Gabba Gabba Hey

I may have said this before, The Ramones are my favorite band of all time.

There isn't a band/artist I listen to more.

When 3 of the 5 original members died, I couldn't have been sadder.  Joe Strummer came a close 2nd to breaking my heart.  I look back at moments when I could have said something to any of them (Dee Dee lived near me in Hollywood and I would see him all the time), Joey, I would walk by or see at shows in NYC and Johnny, who I recall sitting next to me at a restaurant long after they broke up in Los Angeles.  But, one of my issues in life (and my career), is that I'm a fan first and get super scared and intimidated when I'm in the same room as people I admire.

I just spent the evening watching End Of The Century - The Story of The Ramones for the 8th time.  Every time I watch this brilliant documentary, I get sad all over again.  Sad from the story itself, sad that they are gone and never to play again and sad that I never said the things I wanted to say when the opportunity presented itself.

The words that were written in their huge catalogue and the melody and most important, the influence they had just kills me.  This happens so often when pioneers and talented people that are responsible for a sound, for an emotion from the listener, never gets it's due.  The Ramones, Fishbone, Bad Brains,  Schooly D, the list goes on.  It's so frustrating to me.  I can only imagine how it feels for those artists.

I hope one day to have an opportunity to tribute The Ramones and let people see these songs and these performances for the beauty and genius they brought to rock and roll.

Until then, we have the catalogue, the DVDs, T-Shirts, the bootlegs and the books...

Thanks Joey, Dee Dee, Johnny, Tommy and Marky for giving everyday of my life a soundtrack.

I miss you.

Here's the whole film for your viewing pleasure.

Fuck art. Let's dance

Being a stay at home dad, you find yourself to be really busy doing chores, housework, running errands and being a chauffeur. 

I mentioned earlier that the saving grace are headphones. 

I spend a lot of time listening to music.  I try to check out new bands, but I swear, a lot of them suck.  There are some standouts, but the majority suck.  I feel like labels and bands have gone to do things like Facebook.  If you don't refresh fast enough, you are forgotten or you move on to the next "big" thing.

That's why I find myself back to the classics or albums I grew up on and making playlists of those songs.

I always loved the labels that created a scene.  Labels that when they put things out, you bought it because there was a trust between you and the label.  There are some that still try that, but I don't trust them as I would others.  Third Man (in theory) would be a modern version of that kind of label, but I feel like I just don't care about a lot of the releases and that it's more about Jack White and what he does than the artists.

When I look back, I think of labels like 2 Tone, Def Jam, Sire, IRS, Sub Pop , Creation even Fat Wreck Chords and Epitaph and Hellcat for a while... These labels were such a trusted brand, fans were proud to wear T Shirts , Jackets and buttons of the LABEL.  The label was as big a star as the artists on it.  I love that.

I recently saw a documentary about one of my favorites Stiff Records.  They were so great for the diversity in what they released.  It didn't have to sound like everything else, sometimes it sucked, but I trusted them.  I saw they tried to recently revive it and it was retarded.

I see a lot of these names getting revived and hope to see them make it work.  It would be nice to go to places for substance and build that trust again.

If I ever get a chance to do something again, it would be to create and build that kind of label.

Here's the Stiff Documentary in pieces...

You're Not Gonna Get Docta Doom????

I had some of my family over earlier today.  We always have a great time.  We took a walk down the street to this comic book store called Meltdown.  There are very few of these stores left.  It's quite depressing actually.  The ones that remain are big and well put together, they are still run and employed with the most annoying people in the world.  This is not a put down, this is just the fact that these people talk the most nonsense and are always super loud so you know, they know more than you. 

I think of myself of having a vault of useless information, but when you overhear them comparing Hank Pym (Antman) with Chris Brown (apparently Hank Pym, like Chris Brown beat his girlfriend and that's a thing that no matter what he does, he can't shake off from being remembered for...Yes, this was the conversation I just heard) my vault of dumb information runneth half full.  The comic geek beats me hands down.

In New York in the 80's, I would go to stores like The Batcave on MacDougal street to buy my comics, I would go to conventions (they always smelled) and had, really, no problem following a series and a storyline.  Back then, all the stationary stores and magazine stands by the bus stop carried them as well, so it was easy to keep up.  I could read Daredevil, X-Men, Spiderman, The Flash, etc and it was real simple.

Walking through Meltdown, I had no idea where to even start.  There were so many comics that even if I decided to start now, I would be out an easy $500.00 out the door.  So, after a couple walkthrough, I decided to not even bother, but to see where the current books are compared to the old days.

Well, everyone has changed.  The appearance and what I knew is now gone.  This was proven with two books alone.  Classic "comic"characters.  Archie and Richie Rich.  I'm not going to even try to describe the difference, but show you...by the way, Archie Meets Kiss.  Why is Archie meeting Kiss?

I know the writing is great these days and the stories have moved to be relevant to real life.

I actually applaud Archie comics for standing up for Gay characters and welcoming them into Riverdale as well as addressing the Occupy Wall Street movement.  It was a bold and brave move.  My favorite thing was the outrage by Christian retards and how the CEO of Archie Comics responded,  “As I’ve said before, Riverdale is a safe, welcoming place that does not judge anyone. It’s an idealized version of America that will hopefully become reality someday. ... Kevin Keller will forever be a part of Riverdale, and he will live a happy, long life free of prejudice, hate, and narrow-minded people.”

The X-Men just took on gay marriage (much respect to Marvel)

As far as current comics go, I think I just need someone to guide me through where to start and what's great.  I saw tons of graphic novels, so maybe that's the solution.  I just know my "collecting" days are way gone.

On of my fondest memories comic related and I still laugh about this day, was back when I used to collect action figures (dolls, if you want to be a dick about it), and my friend Benjie and I were at the Toys R' Us in Union Square.  We were just minding our own business browsing.  Benjie picked up a pretty cool Dr. Doom action figure and was contemplating buying it.  He decided not to and carefully placed the action figure back on the shelf when this fat, smelly guy with glasses came running down the aisle yelling (and i mean yelling) "YOUR NOT GONNA GET DOCTA DOOM????" I have never seen Benjie jump quicker to kung fu stance in my life.  If you saw this guy, you would have too!

Let's just say that was a real reality check.  I may have ceased my collecting after that day.

It's a Smilin' Saturday Morning

In the 70's (and the 80's), Saturday Morning Cartoons were a special block of time dedicated to kids. 

These days, I think it's mostly crappy news shows and you can hardly find a cartoon.  Not that kids should be plopped in front of the TV, but there was nothing wrong with having "our time" on Saturdays. 

The shows were a lot more fun and were geared to age groups.  Today, you need to watch Nick Jr for preschool programming, Nick for grammar school and TeenNick for more mature kids...of course there is Nick at Nite for us old folks. 

If it wasn't for Nickelodeon, there would be very little for kids to watch.  I'm not just saying that because I almost got a job there.  Missed it by that much.  I would still love to work there at some point in my career, it's true.  I love their shows.  As a dad, they are a relief.

But, back to the 70's and 80's.  All the networks focused on Saturday Morning TV.  You would see ads in comic books, their would be previews and the shows would be featured in scholastic magazines like Bananas.  There were shows like Battle of the Network Stars, Happy Days, Wonderama and School House Rock...

 Every year on the eve of the debut of the the new Saturday Morning line up, there would be a sneak preview on prime time.  I remember how much I couldn't wait for this.  I was looking for a particular show I loved that very few recall called Kids from C.A.P.E.R. and came upon the 1976 preview.  I wonder how high Freddie Prinze was.

I had just moved back with my family from 2 years living in Pakistan.  This was amazing to me.  For the last two years, I had no TV and my only connection to the US was comic books (that were 6 months behind) and the Sunday comics we would get from the US newspaper.  I have no idea what paper or if this is true...i might be making that part up, but it sounds right.

Watching these clips, took me back to the excitement of being able to watch these shows for the first time and only time.  No VCR, no Tivo... You watched it and it was over.  You would then spend the rest of the week at school talking about what you saw with your friends.

These days, I hate to wait for anything, but I wish the anticipation and excitement still could be achieved.  It was a special feeling.