End Of The Month Thoughts For September

Judging by the ratings, it's safe to say that I won't clear the 1,000 view mark and this month may be the least viewed month since March.  Not due to lack of things going on, with the GF around and adding more demands of spending time together has cut into the music research and reporting.  Not that it matters all that much, I do about two hours putting together a top ten with witty sayings and the majority of this months stuff has to compete with the top ten favorites such as the Brains Blog or Sick Of Summer Ready For Fall which gets better ratings than the latest top ten, can't figure that one out.    This is getting to be like classic rock blog, nobody reads the latest, they just go for the top ten all time.  If this is the best we can do, may as well just quit writing then.

The change in weather, a change in routine and trying to adapt to a other half has involved changes on the net for yours truly.  Which was why I decided to deactivate the twitter account.  Basically it wasn't much music tweets but rather rant and raves on sporting teams that I root for and trying to give reviews to albums in 180 characters or less.   And seeing some unflattering remarks from some of my followers, so basically I decided better to delete my account rather than start a war of words between them because of a misunderstanding.  Here's something for you, if you don't want me to read your thoughts, then either make another account so I don't have to, or delete them before I read them and get mad about it.   This pretty much sums up why I rant and rave on the net on my worthless teams or worthless rock bands that get into the rock and roll hall of fame before the better bands.  I rant and rave on the net so that I don't hold it inside and get a actual heart attack.  And sometimes it makes great reading (see the all time top ten Crabb blogs for that).  Which goes back to the first paragraph of this, the ratings are down from last month but boy oh boy the Sick Of Summer and My GF Thinks blogs continue to rack them in, whereas the latest top ten is under 5 views.  May as well give me my pink slip now so I get back to realtime world and slip away to nothingness.

These past two weeks have been the best two weeks for new music, hard to figure that this year has been so blah in terms of new music.  But then again, the major labels can't develop new bands so they resort to the old guard and the world gets to shell out 100 bucks for the latest Pink Floyd box set, or Nirvana 20th Anniversary  Nevermind Sessions, or Elvis Young Man With A Big Beat box.  Elvis has been dead for 34 years, Pink Floyd has broken up for over 10 it seems and Dave lives on with the Foo Fighters.  I try to keep up on new stuff, The Chickenfoot 3 album is rocking great, the Primus album good but Dave Higgins at Groove Sandwich does a better review of it, Dream Theater  goes on too long, Roger Clyne and The Peacemakers' okay and the new Blink 182 listenable.  Though I haven't gotten it yet The Jayhawks new album seems to be a disappointment from what I have heard from the radio station.

For reissues, I am not as pumped on the reissues of the tried and tired (LA Woman anyone?)  that the only box set worth getting would be the Ray Charles Complete ABC singles which Concord Music will put out later in the year.  Half my childhood was growing up listening to Ray Charles 45's and finally getting The Train or Smack Dab In The Middle without scratches would be a miracle.  Other thing would be the Fugs Reprise recordings on Wounded Bird that you can order through Collector's Choice Music.

Even though the CD era is over there's no shortage of tunes to be heard if you look in the right places or spots.  The Arizona trip I noted that FYE cut their stores down there in half, (Arizona Mills and Chandler RIP) but it seems to me there's not a whole lot of stores down in Phoenix to check out music, expect the Zia's which I found the majority of my wants and FYE although getting the Loudness Thunder In The East CD was scratched up and Joe had to leave his name on the disc which really pisses me off.  If you're not going to keep your CD, don't fucking put your name on it.  Rubbing alcohol sometimes can't get the magic marker off.  Still I did okay in terms of getting some cool stuff and new music reduced.  It is a far cry from 20 years ago, when the best stuff was at Wherehouse Music which is missed and I'm sure one of these days FYE will close the Fiesta Mall store.  Question is when.

With less music stores, means less places to find new music unless I managed to get it before anybody if I see a promo copy at HP Books. I can sympathize with Mike Eldred on not finding his 61 49 CD at the local music store, in all the places that I went to in Arizona, I didn't see one copy new or used.  Mike would probably had better luck had it been on Blind Pig or Ruf Records rather than Zoho Roots.  It's still a top ten best of album regardless for me and thank the lucky stars to find it, but then again Mike was very kind enough to send me a different copy of 61 49 and autograph it.

For the first time in years, I didn't include a top ten while on vacation in Arizona and judging by the results it wasn't missed since most of the readers were keeping on Sick Of Summer, to which they probably thought that was the recent top ten.  So be it.  I thought about compiling a Al Kooper top ten but that as far as it goes. As I continue to juggle love life, work, and music I can't say if I'll continue to do a top ten thoroughly, it seems like half the time I'm piecing them on a day by day basis.  And it actually feels like work except that I don't get paid for making a comment on the latest by Primus or Blink 182 or bringing out a moldy oldie from Ella Mae Morse.  Hell, it doesn't even seem like I did go to Arizona for a week's vacation.

This month went by too fast.  And we lost about 84 minutes of daylight.  Gone from 8:15 sunset to now 7:00 PM and it gets mighty dark too fast.  Next month brings the fail foilage, Octoberfest and perhaps more music and hanging around the bookstore for more music.  And of course the October artist of the month which gets their own top ten songs.  And maybe we'll get more viewer ship over 1,000 but then again everything I write has to compete with the Sick Of Summer, or My GF Thinks blog so they can take over 2 and 3 place.  Makes me just want to quit blogging the more I think about it. Something is wrong when the Sick Of Summer is number 2 for this month.  Can't understand that logic, there's other more worthy blogs to read.

Finally, on the subject of Rock N Roll Hall Of Fame, Blue Oyster Cult is not in there but Metallica is in and they were influenced by BOC.  Nick Lowe isn't in the HOF, or Dave Edmunds but Elvis Costello is and he was influenced by Lowe. I am not a fan of Guns & Roses, don't think they should be in but if you count everyday of hearing Sweet Child O Mine or Welcome To The Jungle, they are shoo ins.  Whereas The Moody Blues, or Steppenwolf, or Status Quo and yes  Rush are on the outside looking in.  Makes no sense to me to see the GD RHCP's get in before Rush but that's the way and thinking of Jann Wanner's bias towards the bands that shaped my rock and roll hall of fame.  Hell, music is an afterthought half the time, just background noise while doing housework or trying to compile a top ten of songs that nobody knows half about.  Liked the Beastie Boys but are they more worthy than Rush or BOC?  Depends on what one thinks.  The record company mergers didn't help nobody but share holders just  like Cumulus Radio buying every fucking radio station here and turning into same soundalikes.  They didn't promote music but rather pay the stations to play the same shit over and over.  And I don't care if Back In Black changed your life, but basically there's more to AC DC than just that album and it annoys and irritates me to no end that what variety we had for music died when the Telecom Act of 1996 became law and gave Cumulus Radio and Clear Channel the right to snap every GD mom and pop radio stations up to be what they are today.  Bland and annoying when hearing Pink or Sheryl Crow over and over and yes, Sweet Child O Mine.

And adding Grandmaster Flash to the HOF, pretty much makes it clear that the Rock n Roll HOF is not a RnR HOF but rather a Music HOF in the eyes of Jann Wanner who doesn't like Rush, doesn't like BOC and probably doesn't even have anything from YES in his collection.  They are what they are today, the Crock n Bull Hall Of Fame.  Suck on that one Jann.