Half-demolished Kitchen of the Soul

Never too old to rock & roll

I watched the the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame 25th anniversary concert last night. Oh my, how we've all aged—some not well at all. Here are a few examples.

First, there' are those who must have learned the secret of Dorian Gray. John Fogerty, Bonnie Raitt and Jackson Browne are only slightly weathered versions of their younger selves (though Browne looks a little waxen).

 

On the other hand, show show the ravages of time. Graham Nash looks spry and David Crosby seems like the picture of health compared to Steven Stills.

 

Then there are those who know hair dye can take off a few years. Jeff Beck has discovered the old lady tricks of hiding eye wrinkles with sunglasses and neck waddles with a scarf. But his arms looked great.

 

Some performers' age doesn't shock us quite so much because they've been in the spotlight a long time and we've watched them grow older, puffier, wrinklier, larger.

 

But some artists surprise us that they're still alive. The double surprise is that Ozzie actually looked pretty good.

 
It wasn't all old farts. Even Metallica has slid into middle age.

 

 And though they say this is Billy Gibbons, who has looked the same for thirty-plus years, it could be anyone underneath.

It hit me as I watched that young people watching the show probably feel like I did about the music and performers my parents liked. Ugh, old fogey music.

Music Video Monday: Donovan

My condolences

A man who must live in my general neighborhood, a man named Phil, evidently looks enough like me that a woman in the market thought I was him.

Levitation Hotel

 

Fuzzy math

No wonder so many Republicans imagine they're the real majority.

Approximation

The best part of my childhood Thanksgivings was the meal after the big feast. Mom would bake another batch of rolls for turkey sandwiches.

I cooked a full-zoot Thanksgiving dinner for myself a few years ago, but eating it alone was rather pathetic, so I don't do it anymore. However, this year I baked up some frozen dinner rolls and made sandwiches with deli turkey. It just wasn't the same.

Common taters

I'm not a heavy consumer of sports. One football game a week, a little Sports Center once a month or less. Even so, I've grown weary of sportscasters and some of the stupid things they say. Two examples:

"It's a quarterback shootout!" Guys, when the score is forty-something to thirty-something, it's not great success for the offenses, it's colossal failure of the defenses.

"The defense must be tired, they've been on the field a long time." Um, but the offense they're trying to stop has been out there just as long, getting just as tired.

Sportscasters would say a lot fewer dumb things if they just talked less. Fight the urge (or orders) to fill every second of the game with chatter.

Musical merger?

This morning I watched a show about the creation of Cirque du Soleil's Beatles show. This afternoon they made the "official announcement" (though it has been known for a while) that The Who will be playing at the Super Bowl. 

Hmmm...

The Who have lost their original drummer and bassist. The Beatles have only their drummer and bassist left. I think there's an opportunity here.

 

...before I get old

Because I don't follow the scene anymore, I was unaware Roger Daltry was in town Sunday with a solo show. Sixty-five years old and still rocking. But now with glasses. And his shirt on. Talkin' 'bout my ge-ge-generation.

 

Jingle shortage