Freedom Fest: 250

July 4th is coming up in a matter of days. Do you plan to risk your appendages by shooting off fireworks? I mean, it’s an American tradition, right? I have already purchased a few myself and have multiple retaliatory strike points mapped out to deal with my neighbors. (Not kidding.) This year I bought a few Roman candles — that’s a first for me. Otherwise, I have the usual lot of whistling chasers, bottle rockets, and firecrackers. I think some smoke bombs could also provide some strategic cover and flying saucers are always fun, too.

This year is America’s “Quarter Millennium”– basically 250 years since the Declaration of Independence was signed. There are a couple of fancier terms for it, but I’m gonna go ahead and leave them to tea time conversationalists who stick out their pinky fingers. As an American, I say, “Pass the burgers and the brews!” I’ve been thinking about a patriotic song to share and have decided on The Steve Miller Band’s “Living in the U.S.A.” from the band’s 1968 album “Sailor.” Hopefully this visually striking video won’t get blocked.

As far as holidays go, the 4th of July is my kind of party — explosives and alcohol. What could possibly go wrong? During America’s Bicentennial in 1976, I was in kindergarten and we had a parade scheduled towards the end of the school year. (I’m pretty sure the “parade” was a walk around the block in our colonial clothing to entertain our neighbors.) The kid who was supposed to “be” George Washington didn’t show on the day of the parade and I got to do lead the parade instead. I should have led a rebellion against something, but I didn’t. Thank you, David Bowie.

Another thing about the 4th of July…I’ll be the guy wearing the “Defiant Since 1776” t-shirt. I’m pretty sure I’ve seen one with Uncle Sam doing a slam dunk over a redcoat as well.

If I had to recommend a film for the occasion, “The Patriot” with Mel Gibson is a good one. However, if you watch the TV version, they’ll cut some scenes for commercials. What could possibly be more American than that?

Till next time, keep your Mojo on the Horizon!

Doomsday Dream & The Del-Vikings

Dreams are on my mind today. Why? Well I had a bizarre one last night. I think there were a couple of factors that went into its formulation. First, I went to a work event which was a couple of hours away. On the way back I got into a lengthy conversation with a new coworker. It turns out we have some mutual acquaintances from college, etc. One of them was a guy whom he described as “an oddball who should have been born twenty years before his time.” I immediately remembered him because this guy used to work at the student union’s greasy spoon. I hadn’t heard this guy’s name in years, but I remember he used to request one song regularly on our now-defunct college radio station. The song is called “Come Go with Me” by a 1950s doo-wop group called The Del-Vikings.

I never thought of The Del-Vikings as doomsday music, but I mowed the grass last night before some torrential rain, straight line winds, and Law & Order reruns. Put those together and it churned out a doomsday dream. I can’t remember everything but somehow I think I was being chased by The Ducky Boys street gang on a college campus. My old college roommate was involved and campus security was trying to quell an angry mob of parents for some reason. I think things escalated and shots were being fired. Before the dream/nightmare concluded, Lt. Anita Van Buren and Detective Lenny Briscoe from Law & Order made appearances. (I’m pretty sure it was a sequel episode like the El Camino Breaking Bad thing. Oh, then the earth had to be flooded because things just weren’t working out.)

So what is the moral of the story? I think it’s that I should avoid drinking the tasty lemon-lime soda pop Starry before bed.

Till next time, keep your Mojo on the Horizon!

2026 Sneak Preview

It’s hard to believe another year has come and gone, but that’s life! I keep some notes on my ideas for future blog entries, but I tend to alter the list according to inspiration and/or happenstance. Here are a few names/songs/movies/things you may see during the upcoming year:

-Musically speaking, what do O.J. Simpson and Jim Varney have in common?

– Who was the band Moloch and which song of theirs is blues-a-riffic?

– How come I haven’t covered any Czech stop-motion animation films yet?

– Which song by The Black Keys has been covered by a prominent Louisiana guitarist and a 1970s glam rock band?

– -Which made for TV film finally made it to free streaming so tightwads like me can watch it? Also, which character in the film resembles NHL Hall of Famer Chris Chelios?

-How come I keep putting off blogging about that one soundtrack song?

-What is the advantage of the second comer and how does it apply to films I watch?

-Which song would I remove from my favorite Beatles album “Revolver”?

-Which frozen snack has recently received my seal of approval?

If you know any of the answers, kudos to you, but please keep it to yourself for now. All will be revealed in anything but an organized fashion. Happy New Year!

Till next time keep your Mojo on the Horizon!

White Chocolate Christmas

I haven’t blogged about food in a while, but I feel compelled to share my favorite Christmastime snack. The beauty of it is, there’s no recipe involved. It’s “store bought.” (GASP!) This treat is for those of us whose taste buds favor both the creamy and the extremely sweet. The official name of the tasty treat is OREO White Fudge Covered Chocolate Sandwich Cookies. If you haven’t seen them in the grocery store, they are just what it sounds like. The beauty of these treats is they are thicker and sweeter than your regular Oreo cookies. Think of it as more sweet bang for your buck. I’m sharing this rocking version of “White Christmas” by Bad Religion in this treat’s honor.

I wonder what Irving Berlin would think. Here’s another take on “White Christmas” by The Drifters.

Anyway, I looked up a little information on white chocolate because I’m a big fan. According to Wikipedia, it’s one of the big three traditional types of chocolate. The other two are milk and dark. Fans of white chocolate enjoy its tangy and creamy taste. Haters think it’s bland. (Wikipedia also used the word “cloying” which means excessively sweet.)

As for the history of white chocolate, it was developed in Switzerland and has a history with the Swiss Army. (In terms of inventions, this trumps the Swiss Army Knife in my book.) Nestle makes a confection called Milkybar (or Galak in other parts of the world) which has been around since the 1930s.

What else can I say about OREO White Fudge Covered Chocolate Sandwich Cookies? Perhaps they are used as hockey pucks in an alternate universe. That’s based solely on the shape, not the sweet, creamy taste.

Till next time, keep your Mojo on the Horizon!

Great Whitford’s Ghost!

Once in a while you find a song whose title isn’t really a prominent part of the lyrics. Led Zeppelin has a few songs, if not several, which fall into this category: “Black Dog”, “Over the Hills and Far Away”, etc. The song which popped into my head recently isn’t by Led Zeppelin, but rather by Aerosmith. This one has a hypnotic bass and guitar riff and is called “Last Child.” It was written by band members Steven Tyler and Brad Whitford.

Whitford might be thought of as “the other guitarist in Aerosmith” or “the one who isn’t Joe Perry”. Kudos to Brad Whitford on this one. While Joe Perry and Steven Tyler are the band’s primary songwriters he definitely came up with a good one here.

There aren’t a ton of covers of this song, but there’s one by Canadian guitarist Pat Travers. I always think of Travers as the “Boom Boom (Out Go the Lights)” Guy. I like his take on this one.

You can find another Travers’ version with drummer Carmine Appice. Another noteworthy version appeared on “Not the Same Old Song and Dance – Tribute to Aerosmith”.

This version featured singer Mickey Thomas, guitarist Earl Slick, bassist Nathan East, and drummer Stephen Ferrone.

What else can you say about “Last Child”? The intro is an interesting contrast to the rest of the riff-driven song. You have some off the wall lyrics including mentions of the meadow vs. the ghetto, J. Paul Getty, and of course South Tallahassee.

Till next time keep your Mojo on the Horizon!

There’s a Place…

I’ve seen a couple episodes of the American TV show “Mysteries of the Abandoned” and I have to say… it’s my kind of party. I can’t tell you exactly how many episodes I’ve seen, but the one I happened to see today has a few freaky structures which really grabbed my attention. The first one is located in Nekoma, North Dakota and is officially known as the “Stanley R. Mickelsen Safeguard Complex”, but I think of it as the “Nekoma Pyramid.”

Apparently, it was created for use as a missile launch site. I wonder if the Egyptians had the same vision with their pyramids or of this is purely a ‘Murican concept. Also, would it be considered a “Safe Space” nowadays? It has a couple of big circles on it, which I believe were some sort of radar devices.

The second set of structures is a really interesting looking leftover from World War II. The Maunsell Forts were built in England’s Thames and Mersey Rivers. and are also known as “Red Sands Sea Forts” .

In my opinion, they look like something out of a monster or sci-fi movie…maybe War of the Worlds? There are army and navy style forts. The army styled forts are the ones pictured here which look like they could walk off at any minute. Years later they were used by pirate radio stations in the U.K., which only added to their cool history. I wonder how much longer they will keep standing…

Till next time, keep your Mojo on the Horizon!

Dark Night, Devil’s Footprints

I’ve been thinking about what to post for Halloween this year and found an interesting intersection of music, film, and folklore. It all started when I decided to watch the 2014 film called “Dark Was the Night”, starring Kevin Durand and Lukas Haas. (Durand is the 6’6″ dude who’s been in films like “Mystery, Alaska” and the superb remake of “3:10 to Yuma.” Haas is best known for playing the Amish kid with the enormous ears in 1985’s “Witness.”)

The plot line reminds me of “Predator” — a mysterious creature starts picking off people and animals near a small village, but no one can locate it or figure it out. The interesting part to me is the film’s origin. In 1855, mysterious cloven hoof footprints appeared in the new fallen snow near south Devon, England. What’s even more mysterious is they went on for like 50 to 100 miles. Where was Robert Stack when you needed him?

Another interesting thing is the film’s title is taken from an old gospel blues tune by Blind Willie Johnson. Gov’t Mule released their take on the song “Dark Was the Night, Cold Was the Ground” around 2017.

Slide guitar whiz and all around musician’s musician Ry Cooder also has a pretty wicked instrumental take on the tune.

No one seems to know who or what left the now infamous devil’s footprints, but theories include everything from hopping mice, to kangaroos, to a badger. Personally, I think the devil was just out looking for some great slide guitar music.

Till next time, keep your Mojo on the Horizon!

Broken Hearted Zeppelin

Do you remember where and when you first HEARD the music of Led Zeppelin? I remember seeing a poster or tapestry of the band at my cousins’ house before I actually heard them. (The red double neck Gibson guitar was a memorable image. ) My freshman year in high school, there were two guys in my class who were both absolutely fanatical about the band. As a matter of fact, I can remember walking into the school building first thing one morning, and one of those guys was singing/humming/air guitaring the riff to a song off Led Zeppelin II — “Heartbreaker.”

If you think I jumped on the bandwagon because of them, you’re wrong. I was actually quite put off by their loyalty. (For the record, one guy was kind of a big oaf who was into photography and the other had a sort denture-ish lisp. I could duplicate it really well.) In any event, I was just getting into music at that age and bought Led Zeppelin II (AKA “The Brown Bomber”) and it ROCKED. LZ II is up there on my favorite albums list. My college roommate can tell you I played that “Heartbreaker” guitar riff a lot when I was first getting started.

I read a quote from LZ lead singer Robert Plant about how “lyrics weren’t his strong suit” or something like that. I suppose some are better than others, but I find myself quoting one line from “Heartbreaker” a lot.

Then the power chords from the song kick in after that line. To me, the song is epic. Jimmy Page’s riff and solo, Plant’s wailing vocals, and the rhythm section of Jones and Bonham. All 4 band members are credited with writing thise one.

The A.O.R. (Album Oriented Rock) station I grew up listening to played this and always followed it the “Living Loving Maid (She’s Just a Woman)”, but I think “Heartbreaker” stands on it own. Also, I owned the CASSETTE version of LZ II and it didn’t segue into that song.

Till next time, keep your Mojo on the Horizon!

Undies Under Lockdown?

Today I decided to head out to my local Target store to replenish my supply of a fairly personal item….what the Germans call “unterwäsche” and the Japanese call “shitagi.” That’s right, I’m talking about underwear. I normally purchase said items online, but I had my sight set on a certain brand/model if you will and I decided to run with it. I found the men’s department pretty quickly, but was taken aback when I came to find most of the men’s undies…were…locked in glass cabinets?? I think this is as close to an out of body experience that I’ve ever had. I could actually see myself standing there with a puzzled look on my face, scanning the store horizon for some sort of logical conclusion. Is this some sort of social experiment? I felt like a “rat in a cage” Thank you, Smashing Pumpkins. The song is actually called “Bullet with Butterfly Wings.”

I thought the Target marketing big wigs had to be watching on camera somewhere, right? After a few seconds of despair I came to the conclusion that underwear theft must be on the rise. It still left me feeling just a tad “Paranoid.” Thank you, Black Sabbath.

Here’s the worst part. If you actually wanted to make a purchase, you were supposed to hit the customer needs assistance button. I guess then a Target team member or perhaps an entire squad of them would descend upon you and the ultra valuable undies.

Squad Leader: Sir, I’m gonna need you to step away from the Hanes…slowly.

Author: Uhhhmmmm…..what??

No thank you. I’d rather just grab and go, but that’s me. Fortunately, there were a few unlocked undies in my size so I beat a hasty retreat. I have made many department store runs in my day, but this was a memorable one. Also, the self check out was closed so I had to share my selection with the cashier. Oh, the HUMANITY!

Till next time, keep your Mojo on the Horizon!

Nothin’ Shakin’

Have you ever heard about a musician or actor “reinventing himself”? I can remember hearing that during various rock n roll documentaries. It seems to me some rock critic said David Bowie was the king of it or something like that. You know, he’s Ziggy Stardust, then the Thin White Duke, Major Tom, and then married to a supermodel, etc. He also had his whole Bing Crosby Christmas thing, too.

In any event, the specific case of reinvention I want to mention involves The Beatles. In 1994, “Live at the BBC” was released. I have no idea who was involved with the decision to release or compile these recordings from 1963, but it’s an interesting listen. There are plenty of cover songs on this album of, yes, live recordings at the BBC. I have always enjoyed “Nothin’ Shakin’ (But the Leaves on the Trees)” with George Harrison on lead vocals.

I think this is a fun sort of rockabilly, teenybopper song. You know, the whole gang is meeting at Rockin’ Joe’s place, etc. Some catchy guitar on it, too. Obviously The Beatles weren’t the ones reinventing themselves in 1994, but it was like another chapter in their big book of music.

The original recording of the tune was written and recorded by Eddie Fontaine.

Fontaine shares writing credits with Cirino Colacrai, Diane Lampert and John Gluck, Jr. By the way, another Liverpudlian rocker named Billy Fury also recorded the song. Then, in 1974, Billy “Crash” Craddock recorded his take on it.

According to Wikipedia, Craddock’s version went to Number One in Canada and “Live at the BBC” did as well. Here is my alternate blog graphic, which was inspired by the credits to “Barnaby Jones.”

Till next time, keep your Mojo on the Horizon!