Happy 16th of August!

On this day in history:

1969: The Woodstock Festival begins in New York
1972: Gilbert O’Sullivan’s song “Alone Again” topped the charts (naturally).
1974: The Ramones make their concert debut at CBGB’s in New York!
1977: Elvis Presley passes away.
1981: Lola Gonzalez wins the UWA Womens title from Vickie Williams in Mexico City.

Yeah, been away from the PC for a few days in favor of a few way-overdue functions with friends and family. I did manage to belt out a hearty one-hour run on Friday. No danger of any Olympic records being broken by Vandal Drummond, but it feels damn good to be able to run for a solid hour after being in the chemo ward last year. I’ve got a lot to be thankful for.

I had a thoroughly motivational i-Pod shuffle for my run on Friday:

1. Blitkrieg Bop - The Ramones
2. “When I get that fucking money… there’s gonna be a fucking payday somewhere!” That is not a song, but an equally motivating 1982 audio clip of Dr. Jerry Graham delivering a war cry upon the entities who wronged him!

Enjoying a Christmas party with Dr. Jerry Graham back in 1981!

Enjoying a Christmas party with Dr. Jerry Graham back in 1981!

3. Mercy I Cry, City! - The Incredible String Band
4. Turn Blue - Iggy Pop
5. 1984 - David Bowie (damn- I have it on shuffle, and I get Iggy Pop AND David Bowie back-to-back! How bitchin’ is that?)
6. The Tubes World Tour - The Tubes
The Tubes, way ahead of their time, kind of like a kick-ass in-your-face version of The Talking Heads. I think The Tubes were head, heels, and skies above The Heads.. They were one of these groups built for video, but their initial surge was before the MTV 80s. I am undereducated on the story of The Tubes, so I don’t know whether they made too few videos, or if their videos are inaccessible in Internet venues like Youtube. I couldn’t find any footage of “The Tubes World Tour” on Youtube worth posting, but Fee Waybill & Company is too cool, so I’ll go ahead and slap another vid, “White Punks On Dope” below. This video is from an edition of The Old Grey Whistle Test. You gotta see these cats!

7. Mercenario Joe - Titanes en el Ring soundtrack. This was the entrance music for Titanes en el Ring super-rudo Joe El Mercenario. Check out this short but catchy tune below, I bet you won’t get the jingle out of your head for the rest of the day! And whoever compiled this Youtube piece did a rockin’ job!

8. Late Night Radio - David Gray
See? Not everything on my playlist is before 1990! This is my fave David Gray tune.

9. The Shield - Deep Purple
Ok- if you’re a casual Deep Purple buff like I am, and turned on to Deep Purple the instant you heard a way-rad tune like “Highway Star” or “Smoke On The Water,” you must hear their earlier pieces from albums like “The Book of Taliesyn.” Rod Evans was their lead vocalist back then, and the lyrics are quite a hippie departure from tunes of fast cars and hot women. “The Shield” contains fabulous over-the-top peace, paranormal, & psychedelia lyrics which captures Deep Purple at its most cosmic junction:

Many things a man can lose
His self, his rights his views,
But never his heart or his love
So take this hand of mind
And climb, baby, climb!
To the hills above!

Now you can play a queen on the hill built on a dream
While the children play in the field
I can smoke the pipe of a sweet and better life
And trust in the strength of the shield.

DUDE! Neither Donovan nor Uli Jon Roth could never come up with such beautifully histrionic prose!

10. Old Rocking Chair - The Mills Brothers
11. Eddie’s Teddy - The Rocky Horror Picture Show
12. Mari In Love - The Pugs
13. Summer Wine - Lee Hazlewood & Nancy Sinatra
14. Suzy is a Headbanger - The Ramones
No cooler way to start and end a run than with The Ramones!