So Called "Classic Rock" Radio Stations Disgraceful

If one thing can be counted on in this world, it's that commercial classic rock stations rarely, if ever, venture to play anything other than a sliver of cross section of the music made throughout the sixties, seventies, and now I suppose the eighties are to be counted as well. If these classic rock jocks play something from Pink Floyd, you can almost guarantee that it's NOT going to be anything other than post Barrett era, and will almost always be track from "Another Brick in the Wall" or "Dark Side of the Moon".

What about Frank Zappa? Heck, we play "Joe's Garage" at least once every two weeks! The Beatles? Oh yeah, we run "Hey Jude" twice a day, and "Yesterday"... well, we played that yesterday AND the day before! How about Captain Beefhart? Who the hell is Captain Beefhart? Can I guess what your eighteenth Led Zepplin selection for the evening might be?

XYZ FM, where the same roster of old hits are played in a slightly different order each week . Oh boy, here comes Loverboy's "The Kid is Hot Tonight" - and just when you thought they couldn't turn up the heat any higher the Canadian content quota kicks in and you're treated to Bryan Adam's "Summer of ‘69".

I'm sure it has nothing to do with the so called Djs (a title they're not really deserving of anyway as I'm almost sure many of the younger ones of the current radio personalities who haunt these so called classic rock stations have never even queued up an LP) but their corporate masters' voices who cater to their affiliated advertisers or something like that.

Now, I'm not the type of person who feels the need to shun some song just because it happens to be popular, but for shit's sake, can you at least throw caution to the wind and play the occasional B-Side once in a while? Or maybe have at least one "Sweet Home Alabama" free day each week? Oh, and while you're at it, just take any "Toronto" albums you might happen to have kicking around and see if the nearest pawn shop owner isn't willing to add them to the umpteen Toronto albums he's had languishing on the rack for the last two decades.

Taylor Swift's duet with Stevie Nicks at the 52'nd Grammy Awards

If you've followed my shit for any length of time, you'd know that I rarely watch television, and so, if it weren't for Michael Buckly's celebrity gossip updates, I likely wouldn't have bothered to watch a clip of Taylor Swift performing a few songs at the Grammy awards.

My impressions? Well, from listening to her Grammy set, I think the girl does have a bit of a knack for writing catchy numbers, but I found the overall performance to be vastly unremarkable. Taylor's just a kid really, and her music career is only in its infancy, so with some concentrated effort I imagine that one day she'll get her guitar and voice where it needs to be to attract serious criticism regarding her abilities as a musician.

What I really wanted to remark upon in this posting however, were the stylistic considerations of the guy who played the lead guitar solo for Gold Dust Woman on the Swift / Nicks duet at the Grammy Awards ceremony, Mr. Waddy Wachtel. I'm hardly an aficionado when it comes to fashion considerations, but if you're going to wear a nice suit, then for fuck's sake, pull back that thinning lion's mane of a hairdo into a ponytail! It looks conflicted and pretentious... dare I say goofy and awkward. Nothing I can think of clashes worse with a formal looking suit jacket than hair running past your shoulders - especially if you're an aging hipster. A mu mu would've been more a more fitting choice.

On the other hand, what rights do I have to discuss the goofiness factor of anyone's look when I make a video of myself singing a "Culture Club" song with a towel wrapped around my head?



What kind of name is Waddy? That's almost as unusual a name as 'Juice'. Thoughts?