"And that’s the theme of our program for tonight.\u00c2\u00a0 It’s so fucking great to be alive is what the theme of our show is tonight boys and girls…<\/p>\n
And I wanna tell ya…<\/p>\n
If there’s anybody here who doesn’t believe _that it is fucking great to be alive I wish they would go now, because this show will bring them down so much!"<\/p>\n
Some of the fun of being a rock fan is quoting the lyrics.\u00c2\u00a0 And some of my absolute favorites come from the Mothers’ "Fillmore East – June 1971".\u00c2\u00a0 You know the record, the one wherein Mark Volman, playing the role of the groupie, asks Howard Kaylan if he\/she can come in the bus.\u00c2\u00a0 And Howard says: "Come in the bus, huh? Tomorrow we’re in ah, let’s see…Tierra del Fuego."\u00c2\u00a0 When I heard that lyric I had no idea where Tierra del Fuego WAS!\u00c2\u00a0 But I’ve used that line ad infinitum in the ensuing thirty years.\u00c2\u00a0 If people ask me where I’m going, where I’m coming from.\u00c2\u00a0 It rarely gets a rise, but it makes me feel good, to be aligned with Frank’s irreverence, his sense of humor.<\/p>\n
But the lines at the top.\u00c2\u00a0 I love them too.\u00c2\u00a0 Whenever I’m revving up, whenever I’m starting to have a good time.\u00c2\u00a0 Like in the old days, when I was two or three beers in on a night of…TESTING THE LIMITS!\u00c2\u00a0 I did find the limits once or twice, but my failure to do so on a regular basis caused me to give up alcohol, because when you fall short, it’s nasty.\u00c2\u00a0 Still, I LOVE that feeling of leaving the trappings behind, getting totally involved in the trip, wanting no one along who doesn’t feel the same way, imploring them to get with the program or GET OFF! I don’t want to be brought down when I’m about to have a peak experience.<\/p>\n
And today was a peak experience.\u00c2\u00a0 Today I felt it was so great to be alive.\u00c2\u00a0 Because of the WEATHER!<\/p>\n
Yes, New York is the greatest city in the world.\u00c2\u00a0 Best museums, everything available.\u00c2\u00a0 But living in L.A…\u00c2\u00a0 It can’t be beat.\u00c2\u00a0 It’s like living in the suburbs with city accoutrements, in a perennially great climate.\u00c2\u00a0 When it’s in the eighties in NOVEMBER, without a cloud in the sky, HOW CAN YOU COMPLAIN??<\/p>\n
And I’m driving down the avenue, listening to the radio, and I hear CSNY’s "Ohio".\u00c2\u00a0 It sounded so GOOD!\u00c2\u00a0 Reminds me I’ve got to get that new Neil Young "Fillmore East" album.\u00c2\u00a0 And Steven Tyler belting "Rag Doll" was pretty great too.\u00c2\u00a0 But "Jamie’s Cryin’" was AWESOME!<\/p>\n
I laughed when I first saw Van Halen.\u00c2\u00a0 Opening for Nils Lofgren at the Santa Monica Civic in March of ’77.\u00c2\u00a0 David Lee Roth reminded me of no one so much as Jim Dandy, and I HATED BLACK OAK ARKANSAS!\u00c2\u00a0 Then the album came out.\u00c2\u00a0 And I heard "Runnin’ With The Devil".\u00c2\u00a0 And I had a hard time squaring my previous perception.<\/p>\n
You couldn’t avoid "Runnin’ With The Devil".\u00c2\u00a0 But what truly stunned me was when Van Halen "II" was released.\u00c2\u00a0 I was in Rhino Records on Wilshire Boulevard, and the asshole clerks, who always found a way to insult my purchases, were going on what a great guitarist Eddie Van Halen was.\u00c2\u00a0 HUH?<\/p>\n
Then came "1984".<\/p>\n
That album was the soundtrack of the summer, even more than "Appetite For Destruction" was a few years later.\u00c2\u00a0 That’s when you knew things were heating up at the Rainbow.\u00c2\u00a0 When they started to spin "1984".\u00c2\u00a0 It wasn’t just "Jump".\u00c2\u00a0 It was "Top Jimmy", about the local performer, and my personal favorite, "I’ll Wait".\u00c2\u00a0 "Jump" had the joy Frank Zappa was talking about above.\u00c2\u00a0 Didn’t matter what you felt about Van Halen before, NOW you couldn’t resist.\u00c2\u00a0 You became a fan.\u00c2\u00a0 Which is why I finally broke down and purchased a Van Halen record.\u00c2\u00a0 And discovered "I’ll Wait".\u00c2\u00a0 Which too had a synth intro, but possessed a late night darkness completely the opposite of "Jump".<\/p>\n
And those were crazy nights.\u00c2\u00a0 With the old, embittered Zeppelin road manager in the corner.\u00c2\u00a0 The girl from "Hustler" waiting to get laid.\u00c2\u00a0 The Scorpions in the circular booth.\u00c2\u00a0 That’s when the heavy metal lifestyle WAS the rock lifestyle.<\/p>\n
And even though I gave up on the Rainbow when I got fired by Andy Taylor, I didn’t give up on Van Halen.\u00c2\u00a0 I bought "5150" the day it came out.\u00c2\u00a0 And played that vinyl to gray.\u00c2\u00a0 That album is FULL of great tracks, but the stellar cut, the one I played ad infinitum, was the second side opener, "Best Of Both Worlds".\u00c2\u00a0 Oh, the DYNAMICS in Eddie’s playing.\u00c2\u00a0 Going from loud to soft, dancing on the fretboard, THIS is the kind of music you play if you’re preparing to have the greatest night of your life.\u00c2\u00a0 And Sammy’s vocal is pure, but the lyrics…are pedestrian.\u00c2\u00a0 David Lee Roth never wrote pedestrian lyrics.<\/p>\n
At this point my favorite Van Halen track is "And The Cradle Will Rock…".\u00c2\u00a0 I got into the song when they put out the first greatest hits album, it finally revealed its greatness.\u00c2\u00a0 Oh, I’d heard it on the radio plenty, but when it came pouring out of the speakers in MY house, when I could play it again and again, I became ENRAPTURED!<\/p>\n
You can play "Metal Machine Music" to separate the men from the boys, but most of the men can’t listen to that either.\u00c2\u00a0 I remember I was on an Internet date, far out in the West Valley, and I cued "And The Cradle Will Rock…" up in my car and the girl covered her ears and FREAKED OUT!<\/p>\n
No go.\u00c2\u00a0 She’s history.<\/p>\n
That sound.\u00c2\u00a0 Like an eruption.\u00c2\u00a0 Like a rocket’s about to go off.\u00c2\u00a0 Like Eddie Van Halen’s guitar is EXPLODING!\u00c2\u00a0 It’s PURE MAGIC as the intro.<\/p>\n
But then Dave’s lyrics are so…OFF THE WALL!\u00c2\u00a0 This is PURE ANGST!\u00c2\u00a0 For every teenage boy sneaking out in the middle of the night.\u00c2\u00a0 And then in the middle of the break, when Dave utters the non sequitur, "Have you seen Junior’s grades…", you’re confronted with the power of rock and roll, the ATTITUDE!<\/p>\n
But "And The Cradle Will Rock…" is not the best Van Halen song.\u00c2\u00a0 That’s either "Runnin’ With The Devil" or "Jamie’s Cryin’".<\/p>\n
I bought the debut at the advent of the CD revolution.\u00c2\u00a0 In 1988, when we were informed that vinyl was dead.\u00c2\u00a0 I first got some of my favorite albums.\u00c2\u00a0 Then, I ventured out, to records I’d never previously purchased.\u00c2\u00a0 Like this.\u00c2\u00a0 I needed to hear "Runnin’ With The Devil" whenever I wanted.\u00c2\u00a0 And I listened to that plenty.\u00c2\u00a0 But the song that I got hooked on was "Jamie’s Cryin’".<\/p>\n
The track begins with a swagger, Alex lays down a quick drum fill and Eddie starts wailing, but with a soulful feeling.\u00c2\u00a0 Then Dave starts to sing.<\/p>\n
She saw the look in his eyes Are you gonna give it up?\u00c2\u00a0 Are you gonna come in the bus, or are you going to retain your dignity?<\/p>\n Jamie decided on the latter.<\/p>\n Now Jamie wouldn’t say all right She had her CHANCE!\u00c2\u00a0 To fuck a rock star.\u00c2\u00a0 She took the risk of feeling creepy at the end, but it would be a story that would stick with her forever, that she could tell.\u00c2\u00a0 But maybe that’s the problem, sex is forever, you never forget.<\/p>\n And then the track takes a wild turn!<\/p>\n Despite the intro, despite Eddie working out, to this point "Jamie’s Cryin’" is not a cut above.\u00c2\u00a0 It’s workmanlike.\u00c2\u00a0 And THEN!<\/p>\n She wants to send him a letter, uh yeah yeah The music takes a left turn, it’s a bridge out of a BEATLE SONG!\u00c2\u00a0 However, twisted via the Sunset Strip.\u00c2\u00a0 And the SENTIMENT!\u00c2\u00a0 Jamie missed her one big chance.\u00c2\u00a0 She’s got REGRETS!\u00c2\u00a0 She wants another CHANCE!<\/p>\n She’s gonna fire off a letter to…whom?\u00c2\u00a0 The address on the back of the album?\u00c2\u00a0 Is it ever going to reach him?\u00c2\u00a0 Is he going to REMEMBER HER?\u00c2\u00a0 Did he feel what she did?<\/p>\n Well, she can’t appear desperate, so she’s gonna be cavalier.\u00c2\u00a0 Not here’s my number and I’m available at these hours and don’t call when my mom is home, but offhanded, GIMME A CALL SOMETIME!\u00c2\u00a0 I can live without it, but if you reach out I’ll suck your dick, I’ll let you tie me up in a knot, I’ll be your slave, GIVE ME A RING!<\/p>\n Yes, you can sense the desperation.\u00c2\u00a0 She’s trying to retain her dignity.\u00c2\u00a0 But does she WANT TO??<\/p>\n But what puts this bridge, this interlude, over the top, is the BACKGROUND VOCALS!\u00c2\u00a0 Which almost sound stupid in a heavy song like this, they’re something out of a bubble gum record, the kind producer Ted Templeman used to cut when he was a singer, and they’re far from pure.\u00c2\u00a0 But they’re the ESSENCE OF ROCK AND ROLL!\u00c2\u00a0 Because you feel the joy in the performance, you can’t help but JOIN IN!<\/p>\n I’m driving in my car, alone, and I raise my head and sing GIMME A CALL SOMETIME!\u00c2\u00a0 And then smile and crack up.\u00c2\u00a0 And wait for my next cue.<\/p>\n Now Jamie’s been in love before (ahh-ahh) Yup, do your part.\u00c2\u00a0 Sing the "ahhs", be part of the Greek chorus.<\/p>\n Yes, this ain’t no schoolgirl crush.\u00c2\u00a0 No summer camp fling.\u00c2\u00a0 This is beyond that.\u00c2\u00a0 She put on her halter top, straightened her hair and caked on makeup.\u00c2\u00a0 She was out looking for it.\u00c2\u00a0 Not exactly sure what it was until she almost got it.<\/p>\n It’s not supposed to be this way.\u00c2\u00a0 You’re supposed to get to know them first.\u00c2\u00a0 Then again, she DOES know him, she’s listened to his record over and over.\u00c2\u00a0 But her father warned her not to give it up too soon.\u00c2\u00a0 What would HE think.\u00c2\u00a0 Does this make her a slut?\u00c2\u00a0 But the feeling down there, the juices are flowing, it’s taking all of her power to hold back.\u00c2\u00a0 WHY?<\/p>\n And that’s what happened in the dawning days of ’64.\u00c2\u00a0 All across America kids who’d been doing what they were told, who were into the swim team and arts and crafts, TOSSED IT!\u00c2\u00a0 To FOLLOW THE BEATLES!<\/p>\n Without the Beatles, there’s no Van Halen.\u00c2\u00a0 There’s no testing limits.\u00c2\u00a0 There’s none of this great rock and roll.<\/p>\n The music got heavier.\u00c2\u00a0 Sabbath was even darker than Zeppelin.\u00c2\u00a0 But then the sound was filtered through a Southern California ethos, and we got Van Halen.<\/p>\n It might seem stupid to you, but if it does, you’ve never let go.\u00c2\u00a0 You’re too inured, too INVESTED in who you are, in what you represent.\u00c2\u00a0 You’ve got to be dignified.\u00c2\u00a0 Where you went to school is important.\u00c2\u00a0 You’ve got to have the right clothes.\u00c2\u00a0 You’ve got to be seen at the right parties.\u00c2\u00a0 Whereas Van Halen is saying FUCK THAT!\u00c2\u00a0 Come join the ROCK AND ROLL CIRCUS!<\/p>\n Have some fun.<\/p>\n Or you could end up like Jamie, crying in her room, thinking about what could have been.<\/p>\n <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" "And that’s the theme of our program for tonight.\u00c2\u00a0 It’s so fucking great to be alive is what the theme of our show is tonight boys and girls… And I wanna tell ya… If there’s anybody here who doesn’t believe _that it is fucking great to be alive I wish they would go now, because 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N’ she knew better
He wanted her tonight
And it was now or never<\/em><\/p>\n
She knew he’d forget her
N’ so they said ah-good night
Oh, and now he’s gone forever<\/em><\/p>\n
Uh, just to try to make herself feel better
It said ‘Gimme (Gimme a call sometime)’
But she knows what that’ll get her<\/em><\/p>\n
And she knows what love is for (ahh-ahh)
It should mean a little, a little more (ahh-ahh)
Than one night stands<\/em><\/p>\n