Storm and Stress

Chris Rose is doing some great writing for the New Orleans Times-Picayune on living through Katrina and the rebuilding. Here is his take on the situation one year from the storm. The waters have receded but the storm rages as politicians preen and pose, as insurance adjusters fight to keep hold of the premiums their customers have paid for 20 years, the oil companies working to ensure that their facilities are rebuilt, as nature fights to reclaim the land between the Mississippi and Lake Pontchartrain.

There is much discussion of whether and where to rebuild. Can we rebuild a city so far below sea level. Why can't we replicate the Netherlands model? Is this government really trying to ignore the problem in order to reengineer the political landscape of the south's bluest city? Newt Gingrich, Himself, makes the case that the flood waters revealed this government's inability to govern.

We can argue inability or incompetence or ignorance or malfeasance. And still the people dig out the dank piles of their histories and try to make sense of the new reality that is rebuilding a life.

Flowers in Your Hair

Just back from San Francisco. Why don't we all live there?

Nice Pants!!

OK, the guitarist for Iron Maiden has on the same pants as Rod Stewart. What are the chances???

I've got to stop . I'm coming back to 2006 now.

MTVJay

OK, I lied. They just showed a few minutes of Mark Goodwin, Goodman, whatever. He was reading very nicely from the teleprompter. He was the cute one??

BTW, April Wine has TWO songs in rotation. (Do they still say in rotation?)

First Day of MTV

To commemorate the 25th Anniversary of MTV, the pioneering music channel continues its 15 year tradition of playing no music videos. Instead, MTV has left it to VH1Classic to air the August 1, 1981 programming. Couldn't throw us old enough to remember a bone and at least throw it to VH1. Actually, it's only sort of the 1st day, as promised. There are no VJays; no MTV programming; references to ground breaking programs (AIDS awareness campaign, PSA's) and yet no footage. Many references to the then-ubiquitous "I Want My MTV" ad, but not one example. Too bad.

I've now watched an hour of this walk down memory lane. The videos I've seen:

Nazareth: Holiday (I don't want you to be a pop star, either)
Stevie Nicks: Stop Draggin My Heart Around (with Tom Petty)
The Bugles: Video Killed the Radio Star -- the one what started it all
Robert Palmer: Looking for Clues
Ph.D: Little Susie's On the Up
Rod Stewart: Passion ('Nice Pants' indeed)
Shoes: Cruel You
Pretenders: Talk of the Town (three of their videos on today; Brass in Pocket was shown in the first hour; also Message of Love in heavy rotation)
The Who: Don't Let Go the Coats
Fischer Z: So Long
April Wine: Just Between You and Me (A real live performance; a bad live performance, but credit where it's due)

Now they're repeating.....just like 1981

It's interesting to see pop music pre-makeup; before lip syncing was perfected and singers know to or not to look into the camera; before concert footage looked like a real concert (for the exception see April Wine); when female singers didn't have to writhe like hoo's (see Chrissie Hynde, above, a real female rock star, who along with Pat Benatar, got some love from MTV in the early days. Too bad MTV also helped create the femalesingerwithbigboobsandnotalent.

I wanted my MTV; it took some time for cable to come to Sayre and for my brother, sister and I to talk my mother into paying for it. (Ed.: Robert, please fill in details.)

I do remember vividly hearing her screaming at the TV, like she hadn't done since John Dean testified before Congress, declaring "I'm calling the cable company tomorrow and having this thing cancelled!" I believe George Michael was single-handedly responsible for that comment. Father Figure vied with I Want Your Sex for the honor.

She didn't cancel it, however. It died a natural death in our house, like in so many others, when we like Jackie Paper, outgrew it. I will say though, that in my day we did play music. With instruments and melodies and lyrics. OK, so the boys wore more makeup and hairspray than the girls. And, ok I sound like my aforementioned mother. I DO have Eminem AND Kanye West on my Ipod. So I ain't dead yet. Beyond MTV's demographic, yes. How far beyond.....let's not quibble.

Happy Anniversary.