A couple of additions to my blogroll:
- Controversial commenter “kcdad” has started his own blog over at LiveJournal. If you’re into Communism and other anti-Capitalist concepts, this blog is for you.
- This blog (“Music for Ants”) has nothing to do with Peoria, but everything to do with music. Taylor Johnston reviews bands I’m too old to understand or appreciate. I’ll just admit it. But for any readers of mine who may be young and hip, check it out. His blog was cited in the New York Times not long ago, and I’m a little jealous that he gets free music sent to him — a little perk of being a music critic. He asked me recently if I get any free stuff sent to me for writing my blog. Um… no.
“He asked me recently if I get any free stuff sent to me for writing my blog. Um… no.”
But you do get free pearls of wisdom from some of the area’s great minds at no charge.
He did? I didn’t even know you have a blog…
Mazr: You must be mindreading again —- I thought the same thought! 🙂
No love for NTPL?
Thanks for the link CJ. I added your blog as well. Also, you don’t have to be young and hip to listen to appreciate good music! I actually enjoy the older generation’s music (60’s pop like The Kinks, The Zombies, Beach Boys, Simon and Garfunkel especially) then the crap that’s played on the mainstream radio today. Guess that’s what comes from listening to Big Oldies 93.3 growing up…
PI — I can’t believe I don’t have it on my blogroll already. It was a terrible oversight. I have it on my blogroll now. 🙂
Taylor — When I was growing up, it was KZ-93. I still have a keychain somewhere with that on it. They played KC & the Sunshine Band, the Osmonds, Gary Numan, and the Little River Band back then. But I didn’t get to listen to the radio much until I got into high school. My parents kept me on a steady diet of Elvis Presley and Roy Orbison. When I started listening to the radio in high school, the cool thing to do was not to listen to KZ-93, but Q-105 (WKQA). They played pretty much the same music, though. I wonder if anyone else remembers “The Q Morning Zoo.” They had lots of Crow Carroll parodies. My favorite: Metamora Girls. The joke at the time was that the original first line of the song was “Well Tremont girls are hip / I hear they even wash their hair….”
CJ, we must be about the same age and our parents must be related. If it wasn’t Elvis, it was crap. Much to their dismay, their son would revolt and listen to the screaming Les Paul of Gary Richrath. What was the AM rock station? When the Beatles broke up, they played the Beatles about every third song. That grew tiresome.
Crow..Surfs up on the Illinois and I Gave Her The Ring…still love listening to those today.
I think kcdad is a marxist / utopian socialist, not a communist in the way we now understand the term. If/when the current crop of socialist totalitarians prevail, people like kcdad will be among the first to go to the Gulags. The administrative jobs at the gulags wil bel filled with people like “peoriafan”. Just think, kcdad might have to share a bunk with a born-again evangelical preacher, while “peoriafan” reminds him that the establishment is always right. Wouldn’t that be ironic?
Welcome to you both, also NTPL!
Taylor: Love the Kinks and their use of syncopation- that pause or rest note in the beat.
I ‘m sure you’ll be a great resource for someone like me who grew up with Joni Mitchell and Carly Simon singing me to sleep… That is, when I was not surfing the AM dial at night for long distance radio stations or listening to John “Records” Landecker, Uncle Lar’ and Little Snot-Nose Tommy on WLS 890AM.
Seriously, Taylor, I will use your site because I want to hear the great ones as they’re being discovered, the next Pete Townsends… and I don’t have time to wade through all the also rans or ones whose connections gave payola to get on the radio before I find String Cheese Incident.
What a tragedy if someone like you didn’t point me to The Cranberries in the early 90’s.
KCDad: I’ve enjoyed your obseverations and your sense of humor and will check in often. These next 40 years aren’t going to be like the last 200.
-Scott
Scott, here’s some suggestions for you:
Wilco
Get these two albums: Sky Blue Sky and Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, especially if you’re a fan of 70’s rock like Steely Dan and Neil Young. These guys are amazing.
Sufjan Stevens
In my opinion, the most talented songwriter currently making music. He has done for folk music what The Clash did for Punk in the 70’s with London Calling (sounds like a hefty claim, but it’s true). Get the album: Illinois, which is entirely about cities in Illiniois (there’s even a song about Peoria).
Neko Case
get her latest album, Middle Cyclone, you’ll love it
I second the Wilco suggestion. I can’t keep up with new music, but somehow I got turned on to them. They are absolutely awesome.
Taylor: Thank you for the bird dog work! I’ll check those out.
-Scott