Tag Archives: ZZ Top

My iPod Has Issues – It Has Been a Busy Day

11 Oct

It has been a busy day. It all started with a Historic Lebanon meeting at 7:30. Then, I went to work and prepared for my 9:30 class. After a quick lunch, it was time for my 12:30 class. At that point, I spent time at the copy machine making tests. That involves pushing more buttons than they push in a NASA control room.

I left campus and went to the bank. There were deposits to make. Then, it was to a meeting about city council issues. When that meeting was over, I drove to a meeting of the James E. Ward Agriculture and Community Center Management Committee. Yep, that is a along name. A lot of government committees have long names.

At that point, I went back to campus to finish making copies of tests. Of course, that involved pushing a bunch of buttons. On a mission to find copy paper, I ran into a couple of the other history professors and talked to them for a bit.

After all of that, I made it home to have a dinner of cold pizza. To wind down, I decided to have a little bourbon and see what is going on inside the mind of my iPod.

“Chain of Fools” by Aretha Franklin

“Keep A Knockin'” by Little Richard

“Changes” by David Bowie

“You Could Be Mine” by Guns N’ Roses

“Sleeping Bag” by ZZ Top

“Standing in the Safety Zone” by The Fairfield Four

“Tombstone Blues” by Bob Dylan

“Lady Marmalade” by Labelle

“I Just Can’t Help Believing” by B.J. Thomas

“No Better for You” by Gay Crosse and the Good Humor Six

“Bye Bye Love” by The Everly Brothers

“Westbound and Down” by Jerry Reed

“Honey” by Bobby Goldsboro

“Next to Me” by Clyde McPhatter

“We Will Rock You” by Queen

“Bring It On Home to Me” by Sam Cooke

“Help Me” by Joni Mitchell

“Ain’t That a Shame” by Fats Domino

“Baby Please Don’t Go” by Van Morrison

“I Got You Babe” by Sonny and Cher

 

 

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My iPod Has Issues – NFL Draft Edition

28 Apr

I am watching the NFL Draft, and it is getting boring.

That is why I cranked up the iPod to see what is happening there. Here is what happened.

“Amarillo by Morning” by George Strait

“Spybreak” by Propellerheads

“Mama Feel Good” by Lyn Collins

“Sweet Baby James” by James Taylor

“Little Red Corvette” by Prince

“Big Iron” by Marty Robbins

“Four Walls of Raiford” by Lynyrd Skynyrd

“Fortunate Son” by Creedence Clearwater Revival

“Black Betty” by Ram Jam

“If Anyone Falls” by Stevie Nicks

“Lady Blue” by Leon Russell

“Arranca” by Manzanita

“Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On” by Jerry Lee Lewis

“Heaven and Hell” by Waylon Jennings

“Do You Know What I Mean” by Lee Michaels

“Tube Snake Boogie” by ZZ Top

“Take Me Home” by Phil Collins

“Behind Closed Doors” by Charlie Rich

“Tennessee Whiskey” by Chris Stapleton

“Try Not To Breathe” by R.E.M.

 

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My iPod Has Issues – One Bond is Better Than Another

13 Oct

I was watching James Bond. Actually, I was watching Sean Connery, the real James Bond. My wife thinks Daniel Craig is the real James Bond, but everyone knows that is not true. Anyway, she did not want to watch the real James Bond and changed the channel to Taken, the movie where Liam Neeson is tough but not as tough as James Bond.from-russia

Since there is nothing on television, I decided to get on the blog and type something. The only problem is that I do not know what to type. Maybe I will go to an old faithful and explore what is going on in my iPod.

To stay with the theme, I will start out with a classic James Bond song.

“Goldfinger” by Shirley Bassey

“Don’t Let Me Be Lonely Tonight” by James Taylor

“Cheap Sunglasses” by ZZ Top

“Sumertime Blues” by Eddie Cochran

“Good Rockin’ Tonight” by Wynonie Harris

“Workin’ Man Blues” by Merle Haggard

“Crazy” by Patsy Cline

“The Twist” by Chubby Checker

“Fool To Cry” by The Rolling Stones

“Stand Back” by Stevie Nicks

“Walk This Way” by Run-DMC

“Hotel California” by The Eagles

“Behind Closed Doors” by Charlie Rich

“Pre 63” by Groove Armada

“Drops Of Jupiter” by Train

“Play Me” by Neil Diamond

“Tangled Up In Blue” by Bob Dylan

“Daddy Doesn’t Pray Anymore” by Chris Stapleton

“Atlantis” by Donovan

“Old Man Willis” by Tony Joe White

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Live and In Person

31 Jan

Listening to music is one of my favorite pastimes. Cranking of the radio and letting the sound fill the air is a great pleasure. It is truly pleasurable when that music is of the Rock variety. However, listening to live music is more enjoyable. I have been lucky enough to attend many concerts, and there is nothing like being in a room filled with people and hearing a performer sing a great song.image-6

The other day, I was at the magazine rack when I spotted something called 101 Greatest American Rock Songs. With a title like that, how could I not buy it? The magazine offers an interesting list with stories about each one. As I read through it, a question entered my mind.

How many of these songs have I heard in a live setting? In Nashville, we hear a bunch of songs being covered by bar bands. My real question was trickier. How many of these songs have I heard performed by their actual performers in a live setting?

Here is the answer.

98. “When Doves Cry” by Prince

97. “Legs” by ZZ Top

95. “All Shook Up” by Elvis Presley

94. “Lay, Lady, Lay” by Bob Dylan

92. “Paradise By the Dashboard Light” by Meatloaf

84. “Jackie Brown” by John Mellencamp

82. “Black Magic Woman” by Santana

72. “Blowin’ in the Wind” by Bob Dylan

64. “School’s Out” by Alice Cooper

62. “Rock and Roll All Nite” by Kiss

60. “Tangled Up in Blue” by Bob Dylan

51. “Sweet Child O’ Mine” by Guns N’ Roses

48. “Bye Bye Love” by The Everly Brothers

46. “Dream On” by Aerosmith

36. “Heartbreaker” by Pat Benatar

32. “All Along the Watchtower” by Bob Dylan

31. “One of These Nights” by The Eagles

29. “Ohio” by Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young

27. “Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door” by Bob Dylan

24. “Free Bird” by Lynyrd Skynyrd

23. “Enter Sandman” by Metallica

22. “Atlantic City” by Bruce Springsteen

18. “Walk This Way” by Aerosmith

10. “In the Ghetto” by Elvis Presley

9. “Hotel California” by The Eagles

5. “Sweet Home Alabama” by Lynyrd Skynyrd

3. “Born to Run” by Bruce Springsteen

2. “Like a Rolling Stone” by Bob Dylan

I have been lucky enough to hear 28 out of 101 in a live setting, and, by looking at the list, I am afraid that I will not be able to add many more.

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My iPod Has Issues – Kicking It Off With Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash

31 Aug

My family is watching the MTV Video Music Awards, and I am in my office getting mentally prepared for tomorrow’s classes. The desk is a mess and needs to be cleaned. Looking around, I only see a few things that need to be kept.

The latest edition of National Geographic.

A new voter registration card.

A stack of books that includes Rebel Yell by S.C. Gwynne.

Oh yeah, there are a couple of vinyl albums, “The Dark Side of the Moon” by Pink Floyd and “Nashville Skyline” by Bob Dylan.

The Country Music Hall of Fame has a new exhibit about Dylan and Johnny Cash. I will see it before it is gone. In honor of that exhibit and the fact that I do not have the time to put together a real post, we will look into the mind of my iPod. Most of it will be random, but I am going to cheat on the first song.Cash and Dylan

“Girl From the North Country” by Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash

“Bustin’ Out” by Rick James

“Tree of Level” by The Fairfield Four

“Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” by Elton John

“Under Pressure” by David Bowie and Queen

“Walk On By” by Dionne Warwick

“Sunshine” by Jonathan Edwards

“She Never Knew Me” by Don Williams

“Love is Strong” by The Rolling Stones

“The Cowboy Rides Away” by George Strait

“Midnight Rider” by The Allman Brothers Band

“La Grange” by ZZ Top

“Indian Reservation” by Paul Revere and the Raiders

“White Lightning Ballad” by Charles Bernstein

“I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” by U2

“C’mon Everybody” by Eddie Cochran

“Stockholm Blues” by Tony Joe White

“You’ve Got Another Thing Comin'” by Judas Priest

“Fantastic Voyage” by Lakeside

“I Want To” by Joe Tex

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Music on the Inside

20 Jun

The other night, we saw The Rolling Stones at LP Field, the home of the Tennessee Titans. Those of you who read this blog on a regular basis know that I am a music lover and am a big fan of concerts. However, I learned something about myself at this one. I do not like stadium shows. Seeing an iconic band like The Rolling Stones is great, but football stadiums are not conducive to a good show.

First, the weather has an impact. It was miserably hot and affected my ability to enjoy to music. However, other kinds of weather can mess it up. Rain. Thunder. Lightning. Anyway, the heat was unbearable.

Second, there are no good seats. Unless you are in front of the stage or have some sort of VIP pass, there is no good place to watch a concert in a football stadium. You are always far from the stage. That means you can hear a live concert, but you cannot necessarily see a live concert.

All of this means that I am a fan of indoor concerts. Good seats are actually good seats. Even bad seats are close enough to see something. People can feel like they are part of an event rather than being on the outskirts of one.

On top of that, indoor concerts are climate controlled. I saw Jimmy Buffett in an arena while it was storming outside. It rained enough to flood Nashville over the next several days.

Bringing up Jimmy Buffett makes me think of something else. His concerts are known as outdoor parties under the sun. I have seen him outside. I have seen him inside. The indoor shows were better.

The same goes for The Rolling Stones. I saw them in an arena and in a stadium. The arena show was better. They may not have performed better, but it was a better experience.

A few months ago, we saw Kenny Chesney in concert. It was an awesome show and a lot better than the time we saw him in a stadium.

Bottom line, football stadiums are not designed for concerts and the best ones are in smaller indoor buildings. However, I do not want to disparage the band. The Rolling Stones are great, and it is hard to believe they can perform at that level at their ages. They are a Hall of Fame band, and I want to end this post on a positive note. Since they are in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, I thought it would be interesting to see how many members I have seen in concert.Rock Hall

I guess it can be done by their year of induction.

1986

The Everly Brothers

Elvis Presley

1987

Bo Diddley

B.B. King

1988

Bob Dylan

Diana Ross

1989

The Rolling Stones

1990

Simon and Garfunkel

The Who

1992

Johnny Cash (I did not actually see him perform, but I met him in a bookstore.)

1993

John Fogerty

1994

Elton John

Rod Stewart

1995

Al Green

Robert Plant

1996

Pink Floyd

1997

Crosby, Stills and Nash

Parliament-Funkadelic

1998

Eagles

Fleetwood Mac

Santana

1999

Del Shannon

Bruce Springsteen

2000

Eric Clapton

Earth, Wind and Fire

James Taylor

2001

Aerosmith

Steely Dan

2002

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

2003

AC/DC

2004

Prince

Bob Seger

Steve Winwood

ZZ Top

2005

Buddy Guy

U2

2006

Ozzy Osbourne

Lynyrd Skynyrd

2008

Leonard Cohen

John Mellencamp

2009

Metallica

2011

Alice Cooper

Neil Diamond

2012

Axl Rose

2014

John Oates

Kiss

They are all Hall of Famers, and I can guarantee they all put on better shows indoors.

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My iPod Has Issues – We Almost Went to New Orleans

20 Apr

This weekend, we were supposed to take a field trip to New Orleans. However, the forecast called for a bunch of rain and the threat of flooding. Being in a city that is below sea level with the potential of flooding did not appeal to any of the teachers. For that reason, the field trip was cancelled.

To make up for that, I decided to check the old iPod for songs connected to the city New Orleans and the state of Louisiana. Hopefully, there are enough to make a good list.New Orleans

“City of New Orleans” by Arlo Guthrie

“New Orleans Instrumental No. 1” by R.E.M.

“The Battle of New Orleans” by Johnny Horton

“Saturday Night in Oak Grove, Louisiana” by Tony Joe White

“Lafayette Breakdown” by Cajun Playboys

“New Orleans Ladies” by Louisiana’s LeRoux

“High Sheriff of Calhoun Parrish” by Tony Joe White

“Basin Street Blues” by Louis Prima

“Walking to New Orleans” by Fats Domino

“The House of the Rising Sun” by The Animals

“Sons and Daughters” by The Neville Brothers

“C’est La Vie” by Bob Seger

“Acadie A La Louisiane” by Bruce Daigrepont

“Voodoo Child” by Jimi Hendrix

“Big Bad John” by Jimmy Dean

“Baby Please Don’t Go” by Van Morrison

“Jesus Just Left Chicago (And He’s Bound for New Orleans)” by ZZ Top

“Brown Sugar” by The Rolling Stones

“Mr. Bojangles” by The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band

“South Rampart Street Parade” by Al Hirt and His Band

 

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My iPod Has Issues – WordPress Has Joined the Crazy Club

9 Dec

This morning, I logged into WordPress and found that the format has been changed. Obviously, this is not the first time that changes have taken place, and each time I have to learn how to navigate the system to get where I want.

It an old-fashioned question, but why fix something that is not broken? Ever heard of New Coke?New Coke

Hold on. Scratch that. The classic system I signed up on was not broken. The changes since that time have gradually made the platform worse. With each change, I have figured out how to get back to the classic. One of these days, the classic dashboard is going to be deleted, and the blogging world will stop spinning.

Anyway, the folks at WordPress either need busy work to justify their continued employment, or they have joined the crazy club. My iPod is the only thing crazier than these constant changes. With that in mind, we will go completely off the wall and use this crazy blogging platform to explore my crazy iPod.

Hold on to your minds!

“The Reflex” by Duran Duran

“La Grange” by ZZ Top

“Highway 61 Revisited” by Bob Dylan

“Mack the Knife” by Bobby Darin

“Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head” by Dionne Warwick

“Baby Love” by The Supremes

“Rikki Don’t Lose That Number” by Steely Dan

“The Devil Made Me Do It” by Golden Earring

“In The Garden” by John Prine and Mac Wiseman

“Say You Really Care” by Roscoe Shelton

“Cool” by Lou Busch and His Orchestra

“Big Long Slidin’ Thing” by Dinah Washington

“Bad Businessman” by Squirrel Nut Zippers

“Funk #49” by James Gang

“Coelocanth” by Shriekback

“Luckenbach, Texas” by Waylon Jennings

“Bring It On Home To Me” by Sam Cooke

“Banditos” by The Refreshments

“Hallelujah” by Sweathog

“Escape of Jennie Wiley” by Hylo Brown

“Smoke On The Water” by Deep Purple

“Roane County Prison” by Bill Monroe

“Beau Geste” by Hadley J. Castille

“Everlasting Love” by Robert Knight

“Stagger Lee” by Lloyd Price

Our brief musical interlude is over. Now, WordPress. Fix yourself.

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My iPod Has Issues – 1812? Are You Sure?

2 Jul

Tonight, we are going to hear the Nashville Symphony play a rousing concert of patriotism. All kinds of American composers will be featured, but the finale will be Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture. Unfortunately, that piece of music has nothing to do with American patriotism. A lot of people think it commemorates the War of 1812 between the United States and Great Britain. Actually, it celebrates Russia’s defense against Napoleon in that year.Napoleon

Anyway, it has become a staple for symphonies around the Fourth of July.

Soon, I will have to start getting ready for our sojourn into the big city. With that in mind, I leave you with a set list from my crazy iPod. It may not be patriotic, but it will be rousing.

“It’s Been a Long Time” by New Birth

“Tender Years” by John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band

“Why Can’t He Be You” by Loretta Lynn

“Mandolin Wind” by Rod Stewart

“My Old School” by Steely Dan

“Maybe” by The Chantels

“You’re Gonna Break My Heart Again” by Whitesnake

“Fake Plastic Trees” by Radiohead

“Daddy Frank” by Merle Haggard

“The Monkey Song” by Stacey Mitchhart

“Fantastic Voyage” by Lakeside

“Lyin’ Eyes” by The Eagles

“Looking for a Rainbow” by Chris Rea

“Chains of Love” by Big Joe Turner

“Longhaired Redneck” by David Allan Coe

“Tush” by ZZ Top

“The Last Pale Light in the West” by Ben Nichols

“Pinball Machine” by Lonnie Irving

“Little Red Rooster” by Big Mama Thornton

“Runaway” by Del Shannon

Now, I am to prepare for the symphony and that long-haired music.

 

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My iPod Has Issues – A Messy Mental State

20 Jun

I am seriously having a hard time coming up with something to write about. Wait, that is not accurate. There are plenty of things bouncing around in my mind that I should write about. However, the energy to write about one of them is not with me. This has been an eventful day for not much to have happened, Quite frankly, I am worn out.Worn Out

I should probably not write anything. There is nothing worse than putting up a throwaway post that has no meaning behind it. Despite that, I feel that something needs to be put on the screen, but it is going to be something easy. I thought about doing a Movie Wisdom post about Robert Duvall or Liam Neeson. Then, I decided that was not a good idea. They have both filmed a ton of movies, and looking up movie quotes takes more time than you could imagine.

Instead, we are going to delve into the mind of my iPod. Its mental state is a mess, and, embarrassingly, I let myself get into a mental state throughout the day. Since my iPod and I have a lot in common at the moment, we will shuffle it up and see what is going on in there.

I know we just did one of these, and I apologize for that.

“Da Funk” by Daft Punk

“American Roulette” by Robbie Robertson

“Rubberneckin'” by Elvis Presley

“One” by Three Dog Night

“Your Love Is Where It Ought To Be” by Big Mama Thornton

“Jesus Walks” by Kanye West

“Brown Eyed Handsome Man” by Chuck Berry

“That’ll Be the Day” by Buddy Holly and the Crickets

“Nancy Lee” by Vintage Trouble

“The Unforgiven” by Metallica

“Hit the Road Jack” by Ray Charles

“Slide It In” by Whitesnake

“Bostich” by Yello

“The High and the Mighty” by Dimitri Tiomkin

“Baby Get Lost” by B.B. King

“She’s Just Killing Me” by ZZ Top

“Toccata and Fugue in D Minor” by Johann Sebastian Bach

“How Fast Them Trucks Can Go” by Claude Gray

“She Wears My Ring” by Jimmy Bell

“Help Me” by Joni Mitchell

Yep, the old iPod is pretty messed up.

 

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