Abandoned and Heartbroke

Monday, February 11, 2013

Braying Sheep on My TV Screen: Rock Star Cameos on TV Shows

Rock and pop stars who have shown up on television shows. Clips after the jump.

There's A Rocker's Special On Tonight

Sundays were for band practice.

Thursday, February 7, 2013

Someday, When We're Dreaming

From the vaults: Tom Barry and me in our "Double Shot" incarnation, circa 1992.

Things We Said Today

Turning All the Nighttime Into the Day

"Songs are milestones for people in their lives; they use them. They use them to live with."

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

You're Breaking My Heart - Great F.U. Breakup Songs

A recent post I made on my Facebook page of Joan Baez 's "Diamonds and Rust" led to a nifty discussion of great "F.U." breakup songs, and I asked my friends (I do have friends) to share their favorites, to be posted here. Well, as you can see, the response was overwhelming. It reconfirms my belief that nothing hurts worse or feels better than a great pop song, especially when yer heart is involved.

UPDATE: And the list continues to grow!

Joan Baez, "Diamonds and Rust"
Bob Dylan, "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right"
Tonio K. "H-A-T-R-E-D"
Aimee Mann, "Fourth of July"
Paul Westerberg, "Whatever Makes You Happy"
Travis Tritt, "Here's A Quarter, Call Someone Who Cares"
Pretenders, "Tatooed Love Boys"
Bob Dylan, "Positively 4th Street"
Barenaked Ladies, "Break Your Heart"
Harry Nilsson, "You're Breaking My Heart"
Motley Crue, "Don't Go Away Mad, Just Go Away"
Kelis, "Caught Out There"
Bessie Smith, "Lock and Key"
Elvis Presley, "Heartbreak Hotel"
Martina McBride, "Cry on the Shoulder of the Road"
Evanescence. "Going Under"
Hayseed Dixie, "Keeping Your Poop in A Jar"
Julie London, "C ry Me A River"
The Mountain Goats, "There Will Be No Divorce"
Heights, "Eyes Set to Kill"
Cee Lo, "Fuck You"
Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, "Too Bad on Your Birthday"
Marvin Gaye, "Here, My Dear"
Pat Benatar, "You Better Run"
Green Day, "Platypus I Hate You"
Elvis Presley, "It's Over"
GWAR, "Sick of You"
Michael Jackson, "She's Out of My Life"
Carrie Underwood, "Before He Cheats"
Ray Charles, "Hit the Road Jack"
Pink, "Blow Me (One Last Kiss)"
Dawes, "If I Wanted Someone"
Pink, "Who Knew"
Rodney Crowell, "If Looks Could Kill"
Steely Dan, "Haitian Divorce"
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, "You Got Lucky"
The Beautiful South, "A Little Time"
Steve Forbert, "Say Goodbye to Little Jo"
Electric Light Orchestra, "Evil Woman"
The Louvin Brothers, "Knoxville Girl"
Banjo & Sullivan, "I'm At Home Getting Hammered While She's Getting Out Getting Nailed"
Ruth Brown, "Too Little, Too Late"

Monday, February 4, 2013

If I go out in the morning snow

In my pajamas and my winter coat

And take from the house our darker thoughts

And take away the memory of loss

And if I drop them into the snow

Will we never find them anymore?

Gone Ridin' : 10 Great Motorcycle Songs

I don't ride a bike. Never have, never will. (Once, on a commuter train, I was wearing my long-gone, beloved leather biker-cum-rocker jacket, and some burly fellow passenger asked me "you ride?" I stared at him blankly; I was on a train, so of course 'I ride'. Help! Police! Madman on train!) I do however love motorcycles, or rather the idea of motorcycles, so of course I dig their romanticism. Herewith are some of my favorite songs about bikes. ("Born to Be Wild" not included.)

1. Chris Isaak, "Gone Ridin'"
2. Steve Earle, "The Other Kind"
3. Robert Gordon, "Too Fast to Live, Too Young to Die"
4. Arlo Guthrie, "Motorcycle (Significance of the Pickle)"
5. Richard Thompson, "1952 Vincent Black Lightning"
6. Lou Reed, "New Sensations"
7. Joel Brandwein, "Motorcycle Girl"
8. Brigitte Bardot, "Harley Davidson"
9. Love and Rockets, "Motorcycle"
10. Emmylou Harris, "Red Dirt Girl"

Friday, February 1, 2013

I'm Going to Do This

And so should you.

Wanna Make An Album? Start Right Now!

Thanks to The Wire, a small New Hampshire magazine that started the tradition in 2006, I make an album every year. They call it the RPM Challenge, and the challenge is this: write and record an album in the time between the first and last days of February. To qualify as an album, it just needs to be 10 songs or 35 minutes of music. When you're done, burn it to a CD and mail it in. That's it.