Haaaapppy, Happy Birrrrthhhth-day to Me
"What the world needs now/Is some true words of wisdom/Like 'La-la-la-la-la'"
It's Sonny's birthday today, so of course he kicked off the day with 'Happy Birthday to Me' from Cracker's first self-titled LP from 1992. For anyone unfamiliar with the song, a live video of it can be found on YouTube under 'Cracker Happy Birthday to Me Pittsburgh.' As a good host, I should post that link here for your convenience - but I don't know how.
And so with a start like that, it can only mean one thing - Sonny gets out all his old Cracker CDs from the mid-to-late 1990s and wonders what the hell happened to the only exciting 'rock' band from that era.
Turns out they are still around - and have been since I last saw them in a crappy show at the Embassy about 1997 when they were so disinterested in playing that you just knew that were on the verge of throwing in the towel after a decade or so of waiting to become more than the next Jonathan Richman. Either that or it was drugs.
Contrast that show at the Embassy - where they sulked off, refusing to even play an encore to the crowd of 100 - with their sold-out show at Sunny's or was it Dr. Rockits - anyways that current cowboy bar at the corner of Wharncliffe and Riverside Drive (in the winter time, Sonny can even see their neon sign if he squints whilst looking out his kitchen window,) from when they were at the height of their popularity with 'The Golden Age' CD.
In that show, they proved how truly hep they actually were. Shortly into their set, they blew the amps and knocked the power out in the whole bar for about twenty minutes. At the point the power went out, they were three-quarters of the way thru a song from their latest CD.
When the power came back on, they came back on and picked up right where they left off in that particular song. And finished the remaining 40 seconds of it - even tho it merely consisted of fading out riffs from the melody and repeating the chorus.
Now, THAT'S inspired.
Not being an alterno-rocker, I hadn't actually heard David Lowry's earlier band, Camper Van Beethoven, when they were the darlings of the hipper-than-thou set on college radio. But just the opening chords I heard from 'What the World Needs Now' - in a TV commercial for the 1992 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' movie, made me want to hear more.
So I took 'the girls' to see the movie in hopes of hearing that song. No luck. It wasn't even on the soundtrack - the marketing company just used it for the TV ads. But Luke Perry was in the movie, so I guess that mekes up for it.
Even if Luke was wearing a very dorkish non-90210ish hair-do. Also in the flick was a post-scandal Pee-Wee Herman. Bonus. Stop me if you've heard this before but - "I'd rather have him up there on the movie screen than sitting next to me in the movie-theatre." - Jimmy ("J.J.") Walker gets credit for that joke. Heard him tell it on Letterman one night. Dave just groaned. And silently chuckled over the fact that both he and Jay used to be professional joke-writers for J.J. in their younger days in Hollywood.
But seriously, tell me - other than 'Surrender' by Cheap Trick - has there ever been a more perfect pop/rock song than 'What the World Needs Now' a.k.a. 'Teen Angst'?
You know, what the world really needs right now is another snotty poet/singer who can come up with lyrics like "What the world needs now/Is another folk-singer - like I need a hole in the head/What the world needs now/Is a new Frank Sinatra - so I can get you in bed."
And if ever we needed one - we need him now.
So that's how I spent much of the day - reliving my forties and trying to be surly. Just the same - "I'm feeling thankful for the small things today."
And I have to be. It's a shitty rainy day. I sure ain't doing any outside grilling of steaks this afternoon. And with the exception of BBQing, sorry but I don't cook on my own birthday.
So I bought this huge pork-butt from the 'McLarty Farms and Mustang Ranch.' Mavis has the day off and she has a recipe for 'pulled pork' so we can have some of those 'loose meat' sandwiches that are so popular Down South.
True, I bought that pork-butt with my own birthday money but having Mavis pull my pork will more than make up for it.
And to top the whole day off - tonight at midnight, I go into work for the first time after eight weeks of being on strike.
Even tho that means I'll be going to bed for my pre-work 'nap' at about five p.m., I ain't complaining. It'll be a one-day work-week. And I got paid for the past two days for nuthin' because they weren't ready to open the group home until today. It can't get any better than that, can it?
Well, yes it can. Because it will be good to be back. I haven't done my usual night shift with these guys for over two months. I've even kinda missed them.
And that can only mean one thing - ALL-NIGHT PILLOW FIGHTS!
It's Sonny's birthday today, so of course he kicked off the day with 'Happy Birthday to Me' from Cracker's first self-titled LP from 1992. For anyone unfamiliar with the song, a live video of it can be found on YouTube under 'Cracker Happy Birthday to Me Pittsburgh.' As a good host, I should post that link here for your convenience - but I don't know how.
And so with a start like that, it can only mean one thing - Sonny gets out all his old Cracker CDs from the mid-to-late 1990s and wonders what the hell happened to the only exciting 'rock' band from that era.
Turns out they are still around - and have been since I last saw them in a crappy show at the Embassy about 1997 when they were so disinterested in playing that you just knew that were on the verge of throwing in the towel after a decade or so of waiting to become more than the next Jonathan Richman. Either that or it was drugs.
Contrast that show at the Embassy - where they sulked off, refusing to even play an encore to the crowd of 100 - with their sold-out show at Sunny's or was it Dr. Rockits - anyways that current cowboy bar at the corner of Wharncliffe and Riverside Drive (in the winter time, Sonny can even see their neon sign if he squints whilst looking out his kitchen window,) from when they were at the height of their popularity with 'The Golden Age' CD.
In that show, they proved how truly hep they actually were. Shortly into their set, they blew the amps and knocked the power out in the whole bar for about twenty minutes. At the point the power went out, they were three-quarters of the way thru a song from their latest CD.
When the power came back on, they came back on and picked up right where they left off in that particular song. And finished the remaining 40 seconds of it - even tho it merely consisted of fading out riffs from the melody and repeating the chorus.
Now, THAT'S inspired.
Not being an alterno-rocker, I hadn't actually heard David Lowry's earlier band, Camper Van Beethoven, when they were the darlings of the hipper-than-thou set on college radio. But just the opening chords I heard from 'What the World Needs Now' - in a TV commercial for the 1992 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' movie, made me want to hear more.
So I took 'the girls' to see the movie in hopes of hearing that song. No luck. It wasn't even on the soundtrack - the marketing company just used it for the TV ads. But Luke Perry was in the movie, so I guess that mekes up for it.
Even if Luke was wearing a very dorkish non-90210ish hair-do. Also in the flick was a post-scandal Pee-Wee Herman. Bonus. Stop me if you've heard this before but - "I'd rather have him up there on the movie screen than sitting next to me in the movie-theatre." - Jimmy ("J.J.") Walker gets credit for that joke. Heard him tell it on Letterman one night. Dave just groaned. And silently chuckled over the fact that both he and Jay used to be professional joke-writers for J.J. in their younger days in Hollywood.
But seriously, tell me - other than 'Surrender' by Cheap Trick - has there ever been a more perfect pop/rock song than 'What the World Needs Now' a.k.a. 'Teen Angst'?
You know, what the world really needs right now is another snotty poet/singer who can come up with lyrics like "What the world needs now/Is another folk-singer - like I need a hole in the head/What the world needs now/Is a new Frank Sinatra - so I can get you in bed."
And if ever we needed one - we need him now.
So that's how I spent much of the day - reliving my forties and trying to be surly. Just the same - "I'm feeling thankful for the small things today."
And I have to be. It's a shitty rainy day. I sure ain't doing any outside grilling of steaks this afternoon. And with the exception of BBQing, sorry but I don't cook on my own birthday.
So I bought this huge pork-butt from the 'McLarty Farms and Mustang Ranch.' Mavis has the day off and she has a recipe for 'pulled pork' so we can have some of those 'loose meat' sandwiches that are so popular Down South.
True, I bought that pork-butt with my own birthday money but having Mavis pull my pork will more than make up for it.
And to top the whole day off - tonight at midnight, I go into work for the first time after eight weeks of being on strike.
Even tho that means I'll be going to bed for my pre-work 'nap' at about five p.m., I ain't complaining. It'll be a one-day work-week. And I got paid for the past two days for nuthin' because they weren't ready to open the group home until today. It can't get any better than that, can it?
Well, yes it can. Because it will be good to be back. I haven't done my usual night shift with these guys for over two months. I've even kinda missed them.
And that can only mean one thing - ALL-NIGHT PILLOW FIGHTS!
posted by Sonny Drysdale at 8:05 AM
7 Comments:
That was brilliant. Happy Birthday Sonny.
Sonny, you're just like the ol' Piston-Hipped Energizing Bunny -- you just keep pounding away like a spring-loaded, solar-powered Jack Hammer on the whirld.
Butch (The Beast) McLarty, Esq.
www.altlondon.org
BREAKING NEWS AND VIEWS
'Plotting to Take Over City Hall and Get into Honey Pot's pants since 2001'
Thanks, guys!
Turns out that the day got even better after I posted that um, post.
Got some presents - two of best movies in the world on DVD - 'Wild Hogs' and 'The Avengers' (not the super-heroes but the remake of the Steed & Mrs. Peel TV series.) And a Luxuriamusic T-shirt. And the obligatory black socks and jeans.
AND - a phone call which was a singing birthday greeting from Bill Paul (London's famous town-crier and 'Pops' look-a-like) who sang 'Happy Birthday' to me.
Bill had a busy day - also sending lyrical birthday greetings to Londoner's Greg Simpson (mover&shaker of our Rock world) and Chris Potter - best known for playing in Herman G's best play 'Suffering Fools' at the Grand Theatre before going on to playing 'Grasshopper's' grandson in the 'Kung Fu Returns' syndicated TV-series from a few years ago - including one episode I remember which also guest-starred the Avenger's John Steed and former U.N.C.L.E. agent Napoleon Solo.
But the most surprising person who share(d) my birthday was King Louis XVI of France. The guy who was guillotined in the French Revolution along with his wife, that cake-eating girl that Francis Ford's daughter made a movie about recently.
Good ol' Louis. I guess you could say he really lost his head in that Revolution. That he once had a good head on his shoulders. That he wasn't very head-strong. That he would never become the head of a major corporation. And never again would be the head of state of a one-time major super-power for that matter.
And the best gift of all - the entire series of 'Green Acres' on DVD
... AND a DVD of 'Kiss Me Stupid' - the best movie starring the comedy team of Dean Martin & Ray (My Favorite Martian) Walston. Man, that Kim Novak sure has a nice set of breasts on her.
Thanks, Pops.
HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY MR. SONNY DRYSDALE
*kiss* *kiss*
And many happy returns to you, H.P.
I'd give ya a kiss on the lips too, Sonny, but I'm saving some of my sugar for Honey Pot.
Something tells me that she's down in the dumps these days.
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