The Everly Brothers

Every once in a while my soul craves the harmonious and beautiful sounds of Don and Phil. Learn about their influence in only 3 minutes.

first ladies of the bass

As 14-year-olds, a friend and I practically wore out his Talking Heads: 77 album. Those songs had a huge influence on me. There's something about art students who rock out. Hello, John Lennon.

Here are two videos of prolific bassists Tina Weymouth and Carol Kaye (The Wrecking Crew). I never realized how many tv themes Kaye was involved in. The Brady Bunch? I just looooooooove the bass!

A smattering of tunes by The Talking Heads and Tom Tom Club:

• Psycho Killer
• Don't Worry About the Government
• The Book I Read
• Life During Wartime
• This Must Be The Place
• This Must Be The Place - live
• Road to Nowhere 
• And She Was 
• Girlfriend is Better
• Genius of Love
• Wordy Rappinghood - the story
• Wordy Rappinghood - tv show 
• Wordy Rappinghood - video
• Pleasure of Love

Except for the extremely annoying audio breaks, if you're a rock and roll history buff, you'll find this documentary hosted by Weymouth very fascinating. It's all about the bass. Boing! Boing! Boing! Boing!

roller rinks

During my early teens, the roller rink in the next town was one of my favorite haunts. Rollerskating AND blasting music? Okay.

My aunt and uncle met at The Wal-Lex in Waltham, Massachusetts in the early 1950s. At that time, organists supplied the music.

Jones Beach on Long Island, NY had an outdoor rink in the 50s.



I find the above video very soothing – like looking at a fish tank. Now I'm jonesing to put on some skates and head to Boogie Wonderland.

the cowbell

I recently learned that several people I know are clueless about the meaning of "more cowbell." Here's the origin. It seemed that it was a trend among "hair bands." My favorite cowbell song, however, is You Can't Do That by The Beatles. It's not played in their live performances, but check it out in their recording of the song: