THE DECADES of ROCK-n-ROLL (A Review) 

Rock ! - my passion, my heart. Once this got into my bloodstream as a child, done for life. We cross that line @ things can never be the same. As an addiction, alas, but never a bad one. There are good addictions, how 'bout we start with the grace @ love of God. Or ice cream ! ICE CREAM RULES ! Until i eat so much my stomach aches. take the good with the bad i say. Ice cream, the best anti-depressant. Impossible being sad while enjoying several scoops on a waffle cone, perhaps. Now you're talkin'! 

   As a child, i fell in love with RnR, the NFL, @ girls. Funny how somethings never change. Still love being a jock, but my interest in spectator sports has completely dried up. Even the NFL, although this past Superbowl LI, sweet Jesus! but that is another chapter. 

   GIRLS-GIRLS-GIRLS, by the 6th grade, i was @ still am a goner. A blessing or curse? Both really. Heaven @ Hell in one oh so sweet package. The sweetest most beautiful moments, always, fucking always, ending as the Titanic ! But that is also another chapter. (Dare i go there? the beauty, the grace, the horror!)

A POEM -  

                                   YOU MADE ME LOVE YOU

                                   YOU MADE ME CRY

                                    NOW I HATE YOU

                                   I HOPE YOU DIE ! 

Ahhh, memories.  For now, we rock !!!! 

Sowing my oats in the 60's, the Windy City, 8 older bros @ sisters, WLS @ WCFL-am radio, the top 40, we always knew the #1 song. Ed Sullivan ruled TV, the only chance we got to see our fave acts live. We all knew the King, but the epic event of my generation's lifetime, was the Beatles coming to America, conquering the world with their appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show. The earth stood still, crime stopped, then the entire planet shook on it's axis. The screams heard on every continent. Was there life before The Beatles? Cuz after this event, nothing was ever the same. 

   In the history of RnR, to this very day, there is everyone else, then there is The Beatles. 

   How different life would be without them. How different music @ RnR would be. Pretty fucking lame, I'm thinkin'! The 4 lads from Liverpool adding co;or to this world. Funny how TV became color directly right after The Beatles (coincidence? I think not!). Our world was heading into the dark @ getting darker. The Viet Nam War on the horizon, civil unrest, drug abuse going mainstream, the assassinations, I believe God sat back and said "I NEED TO BRING LIGHT INTO THIS WORLD, I NEED TO BRING LOVE". And the light came in the form of The Beatles. And what were the boys singin' 'bout? Love, baby, just love. ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE love love. Love is all you need. 

   

   GODAMM RIGHT ! 

                               ++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Take love out of your life, what you got? Whole lotta nothin'. How easily love is taken for granted. Don't know what you got til its gone. How bitterly sad life can become. Lonely-cold-empty. Love, live it, be it. Got someone to love, DO NOT HOLD BACK. Take action in the form of love. There is nothing in our lives more important, nothing. If you believe there is, you are truly lost, lame, half-assed, @ stupid. Work? important yes, but no. Money?again, but no. Things? all point to love as their guide. Love is why we do what we do. For those we love and those who love us back. As God intended. 

   Take love out of that equation, everything is lesser for it. The "things", can't take it with you. But love is a whole different thing entirely. A spiritual thing. Alas, life is too short @ goes by in a blaze, temporary. The ones we love are here for a short time as well. But the spirituality, the love lives forever. The loves of our lives are with us forever, always. 

  Jadwiga, my mom, I feel her right now. She is always with me. I talk to her everyday. I ask that she forgives me and that I still need her to take care of me, to save me from myself. These were the last words I spoke to her. Though always with me, I miss her terribly, every second, everyday. I have lost my center, my moral compass, my connect to the rest of my family is gone. I am completely estranged. But that is another chapter, for another day. 

                                      FOR NOW - WE ROCK !!!!! 

 MY CREDS (you all are very well aware, that i possess a whole bunch o' street-cred. which is important. so i got that goin' for me now) ; 

   I am The RnR Guru. In certain circles, The Buff. An aficionado @ cultured beyond all human comprehension. A critic @ historian par excel lance, or there abouts. My resume is impeccable.  GO GO GO !!! 

   This is gonna be a journey into the greatness and history of the greatest music ever, of course and redundantly, we are talkikn' 'bout RocknRoll, the most spiritual of all music. From inside the heart @ soul, directly from Heaven and The Good Lord above, because, as you all know, God is awesome @ Jesus is a rockstar ! 

   We are breakin' down the decades from The 50s to current day. So kick off your shoes, take a load, smoke 'em if you got 'em, get a sandwich, cuz we gonna be here for awhile. 

                                     +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 

  JULY, 2017 - Northerly Island, The Windy City @ 3rd Eye Blind; 

   Beautiful summernite on the eastside of Chicago(Lake Michigan, BOOYA ! still got it baby!). Great place for a concert, the sound, superb. On this nite, I was blessed to see the greatest best concert of my life. Bar none, for I have seen 'em all. 

   Me thinks we were in Heaven. When I kick the bucket, and maybe con my way into Heaven, I WANT THIS, for eternity. This works, this is good, I could do this forever. This concert, this nite, this band, these songs, outside, sober, my very definition of Heaven, good for eternity. I'm good, keep the rest. 

  There was a spirituality amongst us that nite. From the outset, in the air, the stage, the lights, the fog, The Chicago skyline, the weather, nothing stupid, genius, spectacular, perfect ! 

  GOD WAS THERE. 

THE SET LIST; 

   Too fucking awesome! 1st set; 4-5 songs, 3IB killed it, crushed it OUTTHEFUCKINGPARK! Songs I had never heard, the boys were hittin' it unlike 3IB ever! Tight-relentless-powerhouse! RnR at it's apex, it's finest. Clean-driving-wicked ! Upon conclusion of the 1st set, lead singer, songwriter, @ producer extraordinaire, Stephen Jenkins says "We are a guitar driven rock-n-roll band" ! RIGHT ON ! The crowd, adoring. He goes on, "This is the 20th anniversary of our debut LP "3rd EYE BLIND", we are going to play it from start to finish. This will never happen again". The crowd roars! MAGIC ! 

   The 20th anniversary of their debut LP along with me celebrating 20 years of sobriety, more magic. This is exactly why we are all here, 3IB is smart and humble enough to know this. For this Lp is the one that made them famous. And they began. 

And the tears flow(not ashamed to admit it). 

 3rd Eye Blind by Third Eye Blind, one of my fave LPs ever. Still listen over @ over @ over for 20 years. Still brand new, @ they played the motherfucker from start to finish ! MAGIC ! I tear up 'bout 5 times during this performance. These songs, part of my dna, my soul, what I was listening to when 1st clean @ sober, EPIC! To my heart, to me, my sobriety, all songs still brand new, never getting old, eternal. HEAVEN. This band, tight, talented, a concert 20 years in the making. Every song, electrifying, mesmerizing, hypnotic, "this must be Heaven", I keep thinking.     

   The crowd was having a blast @ we were having good, clean @ sober fun ! Life at its' finest, it does not get better. Singing along cuz we know every word to every song, I lost my voice (i am so proud, i am 55)! I am a kid in a candy store, this never gets old. The icing on the cake, just being sober. 

THERE IS A GOD !!!

   Who would have thought, the band of the 90's(the best decade of RnR), who would be carrying the torch of that era, 20 years later, standing above the rest, at the apex, would be 3rd Eye Blind?  BRAVO-STANDING OVATION! I did not want it to end. The greatest concert ever. 3IB - who would have thunk? 

  And I have seen them all. 

  Paul McCartney(former Beatle, in case you were wondering).

 Elton John(1976, my 1st concert) - Pink Floyd(1977) - Rush(twice) - Tom Petty(3 times) - Rod Stewart(3 times, why?) - Patti Smith(the goddess) - Local H(killer) - Candlebox(i weep) - The Lemonheads(wicked) - The Goo Goo Dolls(oh man) - The Stones(4 times, 3 times they stunk) - Journey(blew away the Stones) - Alice Cooper - Billy Joel - Neil Young - Bad Co. - Yes - Jethro Tull - Gin Blossoms - Bruce - The Box Tops - Badfinger - The Buckinghams - Stabbing Westward - Dr. John - Metallica - Silverspoon Pick-ups - Highly Suspect. I've missed several, I was a blackout drunk, remember? 

   And none of them, none, could touch THIRD EYE BLIND ! 

   This was a spiritual awakening, a reaffirmation as to why I love Rock-n-Roll, why I love the 90's, and being sober at an event of this magnitude, ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME? 

Life is beautiful-being sober kicks ass-RnR rules @ there is a GOD!

  On this nite, 3IB confirmed why I still believe the 90s is the greatest era of RnR ever, ever, ever !!! It never gets old. So let's compare the 90's against the rest, thru out the history of RnR. Come with me as we go on a journey, 60 + years in the making. Do not be afraid, I will never leave you, for as we all know, to be ridiculously redundant, me, FW Roman, am the RnR guru, buff, aficionado par excel lance ! 

   or there abouts. 

READY - SET - GO - GO - GO !!! 

  

                              $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

  

THE 1950's - WHERE IT ALL BEGAN; 

  

  Lots of great music, great songs, great artists, we must give them their due, for without these acts, bands, people, @ songs, RnR does not exist as we know today. 

 

THE KING; 

   Elvis - 1954 thru 1957 ruled the planet. The man was viscous, unlike anything the world had ever seen. Making himself a household name @ putting Rock-n-roll on the map. People went berserk, everything changed, @ nothing would ever be the same. Music went into a direction never seen @ Elvis Presley deserves all the accolades for this. Elvis became The King, @ the rest of the world followed. 

  However, come 1958, Elvis makes the worst career move in the history of the planet. Inexplicably, he joins the army! STOP-PAUSE-BREATH. The end, his reign was over. His music @ he was never the same. What in the name of God was he thinking? The King of RnR does not join the military! It was not his god given purpose to be a private in the army. His purpose was to be the King of Rock-n-roll ! 

  After the army, Elvis makes one pathetic movie after the next. His music? Some was embarrassing. He became a relic, a novelty act in Las Vegas. The end of his life at the age of 42, is tragically sad. 

 MY FAVES; 

  LITTLE RICHARD; This dude, holy Christ! Hittin' it, killin' it! Nothing soft here, no no no. What a talent, what a piano player! The world was not ready for Little Richard, this was the 1950's after all. Light years ahead his time. a meteor, a spectacular artist. Burning way too brightly, his career fizzled by the end of the decade. Albeit, give the man his due. 

JERRY LEE LEWIS; Another brilliant artist cut from the same cloth as Little Richard. Again, nothing soft here, just hard driving  music with Jerry Lee pounding the piano ! What an amazing piano player. I recall watching a film clip of JLL during a live performance, dancing on the piano, @ then setting the same said piano on fire ! This was the 50's ! Nothing like this had ever been seen. His music @ talent way ahead of his time. JLL also burned way way way too brightly, and his career by the end of the decade was pretty much over, ending in a colossal disgrace. Mainstream USA was on it's ear.  Albeit, his music, awesome. 

 

BUDDY HOLLY; I weep to this day, still not over the death of this absolute RnR superstar. The best of the lot! Musically a genius, another artist way ahead of his time. His resume at a very young age is staggering. His legacy heard to this very day. Only to die in a plane crash at the age of 22. A tragic loss for humanity, but leaving behind pure magic rock-n-roll ! Buddy is sorely missed, to this very day, almost 60 years later. Check out the film, The Buddy Holly Story, starring Gary Bussey as Buddy. An Oscar worthy performance @ the music, jaw dropping. 

  There is magic here, the beginning. Great artists who lit the world on fire. Without these other worldly acts, we do not have rock-n-roll as we know it today. What a sorry ass place this world would be. BRAVO !! STANDING OVATION !! Outstanding music ! 

  However, alas, @ albeit, in my ever so not humble opinion, the 1950's, not the best decade of RnR. Nevertheless, awesome ! 

                             $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ 

  

THE 60's - JESUS, WHERE DO WE START? 

  Rock-n-roll died, the decade begins with the destruction of all the previous acts mentioned. The innocent teen-idol took over(i vomit). All clean-cut @ pure, the church @ mainstream white USA were happy. And so so so lame ! 

 Late 1963; 

  There was a rumbling. The Earth was shaking. The noise coming east across the Atlantic @ by February 1964, RnR exploded. The planet shook on it's axis, then stopped. The British Invasion had begun, and things would never, could never be the same. 

  4 lads from Liverpool, England conquered the USA. The kids went crazy with the appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show, it was over. The Beatles had arrived, as if from another planet, another dimension, Heaven? A gift from The Good Lord above I believe. Everybody woke up. Everyone knew John, Paul, George, @ Ringo. All that talent in one band! Amazing, staggering ! Their musical genius unrivaled to the present day. There is everyone else, then there is The Beatles. The best there ever was, the best there ever will be. They will be listening to The Beatles 200 years from now. They were a product of  the 60's and now, eternity. 

  The British Invasion began, a tsunami of talent, The Stones, The Kinks, The Animals, The Who, etc. The music spectacular. They knocked the world down. They annihilated the USA music industry, damn near putting it out of business. 

Except for MOTOWN ! 

Barry Gordy @ Motown; 

  Barry Gordy, a talent spotting genius, all coming out of Detroit. The best thing produced out of the Motor City, ever, Motown. Monumental talent @ a music that perennially sounds brand new. This was the only music that was competing with The British Invasion, everything was shut down. 

   The music, glorious, a gift to the world. THE TEMPTATIONS-THE SUPREMES-THE MIRACLES-THE 4 TOPS-MARVIN GAYE. Pure magic one @ all. Even the white kids loved it. To this very day, Motown still kicks ass, the music never getting old, still sounds great ! 

   Which leads us to flower power hippy fueled heavy metal acid rock rhythm @ blues ! LATE 60's - Jefferson Airplane, The Doors, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Blind Faith, Cream, Steppenwolf. Charged pounding psychedelic rock. Again, mainstream USA shit ! As they should have. We all did but for vastly different reasons. The enormous music festivals began. TV @ am-radio went to Tommy James @ the Shandells, Paul Revere @ the Raiders, the 5th Dimension, The Boxtops, The Turtles, for pop rock. FM-radio began to venture into LP rock. 

   The world was out of control, bonkers, nuts !! Flower power, however, died in 1969 at the Altamont Motor Speedway, featuring The Stones @ Hell's Angels. The 60's ended in the mud of Woodstock. The reality of alcohol @ drug abuse took front @ center stage, all very ugly. The end came, hung over, drugged up, beaten up. The Beatles were no more. 

  Albeit, the music was spectacular. The 1960's, close to being the very best era. So close, but, alas, no.  

   

AND THE STARS BEGAN TO DIE.   The 1970's had begun. 

                                $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

THE 1970's - SEX, DRUGS, ROCKnROLL! 

   The 70's began with a fantastic explosion of hard RnR. People were sayin', The Beatles, who? The 2nd British Invasion had begun. Led by the band that owned the 70's, Led Zeppelin. Black Sabbath at their very best. The Who, in their prime. Not forgetting to mention, Yes, Jethro Tull, Deep Purple, Pink Floyd. America fought back with the musical genius of Santana @ Grand Funk Railroad. Are you fucking kidding me? The list goes on. Great great music ! What an era !!! 

RIP;  JANIS JOPLIN - JIMI HENDRIX - JIM MORRISON 

1974- The Great Year;

  In all the history of RnR, there may not be a better year. Three bands that stand out, not well known, but without equal, standing the test of time. All debuting in 1974, 3 of my all-time faves, RUSH, AC/DC, @ the most underrated rock band ever, UFO !!! (are you fuckin' kiddin' me?) Rush @ AC/DC still killin' it ! However, UFO, in accordance with their name, was meteoric and burning way too brightly, destructed way way way too soon. During the 70s, the music of UFO, was as good as any, none were better. 

   Mid 70s - The Eagles, Fleetwood Mac, Bruce Springsteen were enormous. Eddie Van Halen became a god. Elton John, Peter Frampton, Carole King, Carly Simon reached levels of fame seldom seen, each owning the planet in this era. 

  A special mention to absolute fucking great LYNYRD SKYNYRD, who may have been the best of the lot. Leaving us way too soon in that awful plane crash in 1977. RIP - RONNIE VAN ZANDT. 

  Out of nowhere, a drastic change swept across the USA. THE DISCO ERA, had begun. Being led by the resurgence of THE BEE GEES, the soundtrack, @ film SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER, disco was gigantic. The girls got really dolled up, the womens' fashion in the 70s goes without equal as far as sex appeal goes. WICKEDLY HOT HOT HOT !!! (i need a cold splash in the face! ok, focus, FW, focus. get your mind off the girls girls girls !!! NEVER ! it ain't happened by now, it never will. a man must know his limitations).

 A revolution began, the boys @ girls began to dance as never before, nor since. A man telling you he was not out discoing is lying, cuz that's where the girls were. Even The Stones @ Rod Stewart were discoing ! John Travolta became a mega star. 

CBGB's - CENTER OF THE UNIVERSE; 

  Albeit, an oh so brief center. Nevertheless, this tiny place became all that was good dirty ugly beautiful in the world of Rock-n-Roll !! (much like the big-bang). CBGB's, a rat in the hole bar if there ever was one. In NYC, these kids also revolted. Nobody liked what was going on in RnR nor Disco. Thusly, PUNK ROCK, had begun (pause, as i shed a tear). 

   This rat bar, became the center of the RnR universe. It was small, it was dirty, it was glorious. These oh so well behaved children(sarcasm people, lots o' sarcism)loathed despised hated GLAM ROCK ! and with good reason. YES, JETHRO TULL, ELP, PINK FLOYD, GENESIS, ZIGGY STARDUST were viewed as a bunch of bazaar pot drug up laced crap. 

AND THEY WERE 100% CORRECT !  (however, the gentleman that i am, must confess, I was into it as much as anyone. I was on a lot o' drugs @ alcoholic at the age of 15, CHRIST'S SAKE! so why don't you cut me some freakin' slack, already! But once clean @ sober, I too, saw the lite!). 

  This counter-revolution, was led by THE RAMONES (moment of silence). The USA version of The Beatles, Johnny, Dee Dee, Tommy, @ Joey broke it down fast paced rippin' it drums, bass, guitar, with a remarkable lead singer in Joey. WHAT A BAND ! Never obtaining their due amongst mainstream USA-which is so so lame! Followed by The Patti Smith Group(patti, my goddess), Talking Heads, @ Blondie, ALL COMING OUT OF SAME SAID SHIT-HOLE BAR !! 

  Imagine on any given nite, this ! JESUS @ SWEET MOTHER OF GOD ! Center of the universe ! Awesome stuff to this very second. No glam nor make-up, just dirty in your face basic fast beautiful rock-n-roll ! 

  We must, at this time, give a shout out to our Brit version of punk in the name of THE SEX-PISTOLS @ THE CLASH. Not to be out shined, these acts were equally brilliant. 

LATE 1970's- Mainstream USA radio @ music industry fight back (how i detest these motherfuckers). The most popular bands were all so clean cut and goody goody (i confess, i got caught up in this crap just like everybody else @ i still hate myself). Styx, REO, Journey, Foreigner, Boston dominated the airwaves(some was fleetingly good, most, gag me!). It was a softer cleaner more wholesome RnR(as i puke!).

  Remarkably, the same said FM-radio stations are still playing the same utter crap ! ARE YOU KIDDIN' ? REALLY? WHY? 4 decades later, soooooooo fucking lame ! The Stones died after Black @ Blue(1976), The Who keeled over with Who Are You?(1978), Led Zeppelin destructed with In Through The Out Door(1979), Pink Floyd passed away with The Wall(1980), Black Sabbath went away with the firing of Ozzy Osbourne(1978), Ted Nugent embarrassed himself @  has not been seen since Wango Tango(1978). Give them their due, they left us with some great music.

RIP - John Bonham and Keith Moon 

   The 70's started with an explosion, and ended with a whimper. Some great great sound, close to being the very best, alas, not close enough. Many would argue. It is a strong argument, but no. On such a downer, @ sadly, the 1980,s begin. 

                         $ ! $! $! $! $! $! $! $! $! $! $! $! $! $! $! $! 

 

THE 1980s - AAAAUUUURRRRGGGGHHHH !!!!;

 I can't fucking take it! Stop the madness! please, in all that is holy! STOP !!!! 

  OK, on to the 90s. LOL ! I kill myself sometimes. Cuz that is funny! YOU GOTTA LAUGH ! or blow your brains out. The choice is yours. We are all adults here. Well, me, on the other hand, albeit, however, nevertheless, alas !!!!!!! (now those are extremely educated words. give it to me baby, OH, come on !!). Back to being an adult. Me, at my best most spiritually fit, am about 17. Not bad, huh? most days, I am 'bout 6. At worst, you can find me curled up in an infantile fetal position, inside a dark closet, whimpering for mommy @ bottle. Though these episodes have been reduced to only once or twice a week. Progress is what we are after, not perfection. On that note, I must send love @ gratitude to the academy, therapist, shrink, priest, attorney, probation officer, friend, @  family(who i never see, which is a good thing). As you can clearly ascertain, I believe in America, home of  the coward, enslaved minimum-wage worker, uneducated, repeat felony offender, obese, extreme body @ breathe stink, @ ever increasing epidemic of mass psychosis. GOD BLESS THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA !!! 

  On to the 80s, where all this nonsense began. With a huge shout out to the Central Intelligence Agency, who during this era began peddling dope, cocaine-crack, into the streets of LA, the City of Angels. How proud this government bureaucracy makes us all. Making the world a safer place for our kids @ grand parents. Good to know our tax-dollars are being spent wisely. How I made it out of that ridiculous decade alive @ semi-sane, is beyond me.    And the God-awful fashion sense ! For the love of god man ! What were we thinking? My only explanation, my default position, drugs, cocaine are bad.

  Things were just beginning to go really wrong in the USA. The results, the embarrassing society we live in today is a direct consequence of the attitudes, values, priorities established in the goddam 1980s. The loss of spirituality was the first @ most important casualty of this decade. This loss is felt to this very second. I am old enough to remember how things @ values used to be. I have lived long enough to see the loss of so many good things @ values, it is heart-breaking and maddening. Young people(45 @ under), have no perspective as to how things used to be, none. They think $10/hr. is ok money. They have no clue that this is poverty. $15/beer at a ballgame, concert ? REALLY? The kicker, what is most mind-boggling, is that knuckleheads are buying it! That this price is acceptable to anyone is . . . i am at a loss for words. STAGGERING ! 

  THE beginning of the end of the labor movement, with wages @ benefits being garnished. I could go on infinitum, alas, that is another chapter. The music of this era, is a direct reflection of the mess into which this world was heading. The meek, the stupids, @ robots had inherited the earth.          

 Alas, I am blessed. Got that out of my system, GO !!! 

Hairbands ruled -  Motley Crue, Poison, Warrant. New Wave - The Cars, The Police, Flock of Seagulls. SUCH UTTER CRAP !! MTV took over the music industry(how i loath the music video). Michael Jackson, Madonna, Bruce, Duran Duran ruled the planet. We all got swept away by this. Looking back, STOP THE MADNESS ! Journey, REO, it all got embarrassing. Nothing pure, really a lot of lame shit going on. 

  Until 1987 that is. 1987, are you with me? You see where this is going? You feelin' me? DO YOU KNOW WHERE THE FUCK YOU ARE? YOU'RE IN THE JUNGLE BABY, TIME TO DIE !! and with that intro and within the 1st few chords struck by the great Slash, and the shrieking of Axel Rose, GUNS-n-ROSES, instantaneously became the greatest rock-n-roll in the world. Their debut LP, Appetite For Destruction, took RnR to new heights never heard nor seen, rendering everything else from that entire decade damn near useless. What a glorious piece of music it is. A masterpiece, epic. 

  Some would argue for Metallica, or perhaps AC/DC, but no. It's GUNSNFUCKINGROSES. Heavy pure hard straight forward RnR was back with a vengeance, better than ever. There was nothing Gunz could not do. Heavy-metal, pop rock, then break your heart(i weep). And thank God, just in the nick of time, cuz we all got caught up in all that other crap(me too, i was a drunk @ dope fiend, ya see?). G-n-R slapped us all back into reality @ sanity. Glam rock, hairbands, @ new wave were put out of business. Mainstream USA killed RnR, Guns -n-Roses, single-handily, brought it back. 

   The 80's, besides GnR, was nowhere near the top decade of rock-n-roll. It was great for mainstream white USA. Mercifully, the decade closed. Which brings us to the 1990's. STOP - while i weep uncontrollably.

   A sound from the great Pacific NW came rumbling across America. Coming to get you. Coming to get us all. THE 90's - YES, GOD EXISTS ! @ JESUS IS A ROCKSTAR !! - had begun. 

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THE 1990's - THE APEX; 

  In all that is sweet, and all that is holy, Glory Glory Hallelujah ! In all that is pure, and all that is good, all was right in the world again ! There was light and it was good. The alpha-the omega. The rumbling came out of Seattle, Washington.

 Thank you God. 

   In the glorious history of RnR, this era, these bands, these songs are the greatest of them all, bar none. Many would argue, albeit, however, alas, YOU WOULD BE WRONG !! (go catch a fish). The 90's are the blood, sweat, @ tears of me, my heart, my soul, DNA, my personal soundtrack. I miraculously survived @ got sober in 1997, up to @ including this very second. I travelled from utter despair @ hell, to the wonder @ glory of sobriety in this decade, Heaven. And the music reflected all of this to my very core. 

Seattle, 1990-92; 

   Grunge, alternative RnR began. A sound came that was not heard for 30 years, not since the British Invasion. What the hell is this? In an instant, we knew. The world changed @ RnR was never, never, ever better. The make-up was gone. The purity was back. And these bands were killin' it ! An absolute breath of fresh air breathing new life into RnR, hell, the world. The 80's @ mainstream USA damn near killed RnR, these bands brought it back. Again, thank you God ! 

   The list of bands @ their songs, all coming out of the same place at the same time, is staggering. Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Alice In Chains, Candlebox, Soundgarden all out of Seattle at the very  same time ! By mid-90's, they were followed by the great Smashing Pumpkins, Bush, Seven Mary 3, The Offspring. Are you kidding? An era of music unlike any other, seemingly endless. Straight forward fast drums, bass, guitars blazing.  Amazing singers. All being able to produce heartfelt, gut-wrenching songs that break my heart @ bring me to tears. 

   The decade closed with Tool (WOW), 3rd Eye Blind (tissue), The Goo Goo Dolls (chick music at it's finest), Foo Fighters (the incredible comeback of Dave Grohl), Alanis Morissette(oh baby), The Cranberries (great band), Stabbing Westward (sweet Jesus)!! There was so much great music, some slipped thru my fingers (STP, Green Day, Soundgarden, at that time). 

   In The Windy City, Q101 @ The Rock(103.5) ruled the airwaves like never before nor since, never having to change the dial, rockin' all day. Mancow(Q101), had the best radio program in the history of Chicago radio. I listened everyday. The show was hilarious. 

RIP - Kurt Cobain, Layne Staley, and recently, Chris Cornell. Fucking heartbreaking. Too difficult to even think about. The death of Chris Farley, no less painful. 

  The 90's had it all. Heaven @ hell, at the same time, just as my life. The beautiful, the ugly. A decade of impact unlike any other. Perhaps, it's just me? Starting in one small place, like a laser beam, hitting home right smack into the heart. Electricity running thru. This era perfectly symbolized life, all of life, in it's music @ in the lives of these great artists. 

   Beautiful, painful, life. Leading us into the new millennium, this ain't gonna take long. For the meek @ mainstream USA have completely taken over, and r0ck-n-roll over the past 17 years has never, ever been more lame. The bad guys have taken over. 

     $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

2000-2017; 

  I weep. Awe man, do we gotta? Yes, sadly, yes. I do not know what the hell is going on out there.  The 21st century hit, mainstream conglomerates took over @ RnR went to shit. In the mainstream USA, RnR is just about dead. The gigantic communication companies are soooo fucking lame, I can't stand it. So dull, uninspiring, disingenuous. Hip-Hop, the thing that should not be. Rap still utterly blows. Green day, saved RnR for a bit with the release of American Idiot (2005), becoming the best band in the world for a couple of years. They became something they never were before nor since. I like Volbeat, The Black Keys, The Lumineers. Stabbing Westward had a way too brief reunion. The 20th anniversary concert of 3IB, glorious. Reaffirming my belief @ faith in the 90's. 

   We got Lady GaGa, Weezer, Blink 182, Coldplay, Justin Bieber, Linkin Park(another recent tragedy), Adele. Somebody wake me up. There is some good stuff out there, Silverspoon Pick-ups, Highly Suspect hittin' it pretty good, but not in the mainstream. 

FM RADIO NEEDS TO DIE. 

   Have we seen the end of rock-n-roll? Yes, as my generation knows it, it is dead. What a glorious run it has been. There is good music, but you have to search, not like in my day. 

YOU TUBE IS KING !!!!

   Rock-n-Roll will never be as big nor as meaningful as it once was. Those of us growing up in the 60's @ 70's RnR was everything. Dick Clark was the coolest dude ever. Am I being nostalgic? I think not. We have covered 60+ years of music. Quite extensive I must add. Me @ my team of monkeys have been doing this research all of my life. 

   RnR at it's finest is spiritual, from the gut, the heart, @ soul. I love it so. The sound, the enjoyment, thru thick and thin, from the dark to the light, as God intended. From Heaven @ hell, the music is always with me. It confirms my faith in a loving God thru His beloved son Jesus Christ, who is always the 1st ROCKSTAR! The greatest Rockstar ! 

  God is good. God is awesome. Life is beautiful. To this very day day, there NOTHING like a sober rock concert. HEAVEN. 

  And I am still the most blessed man on the planet !!!

Until next time, LAST-BEST-ONLY-HOPE,  with the Heart of a Child !!  PEACE - LOVE - LAUGH - BE HAPPY - SOBRIETY - ROCK!

                                                                          FW Roman 

Chapter Theme Song;  Jealousy  by The Gin Blossoms.

 released in 1993. gotta pick one, this will do. A great simple pop-rock ballad. this song does capture the purity @ sweetness of what great rock-n-roll is. Simple genius never gets old. Enjoy.

P.S. - i saw The Gin Blossoms in 2006. we left 'bout 1/2 way thru. sorry guys, gotta be honest.