The Great seventies countdown week three

The curtain slowly rises, but this time the host stays off stage, allowing the silence to build the drama before the a cappella first lines of the song shatters the silence and the week’s countdown begins.

280- Bohemian Rhapsody, Queen, #1 (1975); #2 (1992).  From the well-named lp A Night At The Opera- which like the following A Day At The Races was taken from a Marx Brothers movie.  Many 70s lists have this and Stairway To Heaven 1-2, but this is sufficient for me.  Holds up remarkably well, especially after watching that horrific William Shatner version.

279- T.S.O.P., M.F.S.B., 1974, #1.  This great instrumental, aka the Soul Train theme, was more fully The Sound Of Philadelphia by Mother Father Sister Brother.  And included the Three Degrees at the end with the “Let’s get it on/ it’s time to get down”.

278- So Fine, Electric Light Orchestra, 1976, unreleased.  Well, you knew I wouldn’t stay on the #1s forever.  The lead cut on the second side of A New World Record which got some play on AOR stations.

277- Albert Flasher, The Guess Who, 1971, #29.  Remember listening to this one riding the bus.  “It was a cold, snowy, rainy Afternoon and we were sitting there in high school, my school…”

1979, #41,

276- Good Times Roll, the Cars, 1979, #41.  The Cars first album, which we talked about last time, was full of great cuts.

275- Waterloo, ABBA, 1974, #6.  I actually got hearing this song after SOS, after it charted.  Bought the cassette at the late Smokey Montgomery's place.  What a character!

274- Come And Get Your Love, Redbone,  1974, #5.  Hail!  Hail!

273- Like A Hurricane, Neil Young, 1977, non-charting.  When he stays out of the political realm, Neil is simply the best.



272- Carry On Wayward Son, Kansas, 1977, #11.  A late friend of mine had this as his favorite song.  He was diabetic, blind, and saved, and knowing him made this song much more poignant.  For you, Mr. Woods.

271- You And Me, Alice Cooper, 1977, #9.  Suddenly, we all figured out Alice could SING, too.

270- That Lady, Isley Brothers,  1973, #6.  Another great guitar riff from Ernie Isley.

269- You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet, Bachman-Turner Overdrive, 1974, #1.  Believe it or not, another song I only heard after it had charted.  For a few years between my sister getting married and my first clock radio (and BFF back then), my music diet must have just been the school bus.

268- Rock'n'roll Lullabye, BJ Thomas, 1972, #15.  A wistful song featuring the Blossoms (Darlene Love's outfit) and Duane Eddy on guitar.

267- Rainy Days And Mondays, the Carpenters, 1971, #2.  We'll be seeing a LOT of Karen and Richard on this list.

266- On And On, Stephen Bishop, 1977, #11.  One of my biggest "teenage angst" hits.  I practically had, "And I smile when I feel like dyin' " tattooed on my butt.

265- Take It To The Limit, Eagles, 1975, #4.  Hard to believe that this most popular of early Eagles hits never took #1.  It sure did around here.

264- You've Got A Friend, Carole King, unreleased, 1971.  You'll also be seeing more from Carole's incredible album Tapestry on this chart.  Another of my big early crushes.

263- American Girl, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, 1977, #109.  A classic from the band's debut album.  Too bad nobody knew them then.



262- I Never Cry, Alice Cooper, 1976, #12.  One of the most powerful choruses to a ballad of all time.

261- Evil Woman, Electric Light Orchestra, 1975, #10.  Sad to admit, but when this first came out, my stupid little kid ears heard "Blueberry Woman."  Yeah, I shake my head too.

The a cappella trail off of Evil Woman fades and the lights come up enough for the host to make his first appearance of the day.  He merely bows, presses a button on a remote that queues up one last video, and walks away.

Nativity scene epilogue

Being the fair person that I am, I posted my "friendly warning " form last time on Freedom From Religion's facebook page.  Of course I got the usual explanations that I'm the one who misreads the US Constitution, the typical list of insults that these so-called intellectuals stoop to, the same old attacks on FoxNews, who provided the story link, one "and what's up with Nixon?"  But the one I really loved was this from Miss Julie Merrill-Quinn:


""frindly advise!" The only thing that link got right is SCIENTIFICALLY a tomato is a fruit."

But at least I can spell "friendly", eh?  Still, Julie, you'll be happy to know that your post has caused me to formulate Martin Laws #s 5 and 6.

#5- Never debate with people who would put a tomato in a fruit salad (didn't think I'd catch that, did you?)

#6- I have no need to celebrate reason- I have a REASON to CELEBRATE!

Step into my time machine week 86

December 16th, 1976 wasn’t a big news day;  the closest thing to a news item I found was that George the Goose died this day at the age of 49 years and 8 months.  I guess that stunning Jimmy Carter election win took the sails out of all of us, huh?  So let’s move right on to the good stuff- the music, dude- and find the answers to the burning questions:  Who was the Levon in Levon , and what was the black dog in Black Dog?  Also, Elvis returns to the hot 100, and Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov enters the top 40- sort of.  All this and we connect Rod Stewart to the evil Jafar!  So hop in and let’s go.

The hot hundred features 8 debuts, and we feature 3 of them.  Coming in at 90 is, da da DAAA! The King, with Moody Blue.  Up at 78 we have Kiss with one of their most underrated songs, Hard Luck Woman.  And breaking in at 72 is the Steve Miller Band with Fly Like An Eagle.

Those songs are thirty-five years old this week.  Turning 40 are a trio of tunes, starting with the T-Rex classic Bang A Gong (Get It On).  Also turning forty is Elton John’s Levon, which was not based on the man, but was named for The Band drummer Levon  Helm, who was the vocalist on The Weight.  And third of the 40-yr-olds is Led Zeppelin’s Black Dog.  The title of one of the group’s most recognizable songs had nothing to do with the song; apparently a black lab had been wandering around the recording studio when this song commenced.
Turning 45 are the Four Tops’ Standing In The Shadows Of Love; the Lovin’ Spoonful’s Nashville Cats, which is what I thought the NFL’s Tennessee Titans should have been named; the Electric Prunes’ I Had Too Much To Dream Last Night; and Tom Jones’ The Green Green Grass Of Home.  And turning the big 5-0 this week is Dion’s The Wanderer.  Blow out the candles…

The big dropper this week was Fernando, slipping 14 to #41.  The big mover awaits yet again in the top 40.  And that brings us to #49 and the Where Are They Now segment.  Here we find the lovely and talented Ann and Nancy Wilson, and the boys that make them Heart, with the falling Magic Man.

Heart is one of our most active featurees, having released Red Velvet Car just last summer.  The lp spawned the singles Hey You, which hit #26 on the AC chart, and WTF, which hit #16 on the mainstream rock chart.  They also have toured North America in the last year.  Separately, Ann is coming off a 2006 solo release called Hope And Glory, and is raising two adopted children- Marie, adopted in 1991, and Dustin, 1996.  Nancy’s 24-year marriage to director Cameron Crowe ended in divorce last year.  She had helped him with the scores to many of his movies, including Jerry McGuire.

A half dozen songs enter the top 40 this week.  Up 7 to #40 this week is Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Free Bird.  Our big mover jumps 18 to come in at 39- The Eagles’ New Kid In Town.  Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov made the famous piece Flight Of The Bumblebee; Walter Murphy made it disco in his hit Flight 76, which comes in at 38, up 3.  George Harrison enters at 37, up 8, with This Song;  The Jacksons move up 15 to 36 with Enjoy Yourself; and the high debut, up 9 to 34, is Manfred Mann’s Earth Band featuring the vocals of Chris Thompson, and Blinded By The Light.

This week on the salute to yesteryear’s #1s, I found a song called Elmer’s Tune on the chart tops this week in 1941.  Given the era I was born to, my first thought was, this must be a looney tunes tribute to Elmer Fudd- though I must admit, that’s not the kind of theme I have ever heard from a Glenn Miller single.
In fact, the Elmer in question was Elmer Albrecht, who wasn’t so much a musician, but a mortician who used to wander over to Chicago’s Aragon Ballroom to play their piano on lunch break.   One day, the tune he was playing was heard by bandleader Dick Jurgens, and the rest soon became history.  After Jurgens had a hit with an instrumental version, Glenn Miller, as he often did to Jurgens, swooped in, had Sammy Gallop put words to it, and voila! a #1 hit.  And BTW,  while it wasn’t about the esteemed Mr. Fudd, it would have been a neat theme song for his live variety show.

Two songs enter the top ten, two drop out.  The fallen are Nadia’s Theme (7 to 15) and I Never Cry (9 to 17). 
Holding at #10 this week is England Dan and John Ford Coley with Nights Are Forever Without You.  Coming in at #9, up 2, is Elton John’s Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word.  At #8, up 4, is the legendary Engelebert Humperdink  with After The Loving.  Muskrat Love does the jitterbug down 5 to #7.  Burton Cummings stands tall at #6, up 2, with, er, Stand Tall.  The Bee Gees drop 2 to #5 with Love So Right.  Marilyn and Billy move up 2 to #4 with You Don’t Have To Be A Star.  The Rubberband Man moves 1 to #3 for the Spinners.  Leo Sayer pulls into the runnerup spot after a 3-notch climb with You Make Me Feel Like Dancing.  Which brings us to our third week #1 song and six degrees contestant.

One of the several remakes of Rod Stewart’s Tonight’s The Night was done by disco diva Linda Clifford, who is best known for her remake of the old musical number If My Friends Could See Me Now.  From the musical Sweet Charity, it was sung in the original musical by Gwen Virdon.  This recording was used in the original pilot (though excised for all subsequent episodes ) of the Nanny.  It was replaced there by the theme The Nanny Named Fran, written and performed by the sister team of Ann Hampton and Liz Calloway.  And Liz is an experienced “cartoon” singing voice, including being Princess Jasmine, singing Forget About Love in the movie The Return Of Jafar.

And Bob’s your uncle for another week.  Be sure to tune in Saturday for the seventies countdown, and return here next week for more tunage from the Jimmy Carter depression era.

A Poem Of Regret

Fight the battle

Fail the test

Turn your cheek,

and lose the rest

Oh, so offended

by the hard Scandilon

so bring down the display

and worship reason

And oft I forget,

in the heat of debate,

that I’ve the more reason

to celebrate

And this battle on earth means nothing

yet still do I look and see something

as You are mocked,

with nothing to say

blind man takes his soul

and throws it away

Frustrated by walls

they’ll ne’er tear down

I snap at their bait

I stand to showdown

And struggle to fight,

as Stephen has won,

with, “Forgive them, they

know not what they’ve done”

And sometimes I feel so lost from the race

faced with the anger, the frustration, the waste

and I call You out

to avenge Your Sweet Name

to open their eyes,

else end all the games

And sometimes I wish

Your Judgment would come

and pray for the day

when pain is done

And see but a world

where nobody cares,

praying, reap in the harvest

and burn up the tares.

But Your Heart calls out, I’ve still more to love

Come, comfort yourself in your share of My love.

Regret greets my pleas

and shame my prayers,

crying, reap in the harvest, oh Lord,

and burn up the tares.

Nativity Scene part II

FoxNews has an update on the subject of Athens, TX, and the Freedom From Religion group fighting over the town's nativity scene.  Here is a link to the full story.  What I would call your attention to are two sections.

#1-

Co-founder Annie Laurie Gaylor says the group received a complaint from one of its members in Athens. She says since the display is right in front of the courthouse, the nativity scene makes it look like county government is endorsing Christianity.

“This excludes non-Christians and non-believers who are 17 percent of the U.S. population," Gaylor said. "So it's necessary there should be changes.”

But, Laurie, you might NOT be 17% of the population of Athens, TX.  And I don't see where the 17% should be able to tell the 83% what to do.

#2-

The Freedom From Religion Foundation is not just asking that the nativity scene come down. It’s now also asking that a banner go up.

“One of the commissioners said to the effect that other people could put up their views,” Gaylor said. So one group member thought, why not put up a banner?

If you thought the nativity was controversial, wait until you see the banner. It reads: “At this season of the Winter Solstice, let reason prevail. There are no gods, no devils, no angels, no heaven or hell. There is only our natural world. Religion is but myth & superstition that hardens hearts & enslaves minds.”

Laurie, FFR, let me tell you something.  If you put a banner like that within five miles of my home, I would take it, burn it, take a whizz on the ashes, seal it in a non-biodegradable package, and abandon it to the nearest dump.  Just a friendly warning.

Athens, Texas, You ROCK!!!

Nativity Scenes

Since this seems to be the hot topic of the season, as usual, and with a monstrous week of shipping, OT, and probably not a lot of hanging out here (at least coherently), I thought I'd briefly hit on the subject.

Just got done with a "discussion" on the subject on another blog.  Actually, the whole thing started with the host posting a link to a response to Rick Perry's blundering campaign ad about "we can have gays in the military but can't have God in school, etc.  Another fellow chimed in after me, and brought up at the end of his post the nativity topic.  I stated:

" I think that when a town OVERWHELMINGLY wants a nativity scene on the courthouse lawn, they have a right to do so. If a minority doesn't like it, they have the right to do just as you did- drive on by. This is supposed to by a government of the PEOPLE (i.e. the majority of the people) where the rights of minorities are RESPECTED- but not minority rule. I've had atheist pseudo intellectuals tell me that the government is there TO elevate the minority in the face of the majority (not surprising seeing the side of the fence they're on), and I will disagree to my last ounce of freedom with that."

I thought I made my point clear- if a town is united in its desire for a Nativity, they should have that right.  Here's the responses I got.

The Toledo phone book yellow pages lists churches on EIGHT PAGES! Toledo has HUNDREDS of Christian churches! And you still need a religious display on government property to affirm your faith? How profoundly sad!
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My faith does not require religious scenes to be constructed on public lands. I feel sorry for you that your faith is so weak. There are not enopugh Christian churches to affirm your belief. That is profoundly sad!
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Religious displays belong at religious facilities, not on government land. Period.

So, I am profoundly sad and weak in faith because I think that a town that agrees to put up a scene should not be deterred because of one or two objectors.  There are plenty of things I object to that I have to drive by, and I don't call the Wisconsin chapter of Freedom From Spinach (for example) and get them to sue the crap out of the 95% of the populace that doesn't object.  Because it's NONE OF THEIR BUSINESS and I can always drive on by.  So here are my clear and concise opinions on the topic.

#1. In most towns, There shouldn't be any problem with NOT putting a scene on Gov't property.  After all, The Great Commission doesn't get accomplished by nativity scenes.  Mind you, this does NOT apply to football games and high school graduations.  I don't care how you want to slice it, those are extracurricular activities, and if a graduate wants to speak from the heart, that should be allowed.  Faith in God does NOT abolish free speech.  But as far as displays, etc, I'm easy.

#2.  HOWEVER, if a town has a long standing tradition of Christmas displays on public ground, I do not think that it is fair, reasonable, or constitutional to abridge that right in the name of a handful who think their eyes will dissolve or whatever.  If they want to fight it, have a referendum.  If the objectors total, say 20%- and NONE of them are protestors from out of the community- then, move it.  Otherwise, get a life.

#3.  We must keep in mind that there is a difference between the casual skeptic or agnostic, or even the honest atheist, and the evangelical atheists who run things like Freedom From Religion, who will give you all sorts of excuses like, "All the bad things, wars, persecutions, etc., are because of religion, and I want to eliminate it altogether so that my children can build a utopia a la John Lennon".  Never you mind that there is a big difference between faith and religion (which I've argued with these people a million times and they REFUSE to acknowledge it), nor how the world has changed- and not for the better- since God was "taken out" of our schools.  You cannot argue with this mindset, because they have invested too much of themselves in denying God to cover their own sinful lifestyles.

 Sometimes, you HAVE to stand up and fight;  but I have to agree with my opponant on the other blog- if you've got churches galore within a stone's throw of the court house, this is probably not a fight worth picking.  Too bad he was too busy calling me "profoundly sad" to see that agreement.  But that wass because, despite the other things he said in his posts, the honest truth of his point was, he wants NO God on NO government property whatsoever.

I often think of how these people will fare before God at the Final Judgement.  Sometimes I think it would be entertaining to watch them stand before God and try to convince Him that He doesn't exist.  But then I stop myself and say, remember what happens to the loser in that argument.  And that, my friend, is profoundly sad.

Playoffs? You wanna... oh, I did this bit

But anyway, since the Monday night game is meaningless, I can tell you tonight who will be going to NHFFL Super Bowl XV.  In the late afternoon games, Mason Crosby and Mike tolbert led a 22 point comeback to give the Sunset Rangers a 39-36 win over the Aguas and their very first Super Bowl berth- and their first win in 9 tries in the playoffs!  And it looked like their opponant would be the first year Porkchops, who had a 44-41 lead with Hakeem Nicks in hand against the B2s and Eli Manning.  It really looked that way with Nicks steaming towards the end zone late in the first quarter- but he got stopped at the 2.  Eli threw 2 TD passes- neither to Nicks- to give the B2s a 47-44 win and their third trip to the Big Game.

The rosters of our SB XV contenders are as follows:

Rangers
QB Tom Brady
RBS Matt Forte (out), Darren McFadden (supposedly back in), and Mike Tolbert.
WRS AJ Green, Dwayne Bowe, Eric Decker, and Denarius Moore (also supposedly back).
K Mason Crosby
D Baltimore
RES Andy Dalton, Josh Scobie, and Detroit.

B2s
QB Eli Manning
RBS Arian Foster, Daniel Thomas, and Darren Sproules.
WRS Roddy White, Wes Welker, Brandon Marshall, and Marcus Colston.
K Dan Carpenter
D Chicago
RES Colt McCoy, Jay Feely, and Cleveland.

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In the meantime, I went 3-1 this week in the FCS playoffs, bringing my record to 12-4. My only miss was Lehigh's punchless performance against North Dakota St.  Give me Montana in the upset over unbeaten Sam Houston St.,  and NDST over Georgia Southern.  One thing I do want to point out before I go- watch this amazing catch by Montana St against Sam Houston Saturday.



And for all that, all MST got for his effort was a field goal attempt- which they missed.  I imagine Mr. Akpla was on the bench muttering, "There oughta be a law..."

Gotta go, I got a big new bunch of beer caps in I need to check out!