2017 kinda slide on by, and I really didn't notice it that much. Since giving up television, I am no longer slave to the Big Pharma Commercials, the crap reality shit shows on TV, the propaganda channels of FOX, CNN and MSNBC and basically had to deal with the crap that flooded my inbox at Facebook or Twitter. I did enough of that back in the 2000s when we had W as POTUS. We sure have come a long way....backwards.
I continued to search the thrift stores for records and CDs and by golly I continued to find them. It really does pay to have an open mind to give forgotten bands and local artists some airplay love. For a while I had a internet radio show called Townedger Radio and managed to keep an interest to keep the forgotten music playing. Till I ran out of CD R's and acoustic jams got the better of my mind. But it was a fun run.
The bargain hunts this year were exceptional, especially finding 45s of my childhood days. Two trips to Madison this year proved that if I waited long enough and kept going there more than three times, I might have completed the record collection that my mom had when we were growing up. And most were under a quarter. I had my other favorite places to hit, the St Vincent De Paul of Mad City, The Junk Salvation Army in Davenport, even the Dubuque Goodwill had some classic finds. But the uptown Marion Antique Mall that housed BDW Records got booted out, and thus the BDW finds came to an end this summer. But I still managed to find them. People say the CD are out of style, I call bullshit and cleaned up with lots of decent finds, I don't think nobody as many Wounded Bird cutouts as I do. Most were good, some were classic and a few stunk to high heaven. For new music, you'll have read my Best of 2017 blog.
Thankfully, my family stayed healthy although my Aunt Fern is not long for this world, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's are slowly taking their toll on her 93 years of being here on this planet. I doubt if I'll make it that far. I turn 57 next year. The same year that one of my best friends Bruce Stanley took a nap on the couch and never woke up. Or Tommy Keene passing away in his sleep at age 59. There were plenty of death's this year, Tom Petty the best known, Chuck Berry too, Mel Tillis, Kirk Walter of Record Collector, Malcolm Young, Dick Enburg, Grant Hart, Pat Dinizo, Chuck Barris, Clyde Stubblefield, Greg Trooper, Alan Holdsworth, John Wetton. Chester Bennington and Chris Cornell decided they had enough to they took themselves out of this world. But the most painful one was watching Col Bruce Hampton rocking out to Turn On Your Lovelight and on a guitar solo by a up and coming guitarist, simply gave up the ghost in mid tempo. The best way to go out in life, on stage doing what you like. I saw it on You Tube and cried afterward. It still touches me today. Don Williams also let us, as did Glen Campbell who finally lost his battle with dementia, And death will continue to take people into the next life, Rose Marie passed away today at age 94. She lived a long and fruitful life.
On the sports side of things The Quad Cities River Bandits won the Midwestern League title and the Chicago Cubs did win the division title for the second straight year but they had nothing left to give in the playoffs and Los Angeles overtook them to go to the world series. Arizona State improved to 7-5 and they still canned Todd Graham and hired Herman Edwards for next season. Iowa ruined Ohio State's bid for the NCAA championship by whopping them 55-24 in November. Even Colin Cowherd gave Iowa Credit. And two weeks later Iowa whopped Nebraska 56-14 to earn a bid to a cold bowl game, the Pin Stripe Game in New York. Nebraska then said goodbye to Mike Riley (who returned back to Oregon State as a assistant coach) and welcome back Scott Frost who might turn them around. And then Iowa did end their bowl losing streak with a 27-20 victory over Boston College in the Pin Stripe Bowl. Akim Wadley refused to lose on his final game as he became MVP with 223 all purpose yards. And Josh Jackson capped a great season by getting his 8th interception joining the likes of Desmond King as most in a season (with a few others). He'll make a good impact in the NFL. (James Daniels, you best to stick around for another year in the college side of things). Iowa State is going to a bowl game but like Iowa, their bowl game was going to Norman Oklahoma and derailing Heisman Award winning QB Baker Mayfield and Oklahoma 38-31 in October. The experts said that wouldn't be possible. Todd Graham goes 7-5 and gets fired and Herman Edwards takes over. Todd's final game, North Carolina State creams ASU 52-31. And so it goes.
For Iowa State, they win the Liberty Bowl on a tipped pass to Allan Lazard, who might make an impact in the NFL and they outlasted the home team Memphis 21-10. So with both Iowa and Iowa State winning, this makes a remarkable year for both teams. It's hard to tell what game made the best impact, Iowa double nickels on Ohio State and taking the Buckeyes out of the playoffs picture, or The Cyclones going to Norman and defeating OU. I'd say on the epic scale, Iowa wins out by a hair. Nevertheless Joel Lanning and Allan Lazard were true Cyclones to the end and both scored TDs. In his first year at linebacker Lanning made All American. He'll be missed when he graduates.
For the Los Angeles Chargers, not having a kicker ruined their chances for the playoffs, They did beat Oakland 30-10, and getting Jack Del Rio fired but in the end, a shit kicker the first three games of the season is why they're watching the playoffs from home.
For personal fun, I did the World Naked Bike Ride Madison 2016 but wore my silk boxers and then rode off the the bargain stores for more music and fun. Weather wise we stayed dry and no floods to speak of but we had tornadoes in the area, one tore a path about 20 miles from Alburnett to Prairieburg. Even up on Madison in October while bike riding a small tornado paid a visit to some houses and store fronts on Washington Avenue over to the hotel I was staying at. But for the most part, I particpated in a few jams in the area this summer, my band was the headliner in Vinton in September and in usual style, the band broke up soon afterwards. I also was part of the Cabin Jam on The Wapsi this July. And in the process managed to cast a spell on one of the local musicians.
And it should be the best store of 2017. Five years after my breakup with the brat, I swore never to fall in love again, never to succumb to temptations of eve and certainly not give my heart away. But somehow it happened. It's a case of she chased me till I caught her and for eight months of false starts, good intentions and awkward moments this month she finally decided she was ready to date. All I had to do was be patient. And I couldn't ask for a better woman. It's hard to tell what the future will bring and I have always a checkered past when it comes to love, but I know she's been around me for the past year or so in various jams and she made it known she wanted to know me better. So here we are.I don't have much to offer outside my big record collection and no money but she'll never find a more loyal person than me. I think the seeds were sown back in 2016 when I saw her and her band playing at the Sanity Room and I struck up a conversation with her and she offered me a ride back to my car on the other side of the river. And over that year and a half it grew into something more. Some things you can't explain but all you can do is enjoy them when they come around.
I've been blogging for 15 years straight, the last three under the Record World banner, the rest under RS Crabb's top ten and review consortium for various blog sites around internet land and this has been my most steady exposure job ever. No, it don't pay but it did provide an outlet for my favorite music and bands. Once the top ten wore out its welcome, I then settled on buying 45s and documenting them. And then the local bands, and then basically sports. But I basically quit talking about politics (waste of time even when we have President Idiot or the Grab Our Pocketbook party) and as the months continued to go by even begin to lose interest in the things that I like to talk about. Things have changed in the 15 years that I have done this blog, Blockbuster closed their doors, Tower Records likewise and pawnshop begin not to take in CDs anymore. FYE shrunk their stores down to almost nothing but perhaps the end all was Hastings Entertainment closing all their stores last year. Not to mention that the Major labels shrunk down to 3 and whatever came out was rehashed greatest hits, countless reissues of the same old product and new bands sucking big time. As well as most of our rock and rollers who we grew up with passing away. To which after this year it was decided that I have taken Record World as far as I could.
The ratings issue has been there. Last year we had 12,546 views, very much inflated but it gave a false sense of hope that I was making an impact on the music blogging biz. But this December we'll squeak past 2,000 views but hardly anybody makes comments, unless it's Blogger spam. The writing was on the wall. And our time has come and gone.
For the most part I'm proud to share the 45 finds most of all and rediscovered the music that I grew up with in some ways, the Madison bargain hunts proved that. I could continue doing that for 2018 but in reality, there's not much rock and roll in the finds that I did produce most of the year and the Montavini Clair De Lune 45 was the most glaring example of hoarding. But I was curious and next year will promise to more interesting 45s to be found. Unless it's decided that I should be more serious in doing things with my better half. But it's not over just quite left. I'll do another entry and then head off into the next adventure. And marvel at the fact that I have done this for 15 years. Total dedication on a hobby that, like my music career, a attempt at exposure. And perhaps I have succeeded.
(to be continued)
Worst country albums: https://www.savingcountrymusic.com/saving-country-musics-worst-albums-of-2017/
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