The Regular Friday Post
Rando lyrics: I even like the chicken if the sauce is not too blue
NOTE: Yeah. So, did it again, sorry Google Gmail recipients! Substack is telling me this post is too long for email - according to Substack, there’s a button to click on: “View Entire Message” to see it all if you get that message - note this is a Google email issue, not a Substack problem.
Welcome to The Regular Friday post!
Ed. My Favorite New Year’s Eve Song (and yes, I know the lyrics refer to Christmas Eve, I don’t care…). I’ve always heard it as a New Year’s Eve song because it speaks so eloquently to the idea of remembering, but then letting go of, the past and moving on - in a sorta “snow turned into rain” kinda way - your mileage may vary. (Ed. See the song analysis below for why it’s a NYE song to me!)
“Daniel Grayling Fogelberg[1] (August 13, 1951 – December 16, 2007) was an American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. He is primarily known for his 1970s and 1980s soft rock hits, including "Longer" (1979), "Same Old Lang Syne" (1980), and "Leader of the Band" (1981).” Credit: Wikipedia Link: Dan Fogelberg
A Song To Play:
"Fogelberg wrote this song based on an incident in 1975 when he bumped into an old girlfriend from high school, Jill Anderson Greulich, at a convenience store in Peoria, Illinois on Christmas Eve. The two shared a six-pack of beer and reminisced for a couple of hours before parting ways. Fogelberg never identified the woman in the song, and Greulich only came forward after Fogelberg’s death in 2007. Greulich has identified two inaccuracies in the song: 1) her eyes are not blue, and 2) her husband (at the time) was not an architect."
Credit Genius Link: Lyrics
4/4 common time, Key of CMaj, the live version below says 97 BPM, the album version - same key and time - is listed as 107 BPM.
[Verse 1]
Met my old lover in the grocery store
The snow was falling Christmas Eve
I stole behind her in the frozen foods
And I touched her on the sleeve
[Verse 2]
She didn't recognize the face at first
But then her eyes flew open wide
She went to hug me and she spilled her purse
And we laughed until we cried
[Verse 3]
We took her groceries to the checkout stand
The food was totaled up and bagged
We stood there lost in our embarrassment
As the conversation dragged
[Verse 4]
Went to have ourselves a drink or two
But couldn't find an open bar
We bought a six-pack at the liquor store
And we drank it in her car
[Chorus]
We drank a toast to innocence
We drank a toast to now
And tried to reach beyond the emptiness
But neither one knew how
[Verse 5]
She said she'd married her an architect
Who kept her warm and safe and dry
She would have liked to say she loved the man
But she didn't like to lie
[Verse 6]
I said the years had been a friend to her
And that her eyes were still as blue
But in those eyes I wasn't sure if I
Saw doubt or gratitude
[Verse 7]
She said she saw me in the record stores
And that I must be doing well
I said the audience was heavenly
But the traveling was hell
[Chorus]
We drank a toast to innocence
We drank a toast to now
And tried to reach beyond the emptiness
But neither one knew how
We drank a toast to innocence
We drank a toast to time
Reliving in our eloquence
Another "auld lang syne"
[Verse 8]
The beer was empty and our tongues were tired
And running out of things to say
She gave a kiss to me as I got out
And I watched her drive away
[Verse 9]
Just for a moment I was back at school
And felt that old familiar pain
And as I turned to make my way back home
The snow turned into rain...
[Saxophone Solo]
Ed: Analysis: Very interesting songwriting, especially considering (or maybe because…) the lyrics recall a real life event. Nine(!) verses, each ABCB in rhyme structure. No bridge. Two choruses, which only appear in the body of the song, with additional lyrics in the second. The rhyme structure of both is ABAB, even the additional lines in the second chorus. At the conclusion of the last verse, the song transitions into a jazz influenced instrumental outro of the traditional New Year’s Eve song, “Auld Lang Syne” (Ed. - told ya!…) directly from Verse 9 rather than from a final chorus.
(Ed. “The words auld lang syne literally mean “old long since,” though in practice it means “old times, especially times fondly remembered,” as well as an “old or long friendship.””) Credit: Dictionary.com
For Today:
The utter silliness of this “Holy smokes, there’s Nazis on Substack, Gramma, whatever will we do?”, pearl-clutching, hand wringing debate continues to ebb and flare on Substack, like the fat off a slowly roasted pig. Well, stick a fork in this one, it’s done. Some say they’re gonna leave, some say they’re gonna debate, go toe-to-toe with those Nazis, or just keep crying “SOMEONE DO SOMETHING!!”.
Short of an actual shooting war, which we (together with the Soviet Union - credit where credit’s due…) already did, the actual answer is (wait for it…):
Mockery, Sarcasm, Scorn and Laughter At Their Expense.…
Real Nazis were frightening, monstrous murderers for quite awhile….until they weren’t - then they offed themselves. Or fled to South America so the Jews wouldn’t hunt them down and execute them on Israeli soil…which, for the Nazis, didn’t always work out as planned.
Yeah… so these recent Nazis are posers - they’re Nazis without clothes, or tanks, or guns or bombs - just empty stupid rhetoric - and just waiting for some little kid to say it out loud - “The poser Nazis have no clothes or tanks or guns or bombs, Gramma…or the support of the populace or one of the world’s strongest economies, or even U-boats…”
In that respect, they’re not totally unlike the Dead Kennedys, but the Dead Kennedys are much more amusing in their rhetoric, despite also not having U-boats (that we know of, anyway…):
“"Nazi Punks Fuck Off" is a song by American punk rock band Dead Kennedys. It was released in November 1981 through Alternative Tentacles as a 7-inch single with "Moral Majority" as the B-side. Both are from the In God We Trust, Inc. EP, although the EP version is a different recording from the single version. The single included a free armband with a crossed-out swastika. The design was later adopted as a symbol for the anti-racist punk movement Anti-Racist Action.
The song is a blunt indictment of the rise of far-right punk subcultures such as Nazi punk or the white power skinhead movement, which had begun rioting at punk shows in the late 1970s. The appropriation of fascist iconography had been common in punk for some time, often ironically, but the irony was not always clear to the extent that it began attracting the organized far-right to punk concerts.[1] Jello Biafra's lyrics condemn the infighting among punks for weakening the prospect of rebellion and hold of the far-right agitators that "in a real Fourth Reich, [they'd] be the first to go."[2]” Credit: Wikipedia Link: Dead Kennedys
Another Song To Play!!!
Ed: The video is “Take 3”, the lyrics are “Take 4” of the studio song, the difference seemingly is that “Take 4” has an extra verse - “Verse 1” in the lyrics below. The chord chart is probably versatile enough for either since, let’s face it, from a musical standpoint this song is essentially just noise - so play it in any key you want, and frankly, use any chords you want as long as you play fast and loud.
Ed. - More or less in the original key of Db, capo on one, or just play any 3 chord combo you feel like playing. Almost nothing rhymes and if it does, it seems more accidental than planned. It plays a lot faster than 79 BPM and it’s supposedly 4/4 time, but really just strum an up-down pattern as fast as you can and scream the lyrics for that authentic feel…
[Intro: Spoken] "Fuck Off," overproduced by Martin Hannett, take four (Two, three, four!) [Verse 1] Punk ain't no religious cult Punk means thinking for yourself You ain't hardcore when you spike your hair When a jock still lives inside your head [Chorus] Nazi punks, Nazi punks Nazi punks: fuck off! Nazi punks, Nazi punks Nazi punks: fuck off! [Verse 2] If you've come to fight, get outta here You ain't no better than the bouncers We ain't trying to be police If you ape the cops, it ain't anarchy [Chorus] Nazi punks, Nazi punks Nazi punks: fuck off! Nazi punks, Nazi punks Nazi punks: fuck off! Bridge] Ten guys jump one, what a man You fight each other, the police state wins Stab your backs when you trash our halls Trash a bank if you've got real balls [Verse 3] You still think swastikas look cool The real Nazis run your schools They're coaches, businessmen, and cops In a real Fourth Reich, you'll be the first to go [Chorus] Nazi punks, Nazi punks Nazi punks: fuck off! Nazi punks, Nazi punks Nazi punks: fuck off! [Outro] You'll be the first to go You'll be the first to go You'll be the first to go Unless you think!
Thanks, New Subscribers!! This Week’s Conversation With Mika, the Cat:
Mika: “What’s a Nazi Punk?”
Me: “They’re like the neighbor’s squirrels with their nuts in their mouths. The ones that you like to growl at through the window….”
Mika: “Oh, yeah, those assholes….”
This Substack is free, I receive no compensation of any kind from companies or products I mention. Some linked or quoted material may be copyrighted by others, and I credit them. I rely on the “Fair Use” doctrine for educational purposes (Link: Fair Use). I do not use AI, things I link to might though. -Michael Acoustic
Some Links For Today:
Ed. One reason we’re overlength (besides Nazi Punks) today is I’m catching up on links…..
And because of the length, I didn’t include descriptions - tried to make the titles as descriptive as I could - If you see something interesting that’s underlined, just click on it, the link will take you to the article…
From Blues Guitar Unleashed:
From Guitar World:
From CD Baby:
From Acoustic Guitar Magazine:
From Speed Songwriting
From Sweetwater:
From Disc Makers:
Shameless Self Promotion Section:
My song is out! Link: “Long Road Back” (click on link for streaming options)…
What I’m Listening2:
LINK»> Produced By T Bone Burnett - just click the underlined link, it’s on Amazon
Ed. - This is very cool - songs from all over the genre map, but each produced by T Bone Burnett
"Joseph Henry "T Bone" Burnett III (born January 14, 1948) is an American record producer, guitarist and songwriter.[1] He rose to fame as a guitarist in Bob Dylan's band during the 1970s. He has received multiple Grammy awards for his work in film music, including for O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000), Cold Mountain (2004), Walk the Line (2005) and Crazy Heart (2010); and won another Grammy for producing the studio album Raising Sand (2007), in which he united the contemporary bluegrass of Alison Krauss with the blues rock of Robert Plant (ex-Led Zeppelin).
Burnett helped start the careers of Counting Crows, Los Lobos, Sam Phillips and Gillian Welch, and he revitalized the careers of Gregg Allman and Roy Orbison.[citation needed] He produced music for the television programs Nashville and True Detective. He has released several solo studio albums, including Tooth of Crime, which he wrote for a revival of the play by Sam Shepard.” Credit: Wikipedia Link: T Bone Burnett
Happy New Year (let’s hope it’s a good one!), Cheers and keep playing!!
Michael Acoustic
“It’s never really final - you just run out of things you can bear to change…”
There’s something about the combination of Dan Fogelberg and the Dead Kennedys in the same post that made me giddily happy! As a big fan of both, though having only seen DK live (it was insane). I grew up in Southern California in the early 80s where the Dead Kennedys used to play live quite often. They were my favorite punk band for a period of time. In a bit of symbiosis or synchronicity, I’m going to see X perform tomorrow night, another iconic LA based punk band. They are opening for Jerry Harrison and Adrian Belew who are leading a band to perform the Talking Heads’ Remain In Light album. Another excellent piece,Michael!
I have to spend some time with this in the next day or so...Happy New Year!