Small Things Stupid Packages

Road Trip 2007: Go Ahead, Go Back To Rockville

For the last 12 weeks, I've been taking Bongo to an acupuncturist, and it's really helped her. She has some pretty serious arthritis in her back and a nasty case of hip dysplasia. When we started, Bongo was in a bad, bad way- she was having trouble simply getting around, and I feared the worst, the worst being that she just wasn't having fun anymore.

After 6 weeks of acupuncture, the old Bongo began to re-emerge; obstinate, willful, offended by the most slightly perceived slights. Around 9 weeks, she was a new dog- still obnoxious and contary, but willing to humor me in matters like playing our old games, if only briefly. In short, the Bongo had returned to her eyes. For this, I will always be grateful to Dr. Nancy Scanlan at Sherman Oaks Veterinary Clinic.

So then Bongo and I went on this road trip. 3 weeks without acupuncture didn't seem like the best idea, so I did a little research. Turns out, about 35 miles north of Terre Haute, in Rockville, there's a vet who practices acupuncture! I make an appointment, drive north with an old, mouthy dog in the backseat and soon enough there I am at West Central Veterinary Services.

Dr. Julie Anderson is a woman who knows Australian Cattle Dogs. She has 5 of them, and she and her assistant, Karla, treated Bongo like the Little Princess she is. I was so impressed with there kindness of spirit towards both me and my dog, who they must surely assumed they would never see again. Karla sat on the floor and held a bowl of water for Bongo and fed her liver treats. Dr. Julie spent more time with us than I would have expected, and showed such a pure love for my dog that I will never forget it. If you are ever in the area, and you need attention for your pet, don't hesitate to call them. If they have a website, I can't find it, but you can reach them at: (765) 569-3210. They're at 1472 S US 41 in Rockville.

You may recall a little group called R.E.M. Mssrs. Berry Buck Mills Stipe had some choice words about a town called Rockville. I'm going to ask that when you listen to this song, substitute "Do" for "Don't". For the animals.

(Don't Go Back To) Rockville (Live)

Best Wishes To Phantom Dan Federici: Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band, Live At The Agora, 8/9/1978, Part 3

Sad news from Planet E Street this week. Danny Federici, Springsteen's longtime organ-accordionist is taking a leave of absence from the Magic tour. Danny is undergoing treatment for melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer.

Danny has played with Springsteen since the late 60's and along with Roy Bittan has been an anchor of the E Street sound. So many of the highlights of Springsteen's music can be traced back to Danny. The accordion in 4th Of July, Asbury Park (Sandy), the glockenspiel in Thunder Road and Born To Run, the outro to Racing In The Street, Kitty's Back and most recently, a terrific solo on Livin' In The Future. When I saw the band at the Sports Arena a few weeks ago, one of the most surprising highlights of the show was Danny and Roy front and center on dueling accordions on the last song of the evening, American Land.

The European Leg of the Magic tour starts tonight in Madrid.Filling in for Danny will be Charles Giordano, who played in the Seeger Sessions band. Best of luck to Danny Federici, who's given me many hours of great music. If you would like to learn more about melanoma, check out the Melanoma Research Foundation.

Here are the encores of one of the best bootlegs of the epic 1978 Darkness On The Edge Of Town tour, Summertime Bruce. Many more great Danny Federici moments in Part 1 and 2, also.

4th Of July Asbury Park (Sandy)/Born To Run/ Because The Night/Raise Your Hand/ Twist And Shout

DOWNLOAD PART 3 AS A ZIP FILE

Road Trip 2007: Like Pilate I Have A Dog

Over the years, I have driven cross country so many times I have lost count. For the last eleven years, my co-pilot has been Bongo, my 15 and a half year old Australian Cattle Dog. She is extremely smart, sweet, obnoxious, bratty and has a magical charisma. I have never seen people react to a dog as they do to Bongo. I could live to be 1000 years old and never have another like her.

Last April, Bongo was poisoned by tainted pet treats. I had been giving her the treats for a couple of weeks and she became extremely ill. She was diagnosed with kidney failure, and her vet told me she had a few days to live. The next day, the treats were recalled by the F.D.A. Once she stopped eating the treats and getting I.V. fluids every day (which I still give her), she recovered and today she is a happy, healthy old dog. Bongo and I took a road trip last May; at the time, it looked like her last. I called it "Bongo's Farewell Tour", a fitting tribute to a Rock Star-like dog.

Today, we are in Terre Haute, Indiana, visiting my parents for Thanksgiving. We started out on the road last Friday, and finished the 2100 mile drive on Monday. I love road trips, partly because I love spending the time with Bongo, and partly because I love the experience of seeing the country while blasting my ipod.

I have rules for road trips; actually more like traditions. There are certain things that are mandatory listening on this leg of the trip.

• When driving west to east, Johnny Cash's American Recordings must be played at least once. It needs to be started just before the sun rises. While I'm not a religious man, I have to say it was a profound experience to hear "Why Me Lord" as the sun peeked over the horizon.
• Bob Dylan And The Band's The Basement Tapes must be played first thing in the morning, direction optional, preferably on the third day of the road trip, optimally just before dawn.
• When driving through Springfield, Missouri, Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin must be played.
• Within 100 miles of the Terre Haute, Kings Of Leon's Youth And Young Manhood must be played in it's entirety. I'm not sure why.
• Within 50 miles of Terre Haute, Born To Run must be played. You must try to sing along with the entire album, even though you are hoarse by Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out.

One thing that can absolutely not be done is to play Green Day's Jesus Of Suburbia while driving through the Eisenhower Tunnel (about 60 miles west of Denver). Bongo will give you holy hell for this, for reasons clear only to her.

This week I'll be paying tribute to the musical legacy of Terre Haute. This will be difficult, as there is no musical legacy to Terre Haute.

Why Me Lord- Johnny Cash

Odds And Ends- Bob Dylan And The Band

House Fire- Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin

Red Morning Light- Kings Of Leon

Fight The Power!: A Mixtape For The Writers Guild Of America

Louis B. Mayer once said that the movie industry was the only business where the assets go home at night. Jack Warner used to refer to writers as "schmucks with Underwoods"

Here in Studio City, I live across the street from CBS-Radford studios. Picketers from the Writers Guild of America have been on the street here all week. It's a grim time in the Film/TV business. Negotiations between the WGA and the AMPTP have broken down and become increasingly bitter. The main issue is how to divvy up the profits of New Media- internet downloads and streaming video. New Media is destined to be the successor to DVD, and has been for some time. Yet the studios insist that they haven't found a way to make New Media profitable, so it would be presumptuous, in their eyes, to make a deal with the people who create content to share profits that supposedly do not exist. Former Disney CEO Michael Eisner, always good for a laugh, says that if anyone is really to blame it's Steve Jobs, and that if the strikers should be picketing anyone, it's Apple, because they continually outsmart the studios with their crafty itunes deals.

So there you have it. Creative people cannot possibly hold the studios to the standards that Steve Jobs has set, so it is unjust to expect to share profits that the studios are too stupid to make. Thanks for clearing THAT up, Michael!

Or, as Indiana University professor Mark Deuze (more intelligently than I) puts it: 

In a way, writers and producers are increasingly disempowered by developments in the digital age and the increase in runaway production. I'm thinking about the parties that are involved in the conflict: directors, producers, writers, actors (and through them a wide network of affiliated businesses): these are all creative laborers, the talent that makes the media work. What I am arguing is, that this conflict and its framing perhaps is a reflection of a deeper unsettling trend in the industry: the increasing irrelevance of talent as a major source of investment throughout the media industries, as the economy shifts to consumers (instead of mass media-era producer-driven markets) and thus power shifts to those who control the pipelines rather than the content (cable companies, telco's, access providers).

In the meantime, thousands of crew members, assistants and those in businesses related to the industry have been laid off. These people, who stand little to gain regardless of the outcome of negotiations, will be hit the hardest of all: A long strike will impact them the hardest; these are, by and large, not affluent people. Many live paycheck to paycheck, and will lose their homes, cars and health insurance.

And what am I going to do about it? Make a mixtape. This is the only way I know how to show support for the striking writers, and I hope that it makes a decent soundtrack for the struggle against the corporatization of America which is at the heart of this conflict.

You can find the best  coverage of the strike at Nikki Finke's excellent Deadline Hollywood Daily.

Fool Me Once- George W. Bush, Moron-In-Chief

Know Your Rights- The Clash (buy it at Amazon)

2+2=5 (The Lukewarm)- Radiohead (buy it at Amazon)

Here's Your Future- The Thermals (buy it at Amazon)

Our Life Is Not A Movie Or Maybe- Okkervil River (buy it at Amazon)

Rebellion (Lies)- Arcade Fire (buy it at Amazon)

The Big Payback- Bruce Springsteen (buy it at Amazon)

Sixteen Tons- Bo Diddley (buy it at Amazon)

Gimme Some Truth- Pearl Jam (buy it at Amazon)

21st Century Rip Off- The Soundtrack Of Our Lives (buy it at Amazon)

I Won't Back Down- Johnny Cash (buy it at Amazon)

Kicking Television- Wilco (buy it at Amazon)

The Revolution Starts....- Steve Earle (buy it at Amazon)

I Will Survive- Cake (buy it at Amazon)

The Underdog- Spoon (buy it at Amazon)

Even A Dog Can Shake Hands- Warren Zevon (buy it at Amazon)

Mr. November- The National (buy it at Amazon)

The Star Spangled Banner- Jimi Hendrix (buy it at Amazon)

The Hold Steady And Art Brut Want You To Call Them Sunny D....: Live At The Henry Fonda Theater, Los Angeles, 11/7/2007

...Because they've got the good stuff kids go for!

After the first song in Art Brut's set, Eddie Argos announced "Ok, that's all the singing I'm going to do tonight!" Not only was he not kidding, it was last singing by anyone on the stage of the Henry Fonda theater last night. And it was a fantastically good time. Argos and The Hold Steady's Craig Finn are idiosyncratic lead vocalists- there is not a single thing pretty going on here, but the two of them are so dedicated to having fun and sharing that with the audience that I found myself smiling throughout the whole night.

There is so much good humor in Art Brut, they make an ideal opening band for The Hold Steady. Argos has a wonderful lunatic quality about him. He's like the guy at a party telling you funny stories that are so pointless and off the wall that you'd grab him, shake him and yell "WHY ARE YOU TELLING ME THIS?!?" if you weren't laughing so hard. As likable as their set was, I had the same reaction I have listening to their CDs- really enjoy the first few songs, then the joke starts to get a little old. But that's makes them such a good opening band- they're gone before it becomes truly stale. I don't mean to damn them with faint praise; they play smart, fun, slightly punky guitar rock, and I'll be really curious to see where they take their act from here.

The Hold Steady was everything you'd hope; big, anthemic rock songs with crunchy guitars, brilliant lyrics performed with great joy and positivity. Like Bruce Springsteen at the Sports Arena last week, they play with such infectious enthusiasm that whatever mood you showed up in, you WILL pump your fist, you WILL shout those big choruses. What Craig Finn does can't exactly be called singing; in fact, most of the singing came from the crowd, fueled up on Newcastles and extremely receptive to bellowing out the chorus to "Massive Nights", play air guitar on "Stuck Between Stations" and sway precariously to "Your Little Hoodrat Friend". This was my first time seeing them, and I couldn't believe how likable and joyous they are. I don't know exactly how long they played for; maybe an hour and a half, but they could've kept going for a lot longer as far as I'm concerned. They made you feel glad to be alive.

I've been so lucky to go to some great shows over the last several weeks: Springsteen, Arcade Fire/LCD Soundsystem, The National and now The Hold Steady and Art Brut. What a great time to be a music fan.

THE HOLD STEADY LIVE AT LOLLAPALOOZA 2006 (available at emusic)

Stuck Between Stations

Your Little Hoodrat Friend

Massive Night

ART BRUT LIVE AT SCHUBAS, 11/15/2005 (available on emusic)

Formed A Band

Moving To LA

Bang Bang Rock And Roll

Neon Bible Or Funeral? Follow-Up Album Smackdown, Pt. 1: Arcade Fire At The BBC, 6/28/2007

London Calling or Sandinista? Sticky Fingers or Exile On Main Street? The Transformed Man or Has Been? (Gratuitous Shatner Content...I'll come back to that later this week). Whenever a band is at the height of their powers, on a great creative roll, fans always want to debate the merits of the new album versus the old. This is the first in a series highlighting some of this year's best new releases, and how they compare to their previous work.

In the case of Arcade Fire, I don't think there's a correct answer; I find both Neon Bible and Funeral to be uniformly excellent. Neon Bible lacks the element of surprise of Funeral. When the latter album was released in 2004, it was startling because it just didn't sound like anything else. It has a manic energy that Neon Bible can't quite attain, perhaps because it is so deeply personal and heartfelt. But Neon Bible aims for bigger things- The opening cut, "Black Mirror" suggests using a clairvoyant's skills to avoid the atrocities of post 9/11 America. "Keep The Car Running" can read as either a touring band's numbness to the road or a terrorist's attempt to  console his family. It's bleak stuff, and it doesn't let up until "No Cars Go" ,  which describes a utopia  where everyone is welcome and safe from the horrors of the modern world. It may not work as a unified whole the way "Funeral" does, but you have to give Arcade Fire credit: This is the sound of a band going for it, swinging big and almost fully connecting. It strikes me a savage indictment of life in Dick Cheney's America.

I love both records in their own way. If you want to choose between the two, go get your own blog. Or, if you'd like to spare yourself the expense and aggravation, leave a comment and tell me which you prefer, and why.

Here's a BBC show from last June that showcases what's great about both "Funeral" and "Neon Bible".

Arcade Fire Live At The BBC, 6/28/2007

Intro/ Keep The Car Running/ No Cars Go/ Haiti/ Interview Pt. 1/ Black Mirror/ Neon Bible/ Interview Pt. 2/ Intervention/ Antichrist Television Blues/ Interview Pt. 3/ Neighbourhood No.3 (Power Out)/Rebellion (Lies)

DOWNLOAD A BIG HUNKA ARCADE FIRE LOVE AS A ZIP FILE

Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band, LA Sports Arena, 10/30/2007: Scary Good

Setlist: Radio Nowhere/ The Ties That Bind/ Lonesome Day/ Gypsy Biker/ Magic/ Reason To Believe/ Night/ She's The One/ Livin' In The Future/ The Promised Land/ A Town Called Heartbreak/ Tunnel Of  Love/ Devil's Arcade/ The Rising/ Last To Die/ Long Walk Home/ Badlands...ENCORES...Girls In Their Summer Clothes/ Kitty's Back/ Born To Run/ Dancing In The Dark/ American Land

3:45PM: King Dork and I leave Studio City for the Sports Arena. I am in something of a blind panic. We need to be at there by 5PM to get wristbands, so we can have a shot at being one of the lucky 500 to get into the pit. We've gotten off to a late start and, with two major accidents tying up the freeways, there is no way we'll be there by 4:30PM, when Andy is meeting us there.

4:15PM: We make the strategic decision to get off the 101 and take surface streets. We exit at Vermont.

4:40PM: Good move! We're at the Sports Arena! Let's call Andy and find out where he is! He's not answering his phone. Uh-oh.

4:50PM: We get in line. Still no answer from Andy. He's not going to get a wristband. Uh-oh.

4:55PM: We get wristbands! Andy calls! He's stuck in traffic. A lot of traffic. He's not going to be there for an hour and a half. And I have his ticket...I have wristband # 739. King Dork has #740.

5:10PM: We need them to draw #239 or higher. They have a 5 year girl draw a number from a glass jar. She draws #228. I shoot death rays from my eyes at the little girl. We're not getting in the pit.

6:10PM: They start to let the pit people in. Still no Andy.

6:25PM: They line the rest of us up by wristband number. Andy shows up, I give him his ticket. But he can't get in line with us because he doesn't have a wristband. He goes to the regular general admission line. Bummer.

6:30PM: They let us in. Unfortunately,ahead of us, they let in a group of General Admission folks who had NOT BEEN WAITING FOR TWO HOURS!!!! Well played, Sports Arena staff, well played!

6:32PM: We reach the floor. Second to third wave of people back from the barricade despite being tenth in line. That is what is call a Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out. Drag.

6:33PM: Here's Andy!

8:15PM: A vendor who does business with Andy calls him. Does he need pit passes? Great! He can get a couple....but we need 3.....

8:20-8:30PM: I'll skip the details, but suffice to say there was subterfuge, threats of arrests and ultimately, the additional pit pass is obtained, but I am informed that security will be keeping an eye on me and if I give them one more problem I'LL BE GOING TO JAIL!!! J-A-I-L!!!!!

8:30PM: I spot Jon Landau, Bruce's manager and start chatting him up. Bruce is working up a Halloween bit for the opening, he tells me, but Bruce isn't sure he if wants to do it. Given Bruce's legendary indecisiveness, this struck me kinda funny, seemed kinda funny sir to me. I ask him if there are going to be any B-sides coming out from the "Magic" sessions. He says there are only a couple extra tracks, that it's not like the old days when they would have a bunch of extra songs. Also says they'll be coming back through on the second leg of the tour, and might play the Sports Arena again. "Bruce likes this old barn", he says. Nice guy. Friendly, enjoyed talking to him.

8:40PM: A coffin is carried out. Little Steven sadly shakes his head, as if nothing can be done. He hands a guitar down to the coffin. An arm shoots up takes it, the coffin is tilted up. Out comes Bruce. (watch the video, y'all!)

This was the first time I've ever been lucky enough to be in the pit, and it was spectacular. I have never been so close to the stage for a Springsteen concert. Highlights? "Reason To Believe", with a new "LaGrange"-like bluesy rave-up arrangement. "Gypsy Biker", another blistering Bruce-Little Steven guitar duel. "Night" straight into "She's The One". The entire encore- "Kitty's Back", are you kidding me? And the closer, "American Land" was better than I ever could have imagined, with both Roy Bittan and Danny Federici up front wailing away on their accordions, to the extent that it is possible to wail on an accordion. A tight, flawless performance by a band playing at an extremely high level, and having a great time doing it.

Andy emerges the M.V.P. of the evening, King Dork a close runner-up (he bought all the beer). I ultimately avoided imprisonment.

If you somehow made it through that tale of heartbreak and triumph, here's your reward: Part 2 of Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band at the Agora Theater, Cleveland, 8/9/1978:

Paradise By The C/ Fire/ Sherry Darling/ Not Fade Away/ Gloria/ She's The One/ Growin' Up/ Backstreets/ Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)

DOWNLOAD DISC 2 AS A ZIP FILE-PREPARE TO LOSE YOUR SOCKS!!

 

Tom Petty: Runnin' Down A Dream

Last night I watched the new Tom Petty documentary, "Runnin Down A Dream" on the Sundance Channel. Four hours of Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers! Not how I had intended to spend my evening, but well worth it if you're like me, meaning you've bought every album he's ever done. "Runnin' Down A Dream" was directed by Peter Bogdanovich (Paper Moon, The Last Picture Show, and Dr Melfi's shrink on The Sopranos!) and it is an exhaustive review of Petty's career. My favorite part was the period leading up to and including the Traveling Wilburys. There is some terrific footage of Petty, George Harrison, Bob Dylan, Roy Orbison and Jeff Lynne working out the lyrics to "Last Night" (from the first Wilburys album) and hanging out at Dylan's house. As a rock fan, here's what I love about this: There once was a universe where those guys actually hung out, had dinner, had some drinks and made music. They didn't come in on separate days, record their bits and leave; they were real people who had as much fun making the music as I have had listening.

Other segments show that much of the Heartbreakers work life wasn't quite as much of a blast. The tensions in the group are talked about in great detail, and how their massive drug intake fueled those tensions. Petty's solo albums also exacerbated the problems; the entire group, with the exception of Petty and guitarist Mike Campbell, were so paranoid and insecure about outsiders like Lynne and Dave Stewart that they constantly feared for their jobs. The question asked over and over: How does any band stay together?

Four hours is a lot to ask of a viewer, but it flew by and the only false note (to me anyway) was the section on 2002's The Last DJ. No amount of lipstick will make me kiss that pig. Oh well, 31 years of recording and one stinker. That's quite a legacy.

The Sundance Channel is replaying "Runnin' Down A Dream" October 31st at 3AM (Eastern). This is what Tivo is for, people!

Here's a mix I put together a while back. These are from Petty's excellent box set, "Playback".

Heartbreaker's Beach Party- Potato Salad!

Gods Gift To Man

You Get Me High

Travelin'- Great road trip song!

Casa Dega- "Damn The Torpedoes" outtake

The Image Of Me

Big Boss Man- Remake of the Jimmy Reed classic

Waiting For Tonight- Great back-up vocals by The Bangles

Ways To Be Wicked- GIven to Lone Justice for their first album

Stop Draggin' My Heart Around (Demo)- Petty's demo before Stevie Nick's vocals were added

Turning Point

You Come Through- Lenny Kravitz on bass and vocals

Come On Down To My House- Dave Grohl on drums- this one rocks really hard!

Here's the trailer for "Runnin' Down A Dream"

Bruce Springsteen And The Summer of '78: Live At The Agora, 8/9/1978

There was a discussion on RMAS (hardcore Springsteen fans) this week: Which do you prefer, Born To Run or Darkness On The Edge Of Town, and why? A quick tally showed that of the 31 who responded, 17 went with Darkness, 13 Born To Run and strangely, 1 with Dark Side Of The Moon. While most agreed that BTR is a nearly perfect song cycle- no more or less than is needed to tell the story- Darkness is such a barrelhouse of emotions- hope, fear, anger, attempts at redemption which produce no clear results- that it overcomes it's flaws to produce a maelstrom of feelings that resonate almost 30 years later. Some like it better because it has more guitar.

Darkness On The Edge Of Town was released on June 2nd, 1978. I didn't know much about Springsteen, just the song Born To Run, and some vague legal trouble that had kept him from releasing anything for three years. Still, I picked it up as soon as it was released at the Paiges Going Out Of Business sale in Terre Haute, Indiana. I walked out to my car and put it in the 8-track player. A few songs in I decided it was a tough listen. I didn't connect with it. It began to gather dust on the floor.

That summer, before my senior year of high school, I had my first real job. I was a clueless 17 year old laborer at Indiana Gas & Chemical, a coke foundry; everyone called it the Coke Plant. My dad was Vice President of the place and was well liked. Men worked at the Coke Plant. Men who Walked Through Those Gates With Death In Their Eyes. Most of them were indifferent towards me. Some of them never spoke, only glared with a dark resentment. A few made my life miserable.

Somewhere around the end of summer I gave Darkness On The Edge Of Town another listen. This time, as I sat reading the lyrics, it walloped me upside the head. Stories of people whose life had once seemed full of possibility now watching their hopes slowly fading away, unable to do anything about it.

I've done my best to live the right way
I get up every morning and go to work each day
But your eyes go blind and your blood runs cold
Sometimes I feel so weak I just want to explode
Explode and tear this whole town apart
Take a knife and cut this pain from my heart
Find somebody itchin' for something to start

I can't properly describe how it felt to listen to the soundtrack of my summer for the first time. The promise of being young, and all that opportunity in front of me. I began to understand why some of those men felt such seething resentment. I saw that you aren't given anything in life, that if you want you have to take it, to earn it. Bruce Springsteen become an iconic figure to me on that day, and still is.

I worked at the Coke Plant the next five summers. It was the best summer job I could have had. I came home every day covered with soot, tar and an understanding of just how real life could be. Every day was a different life lesson, every day a reminder of how lucky I was and how nothing could ever be taken for granted. I don't know if I could have done it without Bruce Springsteen. Some people say his music is too corny, too bombastic. Too bad for them. I can't imagine my life without it.

Next Tuesday, I'm going to see Bruce and the E Street Band. Over the next few days, I'll be posting "Summertime Bruce", one of the best shows from that summer of 1978, the legendary Darkness On The Edge Of Town tour. If you like what you hear, all I ask of you is that you consider making a donation to the American Red Cross to help out the victims of the fires here in Southern California.

Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band At The Agora Theater, Cleveland, 8/9/1978, Part 1

Summertime Blues/Badlands/Spirit In The Night/Darkness On The Edge Of Town/Factory/The Promised Land/Prove It All Night/Thunder Road/Jungleland

DOWNLOAD PART 1 AS A ZIP FILE

Turn Me On Dead Man: Paul McCartney At Amoeba Records, Hollywood, 6/27/2007

One day, when I was in 3rd grade, riding the school bus to Pimento Elementary School, I was told that Paul McCartney was dead. The remaining Beatles had kept his death a secret, replaced him with a look alike and were planting clues in their songs. And I was STUPID if I didn't believe it. Just look at the cover of Abbey Road, they said. Ringo is the undertaker, John is the minister, George is the gravedigger, Fake Paul is barefoot and out of step with the others. If you played Strawberry Fields Forever backwards, at the end somebody says "I buried Paul".

When I got home from school, I started looking at their album covers...something was wrong...something in the look on their faces in the White Album fold scared me. They looked unhappy, distant. Like something bad had happened to them, and if something bad could happen to The Beatles WHAT CHANCE DID A 3RD GRADER ON THE BUS STAND??!!??

Not long after that, the news came that The Beatles had broken up. Paul was mad at John, John was mad at Paul. Ringo needed a job and George had an inexplicably long beard. Paul released a crappy solo album. It didn't seem fair. My big brothers got to grow up with The Beatles, why couldn't I? John released a solo album and it was full of bad words and screaming.

Then a few years went by and it turned that life really wasn't fair after all. John got shot by a crazy person and George died of cancer. Ringo does oldie shows that are like "Up With People" for hippies.

Through it all, Paul McCartney soldiers on. His solo albums are never great, but never terrible. Somehow he remains blithely above it all, never troubled by deep insight or bogged down by excessive contemplation. Last June, a bunch of people got to see him play at Amoeba Records in Hollywood. People like Ringo Starr, Olivia Harrison and Joe Walsh. And guess what? It totally rocked. The band sounds great on the old Beatles stuff and even the new material from Memory Almost Full has an edge to it.

My point? I think that kid on the bus was wrong. Or Fake Paul is still pretty good.

Intro

Drive My Car

Only Mama Knows

Dance Tonight

C Moon

That Was Me

Blackbird

Back In The USSR

Nod Your Head

House Of Wax

Hey Jude