The Bob – The Temps, The Tommy, and The Twins

Most of the last two weeks has been spent un-writing this column. I know that sounds dumb, but it is an accurate description of the process.

I find that when I am passionate about something, excited to distraction, chomping at the bit to share my Joy of Discovery with any and all who will listen, I tend to go off like a 6 year old with a wagon full of water balloons and a neighborhood full of targets. …and that seems to lessen the impact, the joy, the pleasure, and turns delight into a chore. The solution is to pare it down, hit the highlights, and not bore you, Dear Readers, and in so doing, whet your appetite and get you as excited as I am without belabouring my point. Even so, I KNOW I have gone on too long again….

…and my Point? There is Greatness afoot….

JAIMIE VERNON – GROOVIN’ AND OTHER MIND ALTERING WORDS

As my post-pubescent lifestyle transitions into a post-nasal drip lifestyle I find myself sliding into third base on the eve of my 50^th birthday (well, maybe not sliding…probably just trotting breathlessly). And as such I’ve realized that more than half the great rock and roll I’ve ever listened to is now suffering a tragic loss of its membership at a rate of about three superstars a week. That’s a boat load of rock stars paying the Ferryman  to ride down the river Styx. Before you know it the only viable old-timers left will be Chuck Berry, Chubby Checker and Little Richard. No offense to these three gents but that would signify a very sad state of affairs for music.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8kNwvIEQsg0

JAIMIE VERNON – ‘BACKBEAT: The Birth of The Beatles’

We live in a very unique time. Pop culture is such a big part of our everyday existence that we are able to watch a rare breed of genius rise and zenith in real time. It’s hard to imagine being there when Bach or Beethoven performed their most celebrated Sonatas and Symphonies for the first. It is so long ago that their stories and their music seem like stuff of myth – we don’t even have recordings…just modern interpretations from the sheet music they left behind.