Sister Sage's Musings

Posts Tagged ‘nostalgia’

Anne Lagace Dowson, probably the lone spokesperson for seeking the truth on commercial radio these days, bless her soul, read out a letter from David Fennario on her radio show last Saturday (for those who are interested; Anne is on every Saturday afternoon www.cjad.com from 13;00 -16:00; I do recommend you catch her show).

For those who don’t know who David Fennario is, he is a Montreal playwrite who came from humble beginnings.  He is a socialist, politically and writes plays that are historical, political and satirical.  ”Balconville” from 1979 would be arguably  one of his most famous plays. It has been performed as far as Ireland. It is also the first bilingual play written in Canada.

I have had the pleasure of meeting Dave in 1992 when Montreal was celebrating its’ 350th anniversary with many events about town. One of which, was a community production, in his home district of the  south west Montreal district of Pointe St-Charles, of “Joe Beef” , a short chronological piece done in vignettes. I also had he and his wife Liz in my home for the cast party.  Liz was definitely someone you wanted to have at parties.

As mentioned in the “about ck” page of this site, I was also a member of International Socialists when I was a student at Concordia University in the early 90s. It was then headed by David and Liz.  Yes, there were a few anarchists (or so they claimed to be) in the group. In fact, sometimes I wondered why they joined our little group; there are differences between socialism and anarchism. But, that is neither here nor there for the sake of this post.

He wrote a letter that Anne read on the air on her last radio show:

Some of my best friends are anarchists but whoever saw 150 anarchists as orchestrated and co-ordinated as the Black Bloc were in TO.?
The smashing of the bank windows and burning of cop cars all so cherographed down to the type of hammers being used. And it was very telling to see how the cops held back until the Black Bloc did their shhowpiece.The Black Bloc violence was not in defencse of the protestors.It was an organized disruption that gave the police the ‘legimate’ right to attack and arrest the protestors.
I smell cop all over this.
My guess is the Black Bloc leadership is definitely infiltrated and being used by agent provocateurs to discredit and demoralize the movement.Certainlythat is the conclusion on the Black Bloc the European Left came to after Genoa.What the Europen Left  did,after a lot of discussion and debate ,was organize affinity group marshaals to control outbreaks by the Black bloc and the police during protests
After defending those who were arrested and loudly condemning the corporate elite and their police as the real terrorists,we should also start meeting to discuss and debate in preparations for more protests.
Dave

Yes, he has indeed kept company with anarchists over the years.  This is something I’m sure the right in Montreal are only too eager to believe about our local scribe. This is exactly why we should give credibility to what he says.

It’s been many years since I’ve seen Dave or Liz, but I’m sure that if any anarchists or any of those anti-capitalist groups like CLAC actually were responsible for most of the damage, and there were no agents provocateurs, he wouldn’t make the statements he made above.

I don’t think we’ve heard the end of any of this. In fact, I think this is the beginning.  I would lean on the side that this is a good thing as ceasing to discuss it at all and stopping the questioning and investigating would lull us back to that apathy that Steve and useful idiots like Bill Blair count on to stay in power.

Anne, Keep up the good work! Dave, let’s hope this isn’t the last we’ve heard of you!

Funny how I always believed it was important to strive for equality which was why  I had joined groups like International Socialists and volunteered for Anti-poverty Groups and such.

We were lamenting about lyin’ Brian Mulroney screwin’ up the country.  Looking now at Master Steve, betcha we would never be thinking that lyin’ Brian looks pretty tame and a lot less evul now, would we have?

I have to say, it is great seeing folks like Dave, like some of our prog bloggers who are baby boomers and perhaps not necessarily in the best of health, they continue to plug on in any way they can.

I also thought I would add a few Johnny Cash tunes. One: because I  remembered in “Joe Beef”, Dave had written lyrics to go to the tune of “Walk the Line”. A few of us had a difficult time of it as our director, Glen Robinson (Robertson? Suffering from C.R.A.F.T. here) wanted us to almost mimic Johnny Cash. I dunno, perhaps some deep voiced guys could replicate it, but how about the gals?

Reverend Paperboy picked exactly the right song to describe the mood of some of us when picking Johnny Cash’s “Man in Black” . Go catch his last episode on the “Maple Syrup Revolution” where he talks about Agents provocateurs with co-blogger Dave who has his own expertise on such matters. Go! Download! Listen.

Happy Sunday Nite all!!

It’s a hot and humid holiday. This of course, would make for a slow blogging day.

Robert Allen Zimmerman was born on this day in 1941.

He would later call himself Bob Dylan after the poet Dylan Thomas, who along with Woody Guthrie, was a great influence on him. More here about his life and career.

“The Hurricane”,  a song about the story of Reuben “Hurricane” Carter.  Performance in 1975

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhfWU335aGA

Like a Rolling Stone” is another favourite.   I like the lyrics; they remind us how bad luck can happen to anyone and thus, how  arrogance toward the unfortunate and the marginalized is a bad idea.  This video is of  Dylan’s performance at the Newport Folk Festival of 1965.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hl2a6Bbyads

Oh what the hell, a party song sure to make the Socons of the Blogging Romper roomies and outside like Pacheco and Suzy ALLCAPS

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nmpv7BcAo4U

Happy Birthday Bob Dylan! Happy Victoria Day to those outside of Quebec! Pour les Quebecois, Joyeuses Fetes des Patriotes!

Ray Scott, who had taken over Solid Gold Sundays on CJAD from Jake Lawrence last August during that mass exodus that saw the sudden  erroneous departure of Peter Anthony Holder. It became Sunday Nights with Ray Scott,  a long time radio executive for CHOM FM.  He did not get canned though, which is kind of an oddity for those leaving the station these days; they’re usually canned.  He’s citing that with already a full time job, he needs his week-ends back.

For as long as I can remember, CJAD played oldies on Sunday nights (they used to play on Saturday nights until they canned Al Gravelle last August), I’m wondering if they’re no longer going to play oldies music or music of any kind on Sundays.  Please, no reruns of Liberal Syndrome deranged Tommy Schnurmacher or Kim Fraser. Sadly, the way commercial radio is going, I bet that’s exactly what’s going to happen. Or maybe put on more Harpercon hacks.

In his farewell speech earlier, Ray mentioned enjoying music and it’s a joy to share this with others. I can certainly understand that. It’s partially why I do Saturday Nite Nostalgia here at Sister Sage’s Musings where I will either spotlight on a genre or artist and tell some stories either about the group/genre or personal anecdotes on how they touched my life in the past.

CHOM has gone more 90s music and they play too much….NICKELBACK!!!  They’ve gone downhill, particulary mornings since Terry Dimonte left for Q107 in Calgary. It got worse when Ted Bird (now at K103 in Kahnawake)  left.

I would like  to start my own internet radio show, playing nothing but the old classics. They were indeed the best. All played at a time before all the technology we have today.  We’ll see, if it’s doable for me, this may well materialize.  If anyone has info to share on that subject, feel free to email me or drop a comment to this post.

UPDATE: Rumour has it that the insufferable Conservative hack,  The Chuckles Adler wannabe of Montreal, Beryl Wajsman will be taking over between 7pm – 8pm; and you guessed it, more than likely, reruns from 8pm – 11pm with the Harpercon cheerleaders. Groan!

Something I usually do on Saturday Nights, but here goes.

Ronnie James Dio (real name Padavona)  wasn’t a favourite of mine. I don’t like heavy metal as much as I used to during my youth.  However, since he died this week and he does have a place in rock ‘n’ roll history. I thought I would devote this week-end’s edition to him.

He played in bands like Elf, Rainbow, his own band, Dio and he was probably best known as Ozzy Osbourne’s replacement in Black Sabbath. Read more about his life and career here.

“Rainbow In the Dark”

“Holy Diver” is a song that brings back memories of my bartending days in the Lower St-Lawrence in the 90s when I left Montreal for a few years.

At one place my boss insisted on country & western, particularly Paul and Julie Daraiche, Home grown country mixed with Lord knows what, really, being played endlessly. The boss had no idea of her clientele who would invariably walk out everytime she would take over the juke box.

She hated the rocker types who walked into her bar. Anyway, “Holy Diver” was a favourite amongst the patrons when we knew the boss lady was gone for the evening or gone to bed.

“Sitting in a Dream” performed with Deep Purple and the London Symphony Orchestra

“Paranoid” Later Version of Black Sabbath with Ronnie James Dio. The sound kinda sucks, but couldn’t find a better video.

Happy Sunday Afternoon, All!

The Allman Brothers band formed in 1969, in Jacksonville, Florida but based out of Macon, Georgia featuring brothers Duane and Greg Allman along with Dickey Betts on lead guitar and song writing, Barry Oakley on Bass guitar, Butch Truck on drums. They are considered to be pioneers of a sub-genre known as Southern Rock which is generally a mix of blues, country and rock and roll.

The band would begin to achieve commercial success in 1971 with the release of the album, ” At Fillmore East” which featured hits like “Whipping Post” and “In Memory of Elizabeth Reed.

A few months after “At Fillmore East” went gold,  Duane Allman would be killed in  a motorcycle accident and that would start the troubles for the band that would lead to break ups and reforming with other players. More here.

“Whipping Post”

“Ramblin’ Man” from the 1973 album, “Brothers and Sisters”.  That single and album would be the peak of their commerical success. Shortly afterward, things would go downhill due to internal issues and first break up.

“Melissa” 1972 hit redone 20 years later

Happy Saturday Nite, all!

I thought with all that frightening religious right talk  this week, we deserve a break on this fine Friday nite.

Those Gen-Xers who followed Saturday Nite Live in the ’80s, would have remembered Dana Carvey and all of his characters. My favourite was the Church Lady. No matter which star she’s on with or what is happening, it was always a knee slapper.

It was so hard to choose videos.   But here are some selections.  The first one is a definitely a keeper with Jim and Tammy-Faye Baker following their scandals and being booted off the PTL.

The next one has variety: Danny DeVito getting one over the Church lady, Anne Landers discussing pre-marital sex and Church Lady allowing herself to be touched by Willie Nelson.

How about this keeper with a drunk and ‘Father’ Chevy Chase

This last one  is with Sean Penn while he and an Iranian are guests of the church lady and needless to say, no one particularly likes each other to say the least.

I hope you enjoy this trip down memory lane.

Happy Friday Nite all!

Following this rather interesting debacle of an election result in Britain last Thursday night, I thought it fitting to do tonight’s edition of Saturday Nite Nostalgia with the British Invasion; a rock n’ roll movement that exclusively belonged to the Americans until the mid-1960s.

Officially, The Beatles kicked it off on February 7, 1964 when they first landed on American soil. However, it seems that the British Invasion was actually started by an instrumental,  “Telstar” by The Tornadoes when it hit number one on the American charts in 1962.

Then,  Dusty Springfield in 1963 when her hit, “I Only Want to Be With You” was released. She would sing it on the Ed Sullivan Show in early 1964.

Even the Beatles had their first hit aired on American radio (“I want to Hold Your Hand”) in 1963.

In Britain, the initial attempts to replicate American rock n’ roll failed commercially as it lacked two popular genres found in American music at the time: Country and Rhythm Blues. Skiffle bands and  craze of the 50s.   A young  Jimmy Page is shown, playing guitar for a Skiffle band on British TV in 1957. British teen-agers loved the rock n roll and Blues music of  the U.S. and attempted a “Do-it-yourself” approach to replicate the likes of such artists like Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley (naturally), Little Richard, Eddie Cochran, Buddy Holly, James Brown and Muddy Waters.

Below is  Dusty Springfield singing “You Don’t Have to Say You Love  in 1967.

Liverpool was the original capital of the so-called “beat-boom” movement, otherwise known as the Merseybeat . It was an Atlantic port town so, Liverpool merchant sea-men came back with American Rock n roll hits; even before they were widely available in the rest of Britain.  This movement started with such groups like  Jerry and the Pacemakers and The Searchers. Below, is The Searchers’ “Love Potion #9″

Within the next few years, groups and artists such as Manfred Mann, The Rolling Stones (of course), the Animals, Peter and Gordon, the Spencer Davis Group featuring a young Stevie Winwood, John Mayall and the Blues’ Breakers, The Zombies, The Moody Blues, The Yardbirds,  Petula Clark and so many more emerged from Greater Britain. Later such artists like The Who and Donovan would follow.

Below,   John Mayall’s Blues Breakers’ “I’m Your Witch Doctor”, one of many bands Eric Clapton played with throughout his career.

The last one is  Donovan’s “Atlantis”, released in 1968; the only song I like by Donovan.  Well, that and “Catch the Wind.”  There have been some who for some strange reason, felt he was Britain’s answer to Bob Dylan. Don’t ask me why.

Happy Saturday Nite All!

I know Rona this goes beyond your single digit IQ and you have the attention span of a 6 year old,  but do try to pay attention, dear.

CJAD’s Dan Laxer, spent the last half hour of his show is asking what women really want. He isn’t buying  Master Steve’s words coming out of Ramblin’ Rona’s mouth, saying what we really want is insipid and costly tough on crime bills.

“Our government has done more than any other government in the history of this country to keep women safe,” says Public Works Minister Rona Ambrose, who is also in charge of the status of women in the Harper government.

“We have introduced new laws to make sure that we keep rapists and murderers off the street and to make sure that we protect children from sexual predators. That is what women want.”

Well, no Rona, that’s not what we want. Yes Dan, you do have an instinct. Click here for a few articles from James Morton, a Toronto lawyer to get  costs of these insipid bills  to provinces and tax payers. The Toronto Star has  the article of Ramblin’ Rona’s verbal diarrhea and some very stupid remarks to some intelligent ones.

Well, Dan, I’ll tell ya, what women really don’t want, or at the very least, not high on their list of needs and priorities are costly and idiotic American style crime bills, especially when they are trying to remove gun control in the same breath. By the by, one thing on our wish list, is we’d really feel much safer with continued use of the long gun registry as well as tougher gun control laws.  I guarantee, and I think I speak for the sisterhood when I say this, we would feel much much safer with long gun registry in tact and further gun control laws than more costly insipid laws to warehouse people in jails who shouldn’t be there in the first  place. Below is a quote from Marlene Jennings on this subject also in response to a dumb remark from Baird, Master Steve’s faithful pitbull:

“To talk about the safety of women . . . while still trying to eliminate the long-gun registry, to call out, ‘let freedom reign’ is absolutely outrageous, disrespectful,” Jennings said. “Martin Luther King Jr. is a hero for civil rights, for peace, a man who was murdered with a gun and he’s using that. It’s outrageous. These Conservatives go too far. They have to stop.”

And here’s Jack Layton:

“They’re quoting Martin Luther King and calling for a free vote?” Layton said to reporters. “I found myself asking, ‘Are they allowing a free vote in the Conservative party on the gun registry?’ And what a misuse of one of the most important statements ever made by somebody pursuing human rights.”

We want better choices for childcare. Sorry, 100$/month (approx 60$ when you subtract taxes) just doesn’t quite cut it. Especially with the cost of living as it is today. Just sending kids to public schools (here in Montreal anyway; not sure in ROC, please inform me in comments section) costs  10x more than it did for my parents to send my brother and myself to school, and I will guess that my mother’s (my father was educated in Beirut and Rotterdam at private schools; bad example)  mother paid even less to send her to her public school back then even still. We need a national day care registry so both parents can have the option to work in order to adequately support their families. To that end, we would like pay equity. We’re really not asking for much; just to earn the same money for the same work as that of our male counterparts.

Speaking of childcare and education, we would like to be able to give our children a good education without having to break the bank to send them to private school. We would like good secular public schools. The high school drop-out rate is especially on the rise in Quebec (again, don’t have that data in ROC: again, comments section) and we would like programs and means to keep our teen-agers from dropping out of high school.  We would like them to grow up to be happy and productive members of society. Again, times just ain’t the same; in my parents’ generation and earlier, folks, even without a high school  leaving certificate were able to get a job and have more choices of jobs. Today, you practically need a masters’ degree to be a panhandler.

We want the Canada Health Act enforced. It is your job (ok, other Harpercon useless idiot, Igluquack with no post-secondary diploma; via Master Stevie) to nail our premiers whenever they entertain such nasty ideas to begin the Americanization of our health care system, transforming it to wealth care for billionaires.  25$ per use of the health care system just taxes the sick and will make them sicker in the end. Talking about the life expectancy dropping? Well, it will be because of such nasty unaffordable deeds. Contrary to maybe Shona Holmes (that traitor cunthole) or Danny Millions, most of us are not asking for Hilton style hospital rooms. We just want to be able to see doctors without feeling like we overstayed our welcome the moment we walk through their door. And we want our doctors to take the hippocratic oath seriously and stop going to the media whining to make more money than Gawd. We want universal health care to stay.

Moving right along my check list here, we would like the mainstream media to be more balanced.  These days most of corporate media is ‘owned’ by Harpercons. They serve Harpercon Kool-aid to shove down our throats.  We want to see more balanced media. Even CJAD in Montreal, which is supposed to be a more progressive city than other North American urban centres, has only one other progressive/left of centre host, besides yourself , Dan, and Anne Lagace Dowson, unfortunately, only plays on Saturday afternoons.  Hell, the CBC is slowly going more and more Harpercon with their Harpercon President, Hubert Lacroix.  The latest addition of the delightful Kory Teneycke reflects this. We only ask that the media be more balanced.

We don’t want groups and organizations to be bullied to go into lockstep with Harpercons or get cut like the groups mentioned a few days, simply because they express themselves.   We would love to see   funding cut to such partisan groups like Canadian Constitution Foundation: yes, that would mean Ezzy IrreLevant would actually have to get a real job and Shona Holmes would have to pay for her own lawsuit; why should we, the tax payers be bankrolling that? We would really like to see cutting to religious institutions like Youth for Christ or Canada Christian College.

We would like to see the whole world’s women have reproductive rights.  That means not only contraception; that means access to safe abortions. In fact, as the rest of the G8 has pointed out, it’s a MUST.

We are displeased and frightened and pissed off of the eminent threat of our reproductive rights and our safe accessible abortions. We don’t want to see us go back to a dark time when desperate women put their own lives at risk going to back alley flop houses in less than savoury neighbourhoods and wire hangers and other of those old wives tales. And believe me, that is exactly what will happen. We heard ya, Nancy, but we can’t afford to shut the fuck up on this life and death issue for so many women. No, we can’t be silenced on this.

We want to see discrimination of all kinds to end.

So, Rona, that is what women want in a nutshell. And you could also tell Master Steve, the shocker of all time:  they are what  people — men and women — with any shred of humanity that is, wants. Those are our main  concerns these days, but sadly, most of us know you can’t wrap your little head around all that and it’s all foreign to Master Steve. So, Rona, I am left with just one thing we women want: SHUT THE FUCK UP!!!   Now run along, I believe Uncle Dmitri is waiting with your master’s dry cleaning, like a good little girl, ok? Thanks Babe! And Master Steve, get the FUCK the HELL OFF!! Go find your buddies Georgie and Sawah. Take ur nasty fiends with you. There, that felt better.

By the By, most of all, we hate being told what we want or need by Harpercons and their cheerleaders and their media outlets!

Oh, and one petty little detail that bears mentioning: what is with these Harpercon women and their antequated hairdoos like beehives, 80′s French Formula hair and mullets, anyway? And why do they wear the same suit my 94 year old grandmother was cremated in?  To brag about how backwards they are or to try to  sell us on Stepford Wifery?

Speaking of Stepford wives and Harpercon women; the video below is dedicated to you, because, us real women, just don’t know how you get through life without a little pharmaceutical help, sung by one of Rock n Roll’s most notorious womanizers no less.

Only fitting I would cover Led Zeppelin after last week-end’s spotlight on Jimmy Page’s early years.

Following the departure of Keith Relf and Jim Carty from The Yardbirds in 1968, Page wanted to continue with them, ostensibly to continue unfulfilled touring dates. He had recruited (you guessed it!) Robert Plant on vocals and the late John Bonham on drums.  John Paul Jones, with whom Page had worked with in the past asked to join and Page agreed.  With that, this group became known as The New Yardbirds. That is, until The Who drummer, Keith Moon made a comment about this new line up “going over like a lead zeppelin”.  At which time, Page decided to change the band’s name just that, Lead Zeppelin.  The spelling would change to “Led” to avoid a mispronunciation of “Leed”

The first video is a rare version of “Dazed and Confused” – a song that most of us know from Led Zeppelin’s first album, but the video below is an earlier version–circa 1967-1968 by The “old” Yardbirds, obviously before the departures of Relf and Carty, appearing on a French TV show.  Yeah, I know, it’s kinda weird listening to Keith Relf singing it, rather than Robert Plant. In fact, personally, I don’t think Keith Relf’s voice was suited for the song. However, those who follow my Saturday Nite Nostalgia series, I always try as much as possible to find more obscure songs or obscure versions of them. The Yardbirds doing “Dazed and Confused” is no exception, even with Relf on vocals. Anyhooo, watch, listen and you be the judge.

The following is “Babe, I’m Gonna Leave You”  from their first album, live on TV in Copenhagen circa 1969.

There are varying stories as to who originally wrote and / or inspired this song.

The following is another favourite that didn’t seem to go commercial. “The Battle of Evermore” was from an untitled album simply known as  their fourth album. If anyone heard it on vinyl, if memory serves me correctly, this played before “Stairway to Heaven”.

In my opinion, Led Zeppelin’s only decent albums were the first, second and fourth.

This is one band that kept the same line up for the entire 12 years they were together.  They broke up shortly after the death of John Bonham, their drummer. Their last album prior to Bonham’s death and Led Zeppelin’s subsequent break up was “In Through the Outdoor”. However, in 1982, Led-Zeppelin’s last album, “Coda” came out.

Like Robert Plant, Page would go on to more successes that would span through decades. I believe he toured not long ago.

Happy Saturday Nite!

Jimmy Page is considered to be one of the  most influential guitarists of all time. He’s right up there with greats like Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix.

He is best known for his work as lead guitarist for Led Zeppelin, and The Yardbirds in the 60s where both Clapton and Beck played as well.

His earlier influences were more of the rockabilly types like Scotty Moore and James Burton. We see this rockabilly influence below in a rare video of a very young Page (age 14, approx)  in 1957, being interviewed and playing a few songs on the BBC’s Huw Wheldon Show. I’m not sure whether the band was called Skiffle Band or the Talismen; depends what you read.

Here is another video of them performing “Cast  my Spell on You”

Page had refused an invitation to replace Eric Clapton in The Yardbirds in 1965, but recommended his friend and guitar great, Jeff Beck to join. He would eventually be invited yet again (he accepted this time) in 1966, to join The Yardbirds to ostensibly replace the base player, but eventually moved to play twin lead guitars with Beck. Below is probably one of their more upbeat songs; yeah, I know, I rarely do upbeat here, but I always felt it was a cool party song with rhythm and uncomplicated lyrics.

Eventually,  lead singer, Keith Relf & Jim McCarty would leave  The Yardbirds in 1968. Jimmy Page would go on with The New Yardbirds who would become Led Zeppelin. I will feature Led Zeppelin at a later time.

The next video is the Yardbirds with Page after the departure of Jeff Beck. More on the biography of Jimmy Page here.

Some Jimmy Page quotes (after joining  Led Zeppelin):

I don’t think the critics could understand what we were doing.

I may not believe in myself, but I believe in what I’m doing.

I think it was that we were really seasoned musicians. We had serious roots that spanned different cultures, obviously the blues.

I’m just looking for an angel with a broken wing.

“My vocation is more in composition really than anything else – building up harmonies using the guitar, orchestrating the guitar like an army, a guitar army.”

“Nowadays, we’re more into staying in our rooms and reading Nietzsche.”

Happy Saturday Nite!