny stuff, but this record showcase the vocal talents of Frees, playing many characters, reprising My Old Flame from the RCA years with him doing a more manic Peter Lorre Intimation. Thurl Ravenscoft, the voice of Tony The Tiger and of course best known for You're A Mean One Mr. Grinch adds a bit of fun to I Was A Teenage Brain Surgeon. The record remains good natured although in these days and times, it has dated quite badly and today's youth isn't going to give this a listen anytime soon. Collector's Choice issued this on CD in 2003 and I found a cut out of it when Best Buy had a fire sale and was dumping out of print albums that they couldn't sell and shrinking their CD section faster than the Incredible Shrinking Man. For Spike Jones, he went into a banjo type of dixieland jazz for Liberty after this and he was planning a follow up to In Stereo when he passed in 1965 due to too many cigarettes. I still have the mono album Spike Jones In Hi Fi, which is not as exciting recording wise than In Stereo. It's still not an album that I would recommend highly but if you love B movies like Plan Nine From Other Space or A Comedy Of Terrors, Spike Jones In Stereo is a B movie masterpiece on record. And fun to hear around Halloween.
Grade B-
The Best Of The Chordettes (Barnaby 1990)
For their dated 50s vocal style to which by 1960 they were passed over for rock and roll, The Chordettes music was really hit and miss and no thanks to Archie Beyer. When you think about it, Lollipop or Mr Sandman were cheesy pop gold but gawd when they went banal, they were got into embarrassing schmaltz like True Love Goes On And On and Lay Down Your Arms, one of those WW2 songs of bring the boys back home. I suppose they're innocent love songs to which on Lay Down Your Arms, they boys were really going to get real lucky (which became the basis of the baby boom). Archie Beyer was clueless about setting the girls up with rock and roll songs, A girl's Work Is Never Done is Charlie Brown from the female perspective and No Wheels, the answer to Car Trouble (King Curtis plays the sax solo). In the age of the 45, the songs sound much better on a scratchy 45, put them on CD and the magic isn't quite there. However the two keepers are not the ones you would expect of their major hits, One was Teen Age Goodnight, which ended a few proms and dances in 1956, the other, Just Between You And Me, their ultimate feel good teen song. Which is one of my favorite all time 45s by the way.
Grade B-
Zephyr (Probe/ABC 1969)
Best known as Tommy Bolin's first band, this band musically was fairly good and competent. But Candie Givens might be the most overbearing singer ever, male or female. She comes across as Janis Joplin gone psycho or Robert Plant being electrocuted. Bill Halverson may have been covering his ears on trying to record this band, Givens makes Dee Clark sound like a crooner on Raindrops. And it really doesn't get any better. You have to give ABC Records for going out on a limb and putting this on their progressive rock label Probe and Bolin shows why he was a up and coming guitar player. But as for Candie Givens, she's rock's first true screecher. Janis couldn't top whatever she was doing.
Grade D+
Zephyr-Going Back To Colorado (Warner Brothers 1971)
The major thing here is that Candie Givens is much more restrained on this followup their "eponymous" first album although she'll let out a banshee scream from time to time. Perhaps Eddie Kramer had something to do with this, but this is more of a band effort with David Givens and John Faris adding their lead vocal on a couple more. Strangely Tommy Bolin still doesn't sing but his fingerprints are all over this album, be it on guitar and vibes. The title track did get some FM airplay and may have been a failed single and The Radio Song and others do benefit from backing singers as well. If they keep things around 3 minutes they hold my interest but when they dink around with avant garde noise making or stumble on the five minute song See My People Come Together my mind wonders. While Candie closes things on At This Very Moment, a interesting off the wall number that invokes memories of Melanie than Janis, the extended coda envisions of the first album and not a good way. But they're learning as they go and they would make their best album the next time they got together. By going more toward a country rock jazz vein and Jock Bartley in tow. By then Tommy Bolin moved over to the James Gang.
Grade B-
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