May 31, 2020

Last night my old neighborhood had a riot.

In Los Angeles there is an area called "The Fairfax District". Once upon a time it was predominately Jewish. Now it is a multi-racial area. What happened last night was very usual event to happen in this place. I write about it in my Blog.
This is what really happened last night on Fairfax.
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May 24, 2020

Alice in Chains

Alice in Chains: I hope I am not repeating myself. At my age my memory plays tricks on me. There is nothing romantic and rebellious about alcoholism or Drug abuse. In the early 70’s was a sign that you were cool and hip. Thank my lucky stars I stopped doing that in the mid 70’s. This is prime example. Alice in Chain had a lot going for them but personal demons ruin the whole thing. Just think what Hendrix or Jim Morrison would be like if they were alive. Jim Morrison would of have produced their 5th if they were still alive. Check this short Rock Doc.

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May 24, 2020

Newport 1958 The Dave Brubeck Quartet

Newport 1958. The Dave Brubeck Quartet: If I were with the so-called silent generation I would have been a Beatnik. They were the rebels of my dad’s generation. Just a reminder, they were not baby boomers. They were the Bohemians of the 50’s. They didn’t buy the anti-communist hysteria or the racist attitudes and the homophobia of that time. They preferred to smoke weed and paint a masterpiece. Jazz was the muse of poets and painters. This was the time when Existentialism clashed with Buddhism. I could see myself living with some cool chick in a pad in Venice California. She would be painting some surrealistic oil painting while I would be composing a poem while this album played.
Who said: Less is more: Miles Davis? Probably. One flaw classical orchestration has, you need a lot of instruments! You need a large stage with some conductor waving a stick around directing traffic, if you have the money and the time. Fine. Jazz can be just as huge with the advent of the Big Band era. In the 1950’s, jazz downsized. If you have a piano, stand up bass, saxophone, and a drum kit, you were in business. This was The Dave Brubeck Quartet.
I don’t where I got this album. I suspect it was dad’s record. I wonder why he would buy this L.P? He was a classical music geek.
This was the first jazz album I ever owned. It was recorded live while Dave Brubeck band played a tribute to Duke Ellington. The sound is bouncy and syncopated. He does employ weird rhythms, strange meters and Avant Garde tonalities, which appeals to my unconformity style.
The artist who did the water colored cover didn’t get album credit. He did sign the art piece. The signature is illegible. They use to write these liner notes in back of albums promoting the artist. Somebody wrote this short essay that was on a college level.
This is a great introduction to Cool Jazz.

Here is the album.

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May 22, 2020

My encounter with a Trump Zomie and other weirdos.

The old American adage is: Never talk about religion or politics to strangers or anybody else unless you trust or really know the person well. That is something my grandmother told me time and time again. When I was a loud mouth kid in my 20’s, I often got into fights because of passionate political beliefs and they weren’t just arguments. I learn to shut my mouth over the years. I had encounters and was subjected to unsolicited opinions by Trump supporters. This piece is about my neighbors in a mobile home park. It’s called: Space 166.

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May 20, 2020

Wild thing! Not the Tone Loc song.

Here is the original
Wild thing Troggs 1966

Here is the cover
Jimi Hendrix 1967



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May 16, 2020

Lead singer of the British band "Pretty Things" dies

Sad news

Not all British invasion bands got noticed. There was a song on David Bowie’s album of covers “Pin Up” This song was called Rosalyn. I didn’t know who did that song. I eventually found out. It was this band: The Pretty Things. They had this garage sound that made The Rolling Stones look like the Herman Hermits. Here is sample of there stuff.


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May 15, 2020

Sex after 65...1965 that is.

So what is a Vee-Cell anyway? Find out
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May 10, 2020

the first time I saw Little Richard was this 1969 movie.

I’m not going to write about Little Richard. It is all being written as I speak. Everybody from A to Z is singing his praises. As far as I am concern I was just a child in the 50’s and I do not remember that much. I missed the whole first generation of rock thing. Now if I was just born 5 years earlier than I would have been cognizant of it. Matter of fact, I didn’t know there was a first generation of rock. Until I saw this movie: Rock & Roll Revival in Toronto. A breaded John Lennon was the headliner. I forget where I saw this flick. I think it was at The Aquarian Theater in Hollywood. I was impressed, particularly with this guy; Little Richard. He was into glitter rock in 1969. Once again: RIP little Richard.

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May 8, 2020

Art Deco buildings on Sycamore Avenue Los Angeles

My observations on architecture on Sycamore Avenue Los Angeles California USA
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May 7, 2020

Elton John Your song

I liked Elton John in the early years when he was a serious songwriter. Then he got into this vaudeville showboat bullshit. Show over! This song reminds me when I use to wander around in Hollywood with nowhere to go and nobody to meet. You could wander in those days. I tried doing that in Las Vegas in 1981 and the cops stop me to integrate me. This song makes me recall those carefree times in the 70’s.

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