Thursday, December 27, 2007

Final Rough Draft: It's alive, alive!!!

Like a crazy (and sometime angry) scientist, I got those files up at Wordpress. I should have done that first. Easier. Let the blog site take the blame for the screw ups.

So, my little sister of a blog site, that is actually quite the looker once you get past the generic layout and sparse postings, has the goodies I promised to like 20+ emails on Christmas Eve.

Deepcenterfield.wordpress.com has all 3 files of Bringin' Gas and Dialin' 9: 100 Years of Professional Baseball Development (1908-2007).

I hate to be such a book whore. I mean, books should be discovered at Amazon or Barnes and Nobles since that is their natural habitat...Yeah, right!

To get past that, I think it will be very difficult to ever publish what I wrote.

For one, editing!!! I suck at it. And I need to do a ton of it.

Two: Finding that "special editor" that is on crack, smokes dope on the regular and has flushed his career down the toilet, and therefore, has nothing to lose by promoting a novelty act that is my 3-ringed, hell-on-wheels circus act. Good Luck on that.

Three: Would anyone but a baseball freak want to read it? You can always pick up ESPN's Baseball Encyclopedia or Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract to fill you need for all things concerning baseball. And they have the staff to properly analyze things I've only begun to look at.

Plus, they get Stats, Inc. to do the difficult work of compiling just how many times a mediocre pitcher pitched in below 50 degree weather on a Tuesday while his wife was engaged in a trist with the garbage man. (I'm saying 4 times out of 17...)

Four: Lastly, who pray tell am I to espouse dangerous theories such as Steroids were not the sole reason for the power explosions in the 1990's? What are my credentials? I am the FNG on the block, and people don't like the FNG. Putting my stamp and two cents on the topic, so that's like 43 cents???, is risky and publishers don't like risky. Bankable as in DO-RE-ME or Benjamins is more their modus operandi. (Amazon posted a big holiday of book selling.)

For me, I am not out for the money but the pleasure of seeing my work published.

I could go to a Vanity Press - yikes! - and that would assuage my desires of publication at a price. Not really the point of doing the work.

But the prospect of someone picking up my work and saying, "Yeah, this guy did some work on this. And he's not like every ESPN talking head. He did not tear down baseball players. He loves the sport..." That would be, pardon me, Fucking Cool.

Later on!!

Wednesday, December 26, 2007

NO New Years' Haitus: So I've been off the internet farm for a while

For those that try to make it a point to stop by Hooverville, that place where I live with the tin cans, cardboard and porn mags for insulation, I duly wish you a pleasant New Year. 2007: Glad to have known you, but not too glad.

To those that I haven't been going to their blogs, again, my deepest regrets. I have been "guy, interrupted" by the holidays. I had to figure out a way to print on my Lexmark X75 that does not cost a fortune. (Burns through cartridges like Lindsay Lohan goes through GPS ankle bracelets.)

The Lexmark X75: As Homer Simpson says, "Stupid printer!"

Aside from that, the files are too big to send to anyone via email. The server times out. Or the size exceeds the attachment limit, etc. I zipped them. Split them in two. Now it looks like I'll send out 4 or 5 emails just to get it to some people that won't want to resemble them back together again. (Sorta defeats the purpose.)

So, unless I get it published, no one will ever see it. (Which is fine, I suppose. The tree in the forest analogy works for my life.)

But that's enough bitching and moaning for one post.

I wish all of you a pleasant, hangover-free, New Year. I hope you wind up in the arms of someone you care for deeply. Make Love. Not War. Tune in. But Don't Drop Out...(Yet.) Stay focused on your dreams and don't let the realities piss you off. Keep an eye on your day to day tasks, but don't them rule you into doing the same old bump and grind. Have some laughter at George Bush's expense. Try something new - but do things you have always done well for your best sanity.

That's all for now. Keep it FRESH TO DEATH!!!

Friday, December 14, 2007

New Baseball Songs: Hey they fit, don't they?

In keeping with the spirit of the holidays, you know, songs of the season, I am adding these to the mix of Baseball Songs. They seem to me fitting to play when thinking about The Steroid Era (1990-2005 or 06 or 07...)

Snow -Informer. Goes to those who cooperated: Kirk Radomski, a former Mets clubhouse attendant, and Brian McNamee, a former trainer for Mr. Roger Clemens. I'd think they fall under the category of informer, a.k.a. snitching bitch.


Disturbed - Down With the Sickness. After the report, one probably wonders if MLB is "down with a sickness."


Lemonheads - It's a shame about Ray. It's a shame about Roger "The Rocket" Clemens.



Red Hot Chili Peppers -Californication. Because the industry really fucked itself for money.



Dada - Dizz nee land. Quote:"I just flipped off President George, I'm going to Disneyland."
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Thursday, December 13, 2007

Let the Games Begin: The George Mitchell Report

Having just watched the backend of the press conference and ESPN talking heads take on the matter, the George Mitchell Report may or may not be a final version. An early release included many other names not included in the final report accoridng to WSCR, The Score (670AM) in Chicago. But here are the "complete names" in the report:

Information Learned During this Investigation Concerning BALCO and Major League Baseball (8 players/ 3 active in MLB in 2007)From the report: "I requested interviews of all the major league players who had been publicly implicated in the BALCO case."

Marvin Benard, Barry Bonds, Bobby Estalella, Jason Giambi, Jeremy Giambi
Benito Santiago, Gary Sheffield, Randy Velarde

Information Regarding Purchases or Use of Performance Enhancing Substances by Players in Major League Baseball (53 players/ 18 active in MLB in 2007)From the report: "The following discussion is organized in roughly chronological order. Records do not exist to document every transaction described by witnesses. [Kirk] Radomski stated that, with one exception noted below, the payments he received from professional baseball players were for performance enhancing substances, as opposed to personal training or other services, and this assertion was confirmed by those players who agreed to speak with us about their dealings with him."

Lenny Dykstra, David Segui, Larry Bigbie, Brian Roberts, Jack Cust,Tim Laker
Josias Manzanillo, Todd Hundley, Mark Carreon, Hal Morris, Matt Franco
Rondell White, Roger Clemens, Andy Pettitte, Chuck Knoblauch
Jason Grimsley, Gregg Zaun, David Justice, F.P. Santangelo
Glenallen Hill, Mo Vaughn, Denny Neagle, Ron Villone, Ryan Franklin
Chris Donnels, Todd Williams, Phil Hiatt, Kevin Young, Mike Lansing
Cody McKay, Kent Mercker, Adam Piatt, Miguel Tejada
Jason Christiansen, Mike Stanton, Stephen Randolph, Jerry Hairston, Jr.
Paul Lo Duca, Adam Riggs, Bart Miadich, Fernando Vina, Kevin Brown
Eric Gagné, Mike Bell, Matt Herges, Gary Bennett, Jr., Jim Parque
Brendan Donnelly, Chad Allen, Jeff Williams, Howie Clark
Exavier "Nook" Logan

Alleged Internet Purchases of Performance Enhancing Substances By Players in Major League Baseball (16 players, 8 active in MLB in 2007)From the report: "Since the initial news reports of the raid by New York and Florida law enforcement officials on Signature Pharmacy and several rejuvenation centers, the names of several current and former major league players have appeared in the media as alleged purchasers of performance enhancing substances through these operations. These include:

Rick Ankiel, Paul Byrd, Jay Gibbons, Troy Glaus, Jose Guillen
Jerry Hairston Jr., Gary Matthews, Jr., Scott Schoeneweis
David Bell, Jose Canseco, Jason Grimsley, Darren Holmes
John Rocker, Ismael Valdez, Matt Williams
Steve Woodard


Assuming this is it, I am not really impressed. Because from my cursory assessment (only cursory) the tying of Steroids to increases in Power (Slugging % rise, home runs hit) is invalidated since it does not include many, many more hitters of note. Steroids allowed many to stay in the game longer, recover from injuries quicker and stave of age-related performance woes, but DID not have the direct causation on the power outbursts.

To get to the real reason for this investigation, one has to go to the Collusion Era (1985-1987) where the players were shortchanged by owners on contracts and free agency. As a result, management parted ways with $280 million. This investigation is a guised retaliation for the players winning in a court battle. Because owners knew players were "juicing" since the early 1990's. However, financial considerations and the battles between management and players (1994) left the owners to bide their time, allow the game to recover (1998-2000), and then, strike the zone of most vulnerability: a player's character and integrity (2002-Present.)

Did the players listed do things unethically? Depends.

We let our own personal quirks about our appearance (which makes us appealing to the public--and could influence our career prospects) bother us, and attempt to modify them to fit our expected performace, and as a result, we improve ourselves and our prospects. Isn't that a form of cheating???

But was the real reason for this report to improve the game, protect our kids from negative role models and enhance the public awareness on the effects of steroids? No.

It was about money and financial concerns. Once the cat was out of the bag, about steroids, and fans voted with their purse not to care, and actually showed up in droves, the game was made. The owners knew it would not wreck their bottom lines. Instead, it only wrecked the players.

Revenge is incredibly sweet....

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

The Long Lost Mix Tape: You're feeling me if you are over 25

I was digging through some stuff when I found a early 90's mix tape. Compilation Music then kids was on tape. Just like before that, their were reel to reels, 8-tracks and 33-45-78 records. Scary to say it, but I was always making up mix tapes for potential girlfriends that never were in my league...(Hey, I was 16-21, you do that crap.)

So here's some the songs, via the Youtube channel:
The Shamen - Move Any Mountain. Techno laden, good beat, great lyrics for the genre, TERRIBLE video. DAMN TERRIBLE. I got into The Shamen for about 2 years.


New Order - Blue Monday. Awesome song in various incarnations. The drum licks on this spin are smokin'. Video of course has a raw feel...hogpog of images.


Pink Floyd - Comfortably Numb. For all the Floydheads in the city proper. Love the guitar work at the backend of this joint. (7:30-8:40) Live version was the one recorded on my mix - I saw them in 1993-94??? at University of Wisconsin. Awesome. Light show as per usual.


Dave Matthews Band - Best of What's Around. A very good song in any form. Very good and telling lyrics about love. Dave is quite the musician.


NIN - Closer. Now, the lyrics are rather tame. Then, I was quite "violated." Was quite the Club song for 1994-95. The VIDEO is still sick and off the hook!!!

The Cure -Just Like Heaven. I know, lame. But it was a mix tape in the early 1990's. Robert Smith did some killer work on other tunes. This one is way too commercial.

Saturday, December 8, 2007

A Superbad ID: Just call me McLovin

Yep, that's me from a June 1999 CSI employee id. (Not that CSI, the popular super-sleuth, technology-will-find-the-killer show, but Cold Storage Integrated.)


For some reason I was happy on this my first day working in a refrigerated warehouse of 380,000 square feet, 7,500 forward pick slots, over 30,000 reserve level, 95 dock doors, and nearly 200 pieces of lift equipment. Each day, CSI generally saw 200,000 hand picked cases shipped to nearly 400 Kroger destinations. The record, while I worked there, was 271,000 outbound about a week before Thanksgiving 2000.

I actually was a more than content while I spent my days creating labor standards, doing analysis on better efficiency, working on Pro Forma statements and going other places to see why this industry is so hard on people. (A good picker will handle 2,000 medium weight cases (average 13-15 lbs.) in a 8-hour shift at this place. (The house standard was between 195-200 cases per hour.)

I think most of all, I was finally in a niche that worked for me.

After a year there, I got to the point where I was doing other things that were positive. I took a Con Law course at IUPUI and joined up into a community organization. My time was spent well.
I didn't drink for over a year. I still went to bars, drinking diet coke or coke, but just more for the "scenery" than the practice of blowing off steam or getting beer muscles to join the typical fray of college, post-college stupidity. Sometimes it was relaxing, but under it all, a tension inside evidently built. I wanted more to come of the future.

My best friend, will call him Jethro, was moving in with his future wife. He hadn't exactly been a model character, but he was a long time cohort, defender and supporter of whatever our weird little minds came to as a crossroads.


He is a Green Bay Packer fan in Minnesota. He's a sharp dresser (unlike me.) Loves, absolutely loves music. (Was a producer at a now-defunct local Music station, 93.7 The Edge and a trumpet player at Purdue.) He was terrible with finances and used me as a calculator on more than one weekly phone convo. And we both found most of this noisy ass life amusing, at least then. (South Park was a soundtrack we really dug together.)

But I became "Superbad", at least in the minds of some, and sadly, to him.


We tend to overblow the bad deeds of people, to shame them into some conformity to the rules of an often harried society, and in a stark way, that happened to me. Around this Holiday time in 2000, as I faced my worst challenge - and made some rash and rude statements - my then best friend no longer wanted much to say or do with me. Avoidance was the operative word.


My concept of obtaining a meaningful relationship took a sharp and dangerous curve and I fell off the cliff of life. I went back to drinking. Didn't do much at work - except get an offer for a new job, which offered me an escape from the situation, but wasn't an escape - and starting hating all the people around me. I was mad at myself...guilty about things I wrote in an email.

I was so sorry.

I wish I had had McLovin's guidance somehow. Even in their raucous ride, these cops meant well for the kid.

In the end we all have to learn how to make it day by day with the losses, the lessons and inevitability that we are going to fuck up more than grow up...

But as Officer Michaels aptly put it in my case,"Prepare to get fucked by the long dick of the law."

It kinda is like that...


Thursday, December 6, 2007

Standard AND POOR: The Mortgage Concerns lead Bush to come along

Joke: How many idiots does it take to screw in a light bulb? (End of post the answer)


(Author's Note: I do not own a home. Nor Have I ever paid a mortgage...just rented for decade.)



With the current prospect of Mortgage resets and foreclosures and the potential Subprime egg foo yung on the lenders' faces, President Bush (via Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson Jr.) has unveiled a bailout program for potentially 1.8 million persons facing this debilitating situation.





This situation arose in early 2007 out of lending money to buy homes to people securing Low-Doc or No-Doc loans, those with minimal or no documentation, who, as a result, get higher interest rates on their Mortgages. The lenders such as Countrywide (see chart left) soon found that many defaulted on their mortgage, which in turn drove the stock down.



This lending practice is often seen as predatory, since the lender will take over the asset. However, since the price of real estate has plummeted in various areas of the country (Ohio, Michigan, Nevada and some large cities) the lender is now face with the reality of selling an asset at $.70-$.80 on the dollar.



Meanwhile, since the prices of real estate fell, other speculators and those who secured teaser rate ARMs are suddenly in mortgages where the reset rate is too high to pay, and the real estate price has dropped below the outstanding principal on the loan. (Upside down equity.)





From investopedia.com:


The use of teaser rates tends to grow dramatically during times when long-term interest rates move toward historical lows. Lenders stand to make much more money on ARMs if interest rates
rise
, while borrowers with ARMs will be faced with high interest
payments. (This was the case in early-to-mid 2007 as the bond market reach very
high plateaus
.)


But Along Came Paulson.



In the post-Katrina, Post-hoc 2006 election, the President's response to this is admirable, if (to me) politically motivated. The Republicans certainly don't want to see as too mean on hard-working, taxpaying, home-owning citizens, especially with a Presidential election laying out in the grassy knowl. And granted, many of these people need help to stave off foreclosure or homelessness.



But several questions arise:


1. How many of you have been bailed out after you made a financial decision that was unwise?


2. Do we think this is really about the borrowers or the lenders, who must maintain profitability and therefore, keep the borrowers paying something to them?


3. Is government interference healthy here?


4. Should I care if big corporation A goes under due to haphazard lending and market assessment?


5. What if these borrowers can't get long-term financing and default anyways?


6. Should the case-by-case situation be done electronically - to see who qualifies (not a $250,000-a-year earner), what the property value is (if over $750,000 for example, they might be declined) or whether there is a more efficient way to get renegotiated contracts?

As the NY Times reports:





Despite the criticism, the Bush plan is a significant change in an initial
reluctance to impose solutions. As recently as a month ago, Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr. argued that lenders should try to work out new terms on a
case-by-case basis.

But Mr. Paulson and federal banking regulators became increasingly
impatient with the industry’s failure to produce a systematic, rapid approach to
evaluating borrowers. Sheila C. Bair, chairman of the Federal
Deposit Insurance Corporation
, proposed a comparatively radical plan to
permanently freeze rates on all subprime loans. Mr. Paulson rejected that idea,
but began to push for a standardized approach that would temporarily freeze
rates for many borrowers facing upward adjustments on their monthly payments.

Administration officials emphasized that the rate freeze was only one
part of a broader plan. Mr. Bush will also ask Congress to temporarily expand
the authority of states and localities to issue tax-exempt mortgage-revenue
bonds to help people refinance their mortgages. Treasury officials are also
pushing the industry to come up with a streamlined way to help subprime
borrowers refinance with a more conventional, lower-rate mortgage...

You don’t want to reward speculators,” said Senator John
McCain
of Arizona, who is running for the Republican nomination. “You’d
like to take each individual case on its own, but there’s no time to do that.
What’s important is to stop the bleeding
.”


Whether this is called a workout plan or a bailout, I wonder exactly how deep is the crap the investment banks and financing companies are shovelling to the public. How far down will it go? That has been on the minds of people like (Erin Burnett, CNBC, below left) and numerous other talking heads at the various outlets.



The number of foreclosures in 2006 were 1.3 million, up by 42% from 2005. And based on filings in the 1st quarter of 2007, the number escalated even higher. Is there an end in sight? (The article linked appeared in April 2007.)

From Business Week article:
The same day Bush unveiled his plan, the Mortgage Bankers Assn. said that foreclosures had reached a record high in the third quarter. The share of mortgages that have entered foreclosure hit 0.78% in the quarter, up from the previous high of 0.65% set in the previous quarter. At the same time, delinquencies for all mortgages rose to 5.59%, from 5.12%, in the second quarter. None of the people who are delinquent or facing foreclosure will be helped by the plan.

The deal almost certainly won't stop the decline in housing prices. Investors are betting that there will be double-digit declines (BusinessWeek.com, 11/27/07) in home prices in nine of 10 major markets over the next year. The only exception is Chicago, and there the estimate is for a 5.6% drop in home prices (BusinessWeek.com, 11/27/07).

Now, Wall Street (investors) are pissed off now because:
1. Government interference in the precious free market is a no-no
2. They can not accurately predict what the market will do on the semi-predictable stocks, and thus their money will have to be on the sidelines, or lower yielding investments
3. Lawsuits can only arise, thus making it difficult to react
4. They will be just like the average, everyday, ordinary you and me (except richer)


Paulson believes that: "THE APPROACH ANNOUNCED TODAY IS NOT A SILVER BULLET. WE FACE A DIFFICULT PROBLEM FOR WHICH THERE IS NO PERFECT SOLUTION. TODAY’ S ANNOUNCEMENT IS A SIGNIFICANT STEP. I KNOW EVERYONE HERE HAS WORKED VERY HARD SINCE AUGUST AND WE WILL CONTINUE WORKING. AS EVENTS UNFOLD, OUR APPROACH WILL CONTINUE TO ADAPT AND EVOLVE."

No matter what the Standard & Poor 500 will still be moving tomorrow, and that is what it is all about, ain't it???

Answer: The United States Government.














Monday, December 3, 2007

Global Paradox?: A passage from a futurist in the Googleopoly, Ipodosphere or Youtubedome of Life

I picked up Mr. John Naisbitt book, Global Paradox (1994), at the Lowell Library for a $.25. So it was a decent investment to see what this 2-time #1 New York Times bestseller had to spew out. At least, it gives me something to look at on the toilet. (Yeah, I do that. Women: it's a guy thing. If I could have a TV set in my bathroom, or a versatile computer that would drop down in front of me, that would be ideal. Instead, it's a book - maybe a Playboy or two in a lifetime of learning...)

Anyways, back to the book. I was perusing this passage (pg. 24-25), and felt it had some today value:
The new surge for tribalism has resulted in an escalation of conflicts in many parts of the world. There are many places where ethnic or religious groups are being suppressed rather than celebrated. Some of those places, in addition to Bosnia-Herzegovina are:

  • Iran. The Islamic government is trying to do away with Baha'i minority by
    denying them education and jobs.
  • Sudan. The Muslim government in the north is brutally fighting rebellious black animist and Christians of the south rather than deal with their grievances. About 40,000 killed.
  • Tibet. 40 years of military occupation by the Chinese.
  • Iraq. Baghdad government's massive huma-rights violations against Kurds.
  • Papua New Guinea: The separatist movement...5,000 killed.
  • Bangladesh. Buddhist Chakmas have fought for seperation from this officially
    Islamic country for almost 20 years.
  • Fiji. Ethnic Indians vs. ethnic Fijians.
  • Burundi. thousands have been killed as a result of ethnic clashes...Hutus
    and... Tutsis.

Some people insist that the forces that are making the world into a single economy have seperated people from longstanding identities and have, at the same time, weakened the nation-state. Hence the violence in these troubled "hot spots." And that in the future, most armed conflict will be ethnically or tribally motived, rather than politically or economically motivated.

In fact, these economic and technological forces of change have weakened the nation-state, but they have strengthened, not seperated people from, longstanding identities. Language, culture, religion, and ethnic heritage reinforce people's sense of belonging. These are the bonds out of which will be created new communities. At the same time, the global community has embraced, at least in concept, the notion that there are basic human rights - although the East and West may well continue to argue over exactly what those rights are - that must be protected.

...War and other forms of aggression against fellow citizens will become, if not obsolete, at least increasingly intolerable. When the world is watching, a community's behavior is influenced by the anticipated reaction of its economic allies.

As you can see, Iran, Iraq and Sudan are still hot spots, 13 years later. The recent and prolonged entrenchment of the United States (The West) into Iraq (The East) has done very little toward obsolence of war...since of course, we are the most powerful nation-state in the World.

The Economic pressures are what we do...to get other countries to obey. (North Korea and Iran.) The backlash (against war) has happened; but with little ado really to the U.S. Economy directly.

China now is putting on the next Olympics, overlooking years of civil rights abuses, their complacent and complicit attitude toward Myanmar and current failures to make safe goods for people. (Meanwhile, their economy is overheating (10-15% growth per year) and their currency is depressed intentionally, while they hoard U.S. currency.)

The concept of basic human rights is just that: a concept. There is little movement toward a fundamental understanding of what accounts for human rights. The conversations recently about waterboarding (and torture) by the new Attorney General Michael Mukasey and potential U.S. President have been in a word, laughable. It is when these Western philosophies are as skewed as the Muslims (with the recent outrage over Gillian Gibbons, a British teacher, being jailed, threatened with death by extremists), that one must realize that we are no closer to working viewpoint on what people should be treated like, or the leaps of understanding needed to close this longstanding cultural gap.

The "new communities" that Naisbitt talked about are what I'll call the Googleopoly, Ipodosphere or Youtubedome. These techcenters are creating communities of vast proportions - founded on technology, email, blogging, chatting and all things communications related. But these places have only so much structure to them; people are constantly moving around in them to other communities. They are as transient as a homeless guy.

The real power only comes from the mega corporations that combine and collect data on us, the bottom feeders. Take today: News Corp. (Ruppert Murdock) is buying another social networking site in Linked In. (Another link to this pending deal.) This after owning Myspace.

Another Hong Kong billionaire (Li Ka-shing) took a $60 million dollar interest in Facebook, another large social network venture just recently.

Meanwhile, Yahoo 's Jerry Yang "felt sorrow" but has allowed the Chinese access to your personal correspondence to the result of the jailing of a journalist. Because Yang and Yahoo, "believe it's better to operate in that market and cooperate with authorities than not be there at all."

These capital ventures and pliable policies of top men, from various political and social fronts, reflect they aren't assisting you or me, the bottom feeders of technology and life, but instead, they are herding us up into a conglomeration of people to know all, see all and tell all about whenever WE (or I or You) get out of lockstep. Freedom and Rights are far from their thoughts.

Sure, we can blog about it. Or send up a Youtube video expressing our displeasure - like the Britney Spears freak. Or email our 100 closest friends on Myspace. But that chatter is just that: chatter. The plug can be pulled; the outrage silenced; the comments pulled; and we can be investigated, deemed "crazy", and no one really will get too fussy. (Look at how quickly the man in Florida, who said, "don't tase me bro!!!" disappeared.)

We can only try - but in the end, when I it's all been swell, and we've "towed the line", for the idea of Democracy, Capitalism and the American Way, we will soon see the greater damage done in allowing a few too many tyrants tells us what to do, when to do it, and how to be conformists to their world view.

That's my rant!

Saturday, December 1, 2007

Songs of Rock: These aren't your grandpa's music

Motorhead's Ace of Spades - energy is a word.


Led Zeppelin's Dazed and Confused - John Bonham, as usual, does righteous justice to the skins.


Led doing Whole Lotta Love (just pictures) - blues-inspired (I wanna be your backdoor man), uses echo as a precursor to the main vocal (way down inside, woman), just fucking drives in parts. Shake for me girl!!!


Rush's YYZ live - named for the call letters of Toronto's airport, I like the framework of this as it shows off Alex Lifeson guitar work and Neil Peart on the skins. Geddy Lee on the bass is pretty tight too. As an added bonus: The Rhythm Method - Drum Solo is tacked on to the end of YYZ.



Kiss's Detriot Rock City live: Always a classic. Sound is a little rough. And no makeup...ah, what a tragedy.


The Who's Baba O'Riley live. This song has been inserted into movies and commercials galore. (And a House episode.) This coming from a band that was often overlooked because of the Stones and Beatles, except by those who knew music. Keith Moon was sorely missed after 1978. John Entwistle death was sad, but not too soon. Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey still are doing it though.



I wish I could go on, but the Library is closing!!!! Later !