the
Give me your music, your art, your huddled masses of words and rhythms, yearning to breathe free.
Give me your music, your art, your huddled masses of words and rhythms, yearning to breathe free.
the
Give me your music, your art, your huddled masses of words and rhythms, yearning to breathe free.
I heard your footsteps at the front door, and that old familiar love song. ‘Cause you knew you'd find me waiting there, at the top of the stairs. Those lyrics weren’t written by a heartsick bloke waiting for his lover to come home. They were composed by an artist recalling his boyhood days in a working-class London neighborhood, waiting for…
As all dog-owners know, male canines urinate in specific outdoor areas to indicate "top dog" status. Are men prone to pee in public to achieve the same goal? And, if so, what tactics do women employ to establish turf? Well, that's a lot more complicated and would take a much longer time to answer. As any guy will tell you, it's a liberating experience to take a whiz in the great outdoors. However, some do actually get busted for it, none more so than male rock stars who tend to be rather indiscreet when it comes to leaving their scent. Here's a look at some famous offenders.
"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!).
"I am an anti-Christ, I am an anarchist." One of rock’s great original voices, John Lydon – aka Johnny Rotten of The Sex Pistols – screamed those words to the punks, the privileged, and the politicians of England in 1977. He emerged from some Frankenstein-like laboratory on this date in 1956. From his days as a Pistol through his 35-year stint as frontman for Public Image Ltd, he's enjoyed a long reign as one of rock's most outspoken figures - quick to criticize governments, the wealthy, the record industry, fellow musicians, the rock press, and conformists of all stripes. Unfortunately, his music didn't manage to drown out the mellow monotony of The Eagles, the horrible dreck called disco, or the soulless Kansas/Styx/Boston pablum that was quickly devouring our planet by 1976, but he and his fellow punks gave us a great reprieve from the antics of jet-setting cash cows...and reminded us that rock-and-roll should never take itself too seriously.
Images of the old American West and scenes of Southern country life have inspired countless British rock recordings through the years, none more so than the early albums of Elton John. And no wonder. His lyricist Bernie Taupin was in love with romantic visions of Americana…scenes of cornfields and cattle towns, frisky colts and fringed-front buggies, field bosses and chain gangs, Geronimo and gunslingers. All of Elton's songs began in the mind of Bernie, who turns 64 today. He wrote the lyrics that the pianist-showman set to music - creating vivid sound portraits of days gone by.