LAST-BEST-ONLY-HOPE: October 2017

THE BIG BANGS @(The Capitals of Rock-n-Roll)

Hey groovy kids, hep cats, @ farout chicks! Some words stay with us forever, seemingly timeless. Some words go away @ stay where words go as time goes by @ a new generation comes along. "Cool" is a word that will never leave. "Groovy" is gone @ forgotten. I still like "groovy" @ "ya dig?", no one else does, but I do possibly cuz I am still an old hippy at heart. I generally don't brag about this, somewhat embarrassing, what? Perhaps? Definitely. "Awesome" will never leave. A word of impact describing people, events, places, things, i.e. God is awesome! Unequivocally so(college word there, huh?).
"Farout", another hippy word, gone. "Hippy", for that matter, connotating smokin' "grass", bell bottom jeans, dirty feet, needing a shower, needs to go @ stay away. However, those hippy chicks rocked! They were outtasite! I'm throwin' the kitchen sink at ya now. All the slang of 60' @ 70's fame. Heavy, huh? It never ends, they crawl outta the woodwork.
The "new millenniums" do not use these words any longer, I shed a tear. I have no clue what the kids are up to these days, don't wanna know. Scary is a word I use to describe the new generation.
My generation, 60's @ 70's, was the coolest, hippest, @ biggest partiers ever. Man, we had fun fun fun! Never wanting the party to stop. Seemingly it never did. Way cool, dude. Party all nite long(Lionel Richie). We partied more than any other generation ever. We did more drugs @ boozin', seemed like everybody was gettin' fucked up. We were "the freaks" @ proud. We did not stop until THE MAN stepped in. Some of us grew up. Some did not(me). Some, many, died. I only stopped when reality came crashing in the form of adulthood. NOOOOO! I refused to grow up. Sometimes, I still don't want to, but we have to or the consequences are devastating.
Keeping the heart of a child is cool indeed just as long as we know when to put the plug in the jug and put the pipe, the bong, the lines, the LSD, the needle down. For if not, the consequences are a complete total buzzkill. A fuckin' drag is what it is.
I'm pouring the hip lingo down your throats now. Your knowledge, culture, spirituality growing leaps @ bounds.
And I grew up. Die or grow up were the last options. I began using words like sobriety, responsibility, discipline. Words when young, I loathed with a passion. Cannot fight reality, reality always wins. Therein lies the lesson.

However, albeit, alas, golly ! There is hope, for I possess the key, the secret, the magic potion of being an adult, sober, @ still have as much fun fun fun as ever, for our entire lives, even into our senior years. I know you are on the edge of your seat waiting with baited breath. GET ON WITH IT WOULD YA!
SEX-DRUGS-ROCK-n-ROLL was our creed, what we lived, breathed, @ died for. We clung to this as if it were life itself. We clung to it until we had to let go or suffer unimaginable consequences. Many died. Ya see, what I now know is that we got it wrong. Utterly, completely wrong. Pay attention or you may miss something. 2 out of the big 3 are totally accurate, bull's eye, dead on the best in life. The drugs @ booze need to be eliminated from that equation, from that philosophy, @ then what you got? GLORY! GLORY! HALLELUJAH! Life at its absolute finest. Our creed needed to be SEX-NO DRUGS-ROCK-n-ROLL!

Proper Perspective
Drugged up drunk concert review - "How was the concert"? "Don't know but I was so fucked up". Sober concerts are a gift from God like being in Heaven. When I die @ go to Heaven(it could happen), A great rockin' sober RnR concert for eternity would work for me. God is there, the spirituality unrivaled in any other endeavor. Powerful but that may just be me but I don't think so. Maybe cuz I am a recovering alcoholic/addict @ now have the proper perspective, a view from both sides, TOTALLY STONED vs TOTALLY STRAIGHT. One may need to be in recovery to empathize where I am coming from on this one. I see people getting stoned, gettin' lit, @ I say thank you, God. Right there, the evening just gets better @ better. No need for artificial stimulants, the reality is so very cool @ way awesome. Being sober never gets old.

SEND THE KIDS TO BED ON THIS ONE

There is nothing nothing nothing like sober sex. Remember everything-feel everything. Names @ places(for instance). Who, how, what, when, why(ya know, the details). If sober sex is not enuf motivation to get sober, well then, may God help you. Cuz, this, this is heaven.
Perspective- I went thru a period of my life, where I did not have sober sex for about a dozen years. Sad, albeit true. Awful, really. Drunk sex is disgusting, pathetic, gross. The thought is an enormous turn-off. Thanks, but I gotta go. The alternative, however, YES! Sweet mother of God! Jesus-Mary @ Joseph! Yes, there is a god! Glorious, majestic, heaven, did I mention I kinda dig it? Remembering @ experiencing the feel, the touch, the smell, the scent, the sounds, the sweat, the breathing, heart-pounding, @ then . . . EXPLOSIONS ! 4th JULY, God bless the USA!
Did I mention I kinda dig sober sex? Who the hell needs mind-altering chemicals when we can have this? God knew what He was doing with this one, man, as if saying, check this shit, cuz you are gonna dig it! And you will know I exist, you will know there is a god, @ you will scream my name! AMEN! Thank you God!
Are you with me? I need to know if you are with me? Cuz if not may God have mercy on your soul @ I feel sorry for you.
There is a lesson here boys @ girls. After all, I am here to help, guide, being of service is what I am all about, as most of you already know, or not. Doesn't matter cuz now I am on a proverbial roll @ the pen has taken a life of its own @ where it goes is anyone's guess. The aforementioned, stuff I loved as a child, a wee lad, is still with me to this very day at the spry age of 55. I love it more than ever. Life-way too short. Gotta have fun. A must, even more so as we age. The key to a longer, happier, healthy life, the magic - KEEPING THE HEART OF A CHILD, for then we see the kingdom of heaven, which is found within @ all around. This comes straight from the top, the big guy his bad self, my Lord @ savior, Jesus Christ.
Keeping fun a priority, humor @ laughter must be a part of our lives. If not, I work like an asshole my whole life, pay bills, get old, die. NOT ME BABY, no no no, life too short-dead forever. I do need to travel more. Big planet, I want to see it. Take a break from reality good for the soul. Spiritual even, enriching, rewarding, a goal worth killing ourselves for.

We are all children of God. God is happiest when we are at play. This is the key to keeping the heart of a child.

************************************************

The Big Bangs of Rock-n-Roll;

BB theory - the universe began as a tiny speck of matter, exploded @ we, us, everything is the result. Well, ok, huh? Alright, sure. A nice theory, I guess.
Much like the universe, the mega-moments in the history of RnR, there are several, all emanating from relatively tiny places around this small planet, the capitals @ centers of the RnR universe. The sound exploded, unstoppable, spreading across the globe at lightning speed, becoming the worldwide phenomena that we call Rock-n-roll. The places, the sound, the people all coming together at the same time which gave the world all this great talent and epic music, the mega-event of our lives, giving us a sound from Heaven. God said, "I WANNA ROCK"! And we did, Sweet Jesus, we did.

RnR, the greatest music ever, the most spiritual of all music. All the great songs immortal as are the artists. A music from the heart, from the gut, straight into our beings at our very core. Capturing, hypnotizing, mesmerizing, @ we could never be the same.

The Capitals;
We can knit-pik @ debate, alas, however, I am in charge here @ now(Al Haig), so hear me now @ believe me later(Hans @ Franz) we concentrate on the tiny places pure RnR at its' finest germinated from. The people, the artists, the genius behind all the glorious music, the most spiritual that we call Rock-n-Roll.
And away we go go go, goin' to a go go everybody! In chronological order;

#1- Memphis, Tn. - mid 1950's;
Sun Records, owned by the great Sam Phillips, the genius talent spotter @ producer that started it all, establishing RnR as a global force. The contribution this man made to mankind, enriching us, culturally, socially, spiritually is enormous. And we as a species are so much the better @ happier for it. The entertainment value alone has made the world a much more beautiful place. Thank you, Mr. Phillips.
From this tiny studio a volcano erupted, a massive earthquake, the axis shifted, the earth stood still, @ then violently shook, shakin' baby, to this very day. Nothing would ever be the same. What we now call rock-n-roll began. Thank you, God.
Simple really, yet genius all the same. And the stars, the mega-stars, the legends, the icons, the founders; Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, incredibly all at Sun Records at the same time !!
Certainly god-inspired, for this was the 1st big-bang of rock-n-roll! And the world as we knew would never be the same. Producing a sound never heard before. The kids went nuts, the parents shit(rightly so), but even the parents eventually came along on this massive tidal wave called RnR.
We shook, we rattled, @ we rolled, and we ain't stopped yet.

#2- Liverpool, England - 1964;
The 2nd big-bang, erupting in even greater force than Memphis, the greatest, biggest, @ loudest BB of them all. From this relativly small port town in NE England, came 4 lads, tough WWII kids, fine tuning their craft, their talent, their genius in Hamburg, Germany. Drivin, motivated, desperate to succeed, the hardest working band of them all, never stopping exploded in tsunami-like fashion conquering the universe. An earthquaking, shattering hurricane, a volcano all in one unstoppable sound, spawning The British Invasion. The 4 lads, John, Paul, George, @ Ringo, all that musical genius in one band! At such a young age, conquering England, Europe, the USA @ the rest of the planet seemingly overnight. We came to know them as The Beatles. To this very day, in all the history of rock-n-roll, there is everyone else, @ then there is The Beatles. The best, biggest there ever was. The best biggest there ever will be.
The lads, all in their early 20's, conquered NYC in February 1964 with their appearance on the great Ed Sullivan Show. What nobody knew was this was 4-5 years in the making. This band absolutely busted their asses to get to where they got. No substitute for hard work. The rumblings, the screams, the vibrations, the hippy hippy shake being heard @ felt to this day 50+ years later all over this planet @ unknown universes.
The sound, timeless, infinite, will be listened to forever. This is why my generation loves RnR, lives RnR, @ die RnR.
Other bands rode the wave; The Stones, The Who, The Animals, The Kinks, Gerry @ The Pacemakers, The Yardbirds, The Dave Clark 5, Pink Floyd, it never ended.
George Martin, the luckiest producer ever, had Brian Epstein(Beatles' manager) walk into his office and asked if he would record The Beatles! Sometimes, the gods smile on us. Staggering. Everything else became secondary. Paul McCartney became the biggest rockstar ever. And the music, the world changed overnight, we as a species evolved. The Beatles brought color to this ever darkening @ drab world. These boys were a gift from heaven. What they sing about? They sang about love love love, love is all you need.
And we loved it, still love it. We rocked @ we ain't gonna stop, ever!

#3- Detroit, Mi. The 1960's;

The Motor City, specifically MOTOWN. The British Invasion damn near killed American music as we knew it, pack it up, it is over. Except, however, alas, albeit, hachacha, praise be to Jesus, from a small home, which became the glory Motown Records in Detroit, Mi.
The genius of its' founder, Barry Gordy, truly exemplifies entrepreneurship of American ingenuity @ capitalism at its' finest(come on! give it to me baby). Mr. Gordy's contribution to American music is unequalled. His eye for talent spotting, pure genius. Motown, a gift to the world.
From one tiny studio, came some of the biggest superstars America ever produced; Marvin Gaye, The Supremes, The 4 Tops, Smokey Robinson @ The Miracles, The Temptations(you fuckin' kiddin' me?), backed up by the greatest studio band of all-time, The Funk Brothers! Making a sound heard to this very day, a music that is always fresh, @ is certainly the best African-American music ever(rap @ hip-hop? Give me a fuckin' break! young people do not know what good music is).
All that amazing talent, the brothers would say outtasite, in one place, at one time in history. A massive big-bang of one smash hit after another dance hit. White kids-black kids, we all loved Motown! Even The Stones @ The Beatles were covering Motown hits.
100 years hence, we will still be listening to Motown. Thank you, Barry Gordy! Can you dig it? Yes, we dig!

#4- New York City, mid to late 1970's;
Moment of silence while I weep. Most would argue this one, but they would be wrong. The 4th BB, the 4th capital of RnR, The Big Apple(bite the big apple)!
Specifically, one shit-hole bar, which no one ever heard of, came a sound, a roar, a growl, a thunder unlike any other before or since. Yes, the shit-hole is the one @ only CBGB's, came a sound nobody was listening to on the FM or AM dial, thusly proving @ establishing its' utter genius, domination, magnificence, debauchery, decadence, dirty filthy, hard, aggressive fast-paced music of PUNK ROCK!

Punk rock-n-roll, guitar, bass, drums, sing, go go go! Lightening, thunderous basic simple fundamental RnR at its' finest. These musicians, as well as the fans despised(and rightly so) the prog, synthesized LSD laced crap of ELP, ELO, Yes, Jethro Tull, Genesis, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, et. al.
The 70's, lots o' drugs, however, stop gettin' high, stop trippin', stop gettin' stoned, stop smokin' grass, and all of this shit sucks sucks sucks so bad I can't fucking stand it! Even I, yes me, FW, fell into this trap, gettin' stoned regularly, @ am ashamed to admit, was listening to all that crap!

BREAK TIME, I GOTTA PUKE!I hate myself sometimes.

Then I sobered up, and really dig it and all that music I was into became so pathetic, lame, @ embarrassing. Listen up kids, this is important. Listen closely or you may miss something, DRUGS ARE BAD! Sobriety fuckin' rules! And Punk Rock is fucking awesome!

And the best of them all, The Ramones! I am weeping uncontrollably now, the paper is soaked @ snot filled, but just as Johnny, Joey, Dee Dee, @ Tommy, I shall not be deterred. The Ramones, the coolest band ever, possibly the greatest American band of all-time! Incredibly dysfunctional, alas, they fuckin hit it like nobody before or since. Imagine if you will, walkin' past this tiny filthy glorious bar, CBGB's, @ The Ramones are on stage. Sweet Jesus, it must have been heaven, Rock-n-Roll Heaven! 1978, 79, all these punk rockers loathed what white corporate USA, @ lame-ass mainstream America was shoving down our throats(the Who, Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Yes, Jethro Tull, Ted Nugent all died, embarrassing so). Punk never had a chance going against this conglomerate, certainly not in The Windy City( i am ashamed of my city for this debacle). Mayor Jane Byrne squashed it before it ever got off the ground at places like the Cubbybear.

Nevertheless, The Ramones knew, along with @ on any given nite playing CBGB's, was Blondie, Talking Heads, The Patti Smith Group, (are ya fuckin' kiddin' me?)! This tiny place, light years ahead of its' time, @ we as a people, as a society have still not caught up to the mastery of these artists. PUNK was way too cool, too furious, fast, hip for the lame ass record companies @ the FM dial, @ mainstream white USA(GAG ME!). We all(my sorry ass at the time included-drugs, man, drugs) got caught up in Journey, Styx, Foreigner, Boston, Melloncamp, @ stop, please stop! Ridiculous, PUKE!

Albeit, with my last shred of dignity, today, me, FW, the aficionado, the iconic garage writer @ social commentator of heroic proportion- PATTI SMITH(the queen), DEBBIE HARRY(goddess), TALKING HEADS(Psycho Killer, a top 10 smash all-time), these so very special artists playing basic pure hard fast RnR the the way it was intended when GOD said, "I WANNA ROCK!".

Time machine me back to NYC, 1977, CBGB's, this tiny speck, ruled the rock-n-roll universe. Most of America slept thru this cuz we were lame @ drugs are bad. Punk Rock, way too cool for mere mortals.

#5- Seattle, Wa., early 1990's

This one, this capital of majestic proportion, the 5th @ best big-bang of them all(at least in this eccentric genius's point of view), produced a sound, a music, a noise, an ultrasonic boom of epic, mythic magnitude, as if from Heaven itself, the greatest rock-n-roll ever, ever, ever!!! Rock-n-roll evolved into the prime of it's being during the era of 1990-1998. Never better, before or since. This was @ still is, @ will always be the best @ greatest rock-n-roll music in its' glorious history.

We all got sick @ tired of glam rock(aurgh!), hairbands(what the fuck?) @ GOD said, "ENUF! LISTEN TO THIS, CUZ YOU ARE GONNA SO DIG IT! "

They called it grunge, alternative rock, the Seattle sound-(moment of silence, i weep). NW USA, one town, one time, one place, in the mountains, the great forests, the Pacific, Seattle, Washington, became the last great capital of rock-n-roll.

*GOD said- "LISTEN CLOSELY, FOR YOU MAY MISS SOMETHING- ROCK!"*** And we did just that. Sweet Mother of God, the musical magic produced by these magnificent artists will never be equaled. From their hearts, souls, minds, DNA straight into ours. A sound from Heaven, @ all it's glory, majesty, beauty, fun, sorrow, grief, sadness all at the same time, a massive impact. The sound pierced our hearts, our very souls, defining our reality as no other music could, rendering everything else, meaningless.

SOMETIMES WORDS ARE UTTERLY MEANINGLESS.

This is one of those that goes beyond description. Past our minds rocketing into the 4th dimension to a spirituality that mere mortals can only shake their heads in wonder. Never truly comprehending because we are only human. Things that are not meant to be understood, for that, would make us God.

THEN WE BELEIVE, @ KNOW THERE IS A GOD.

ALICE IN CHAINS - for a couple of years, they were as The Beatles of the 90's. The loss of lead singer Layne Staley to a heroin overdose, just too goddamm sad. The vocals @ harmony of Layne @ Jerry Cantrall, every bit as good as the Beatles.

NIRVANA- This band, at their very best, were untouchable. The searing vocals of Cobain. Monster on drums, Dave Grohl(Foo Fighters). JESUS! The tragic violent suicide of Kurt Cobain, too difficult to even think about.

PEARL JAM- "10", possibly the greatest debut LP ever. A masterpiece.

SOUNDGARDEN- Hard hittin' rock! Chicks loved this band. The vocals of Chris Cornell were out of this world(Cornell pretty much taught Eddie Vedder, Pearl Jam, how to sing). Their recent comeback was magic, better than ever. The recent suicide of Chris Cornell is an enormous loss. Incomprehensible. Sometimes things just go sideways. Awful.

STONE TEMPLE PILOTS- Very popular, selling a ton of records. Not one of my personal favorites, but they did hit it, big. The death of lead singer, Scott Weiland, tragic, way too young.

CANDLEBOX- Probably my fave of the lot, though not achieving the fame of the aforementioned. This band, their debut LP, "Candlebox", the soundtrack of my life. Finally, after waiting 20 years, I saw them live in 2012, I wept.

And the sound spread like wildfire, across America, the world. Time stopped, we all stood still knowing instinctively something new, something vital, magical, powerful, spiritual had just happened. The axis shifted, and in an instant, everything was different. This was exactly what all of us had been waiting for. Nothing short of a gift from the good lord above. Grunge ruled for about 7-8 years, the greatest era of RnR ever ever ever! The music, better, cleaner, the drums faster, pounding pure heart @ soul rock-n-roll from the gut where all things are one. The talent, pure genius. Masterpiece after epic release. It never stopped. never had to change the radio dial. Put the Alt-rock station on @ it rocked all day every day for years and now eternity. AWESOME !!

I AM STUCK IN THE 90's FOREVER.

************************************************

From these so very special places, this spectacular talent with a sound from Heaven, with it came so much tragedy, as if there was a price to pay for this level of talent, this level of genius. Perhaps, they burn too brightly, too hot to remain on this planet with us mere mortals. They were a gift to the world, making our planet a much better @ beautiful place. People who most probably never gave a 2nd thought to except for a couple of talent spotting geniuses. Music for generations to come that our grandkids grandkids will be listening to. What a legacy. And we were there.

We saw it, heard it, lived it, loved it, died with it. Drunk/drugged up @ now sober. The music was our heartbeat, blood, @ DNA, our very souls exemplifying our spirituality as nothing could. The good-the ugly, the tragic-the beautiful, the fun-the tears. We were the greatest generation, the coolest, the hippest, the best looking, the most fun. We rocked-we danced, no one was going to stop us. We could only stop ourselves.

WE DID IT ALL !!!!!

And today, at 55, clean @ sober 20 years, still clinging to THE HEART OF A CHILD, rock-n-roll will never die, the likes of which will never be seen again. How blessed we have been.

LIFE ROCKS! - GOD IS AWESOME @ JESUS IS A ROCKSTAR !!!!

PEACE @ LOVE,
FW ROMAN

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

CHAPTER THEME SONG; "ASTRONOMY" By the oh so underrated albeit, great BLUE OYSTER CULT. BOC, still not in the hall of fame ! ARE YOU KIDDIN' ME? This classic released way back in 1974, when I was stiil relatively innocent. Listen closely, for you may miss something. DIG IT !!

LAST-BEST-ONLY-HOPE

Sunday, October 29, 2017

Goo Goo Dolls, Use Me, Chicago July 24, 2017

Tuesday, October 17, 2017

Blue Oyster Cult - Astronomy