The Worley Gig

This is very exciting news! Last week I had the opportunity to do a really fun interview with the fabulous Jane and Norm Geddis for their radio show, Vinyl Record Talk. Jane and Norm are classic rock fans and vinyl aficionados who operate the Counter Clock Records eBay store – specializing in the sale of rare vinyl albums and 45s – and they also maintain the store’s companion blog. We had a really excellent conversation about Seventies Rock, the current state of music and my in-progress book with drummer Neal Smith, founding member of the band Alice Cooper. We had a total blast and I hope you’ll enjoy listening in. The show will air Tuesday February 9th at 4:00 PM Pacific / 7:00 PM EST. Here’s a link to the show’s page on Radio Dentata and a link that will take you directly to the module where you can listen to the show on Tuesday: Click Here to Listen on Tuesday. Please remember to tune in if you can, thanks!

Pinball Wizard Picture Sleeve (German Release)

On This Date in 1969: The Who recorded “Pinball Wizard” at Morgan Studios in London. Although not one of songwriter Pete Townshend’s favorites, it went on to become by far the most popular song from the rock opera, Tommy, reaching #4 in the UK charts and #13 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. “Pinball Wizard” remains part of The Who’s live set to this day. Perhaps they will perform it later today when they provide musical entertainment for the half time show at the Super Bowl (aka The Stupid Bowl), which I will be doing everything in my power to avoid watching!

Image Source, Click to Enlarge

For all of your girly-girl, Zombie Slaughtering needs!

Thanks and Happy Birthday to Ian for the Tip!

The legendary Hal Blaine – also known as the world’s most recorded drummer – turns eighty-one years old today! Happy Birthday, Hal!

Sometimes you can find the coolest stuff on the Interwebs without even trying. Neatorama Dot Com featured a post earlier today about these awesome Rainbow Pancakes! OMG, they look so beautiful and also delicious. See more pictures and find out how to make them at this link! Rainbow pancakes!

This is unbelievable, and surely would never have been possible had the category not been expanded to include ten films, but District 9 – my favorite movie of 2009 – has been rewarded for its awesomeness with a nomination for Best Picture of the Year! Woo! The other Best Picture nominees are Avatar (duh), An Education, The Hurt Locker, Inglourious Basterds, Precious, A Serious Man (not to be confused with A Single Man), Up in the Air (not to be confused with Up, which is also nominated) and The Blindside. Of course, there is no way in hell that the Oscar will go to anything that is not Avatar(d) and maybe possiblyThe Hurt Locker . But it’s so cool that District 9 was even nominated. Now, if only the Academy could have seen their way to nominate Anvil! The Story of Anvil! We would be really rockin’! Congratulations and good luck to all of the nominees!

On This Date in 1979: Sex Pistols’ bassist Sid Vicious (Born Simon John Ritchie) died of a heroin overdose in New York City. He was 21 years old. Sid did not live a long life, and that is a shame. But he was such a mess when he died, it is difficult to speculate on the type of person he might have become had he never met/murdered Nancy Spungen, and eventually gotten his act together. Some people just aren’t built to last (see also Darby Crash and Kurt Cobain), so maybe it’s a moot point to even entertain such thoughts as what he might be like at age 52, if he were alive today. I recently watched the Sex Pistols mockumentary, The Great Rock & Roll Swindle (thank you Netflix for making this possible) and really enjoyed it. The Swindle, not unlike Sid, is a huge mess, but is nevertheless wild nostalgic fun – especially for its inclusion of the videos for “Silly Thing,” sung by Pistols’ drummer Paul Cook and “Lonely Boy,” performed by guitarist Steve Jones. Those songs are awesome. You can also see Sid’s iconic rendition of “My Way,” as well as Eddie Cochran’s hits “C’Mon Everybody” and “Something Else.” Worth adding to the queue, for sure. Rest in Peace, Sid.

“I Am Still Funnier Than Jay Leno!”

Conan may have officially left the Tonight Show, but you still have five more days to visit eBay.com and bid on your chance to own this one-of-a-kind Handmade Conan O’Brien Plush Doll, made by Laura Granlund of inTIMIDnation.com. Plush Conan stands approximately 22-inches tall and is constructed from all natural fabrics. He’s really cute! Bid now!

On This Date in 1980: Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark (generally known simply as OMD) released the awkward dance single, “Red Frame/White Light” from the group’s self-titled debut album. The song’s title refers to old school UK based telephone booths.

Thanks to Your Prime Source For Eighties Music Knowledge,The P5 Blogspot for the Tip!

Red Frame, White Light

John Lydon (aka Johnny Rotten) singer for the Sex Pistols and Public Image turns 54 years old today. My friend Rey once told me a story of how he, as a journalist, had attempted to conduct an interview with Lydon during the days of Public Image. It didn’t go so well. Each time Rey asked a question, rather than answer, Lydon would just repeat that question back to him in a mocking voice. Rey told me that he got up and left the room several times in an attempt to terminate the interview, but the publicist insisted he continue and promised that Lydon would behave from then on. Eventually he gave up and wrote the article about what an asshole John Lydon was. Because Rey is awesome. I love that story.