Rock
Keeping My Foreign Tongue in Cheek
“What’s with all this telephone nonsense of “‘Press 1 for English, press 2 for Spanish’? You live in America. Speak American, you damn illegals, or go home.” Ah, the words of the xenophobes. Well, yer blogger has figuratively “pressed 2 for English” in every country she’s ever visited. In the
You Score an Ounce, Olé — Paul, Pot, and the Petition of ’67
Even if Bob Dylan hadn’t introduced The Beatles to marijuana at New York’s Delmonico Hotel, the boys would have lit up soon enough. From that August 1964 night onward, “let’s have a laugh” quickly became their code phrase for “let’s have a toke.” And laugh they did. At least until they began getting busted for smoking that wicked weed. It turns out that Paul, not the controversial John, was the most prolific pot puffer of all, leading the band in number of arrests.
Ian McLagan: I Had Me a Real Good Time
“Had me a real good time.” That’s the title of a song by Faces, and it totally sums up my feelings every time I rock and roll to the music of that premier British bar band. Their keyboard player Ian McLagan, who died suddenly of a stroke on December 3, 2014, would have been 70 today. I know I refer to a lot of performers as “my favorite” this or that, but you can be certain of this: “Mac” was my favorite band keyboardist. I was thrilled to meet the charismatic musician in June 2013 after his intimate gig at The Tin Angel in Philadelphia (I even got a kiss – Ooh la la!).
Lesley Gore on Owning Yourself
Ladies, the next time you want to change your hairstyle or splurge on those Miu Miu pumps and your man gets bossy and tries to dissuade you, just say “you don’t own me.” Guys, the next time your lady tells you to turn down the car stereo or toss out
A Man Walks Into a Bar: The Story of Klaus Voormann and The Beatles
One night in 1960, German art student Klaus Voormann went out slumming and came home a changed man. He’d just had an argument with his girlfriend Astrid Kirchherr, and set off to walk the Reeperbahn, a boulevard in the St. Pauli red-light district of Hamburg, Germany. He heard some raucous music pouring from the seedy Kaiserkeller Club, walked inside, and discovered a band of five amphetamine-charged, leather-clad English boys shakin’ down the house. This was his first exposure to a rock-n-roll circus, and he was left – in his words – “speechless.” You could reckon that Mr. Voormann, who turns 77 today, had the distinction of being the first international Beatles fan — and a whole lot more.