Friday CJ Random 11

I think many of the millions of you who read this blog also read the funniest blog on the Internet, I Am Bossy. However, she posted awful news about a terrible family tragedy: her daughter was attacked by a neighbor's dog and bitten on the face, losing her lip. The doctors grafted it back on, but they don't know yet if it will take.

The more I've thought about it today, the more it makes me sick. People have to take responsibility for their pets. The attack reminded me of a dog attack suffered by one of TLB's younger cousins, who also has a very sweet smile like Bossy's daughter. She lost part of her finger this past fall when she was petting a neighbor's dog, an animal she had petted many times before, but which was also a pit bull. Seriously, what are people thinking when they own animals like this? I hope that dog that attacked Bossy's child gets put down immediately, and the owners should never be allowed to own so much as a fish since they clearly can't manage their pets properly.

Anyway, please offer a prayer/thought for Bossy and her daughter, or go over and leave a comment.

Music always helps me take my mind of things, so here's today's list.

1) "Jackson," Johnny Cash. Johnny Cash's voice is always soothing. No matter what happens, you can always play some man in black.

2) "At the Movies (Rock for Light)," Bad Brains. When you're full of rage and want to hit something but can't, hardcore punk like Bad Brains is a good release.

3) "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction," The Rolling Stones. Such a revolutionary song really ruined by the geriatric Stones still playing it. I have no problem with Mick and Keef and the rest touring, recording, and so on. Their musicians, they love what they do, more power to them, I hope the rock til they drop. But once they reached a certain age, they should have removed certain songs from their set list, like this one. It just doesn't work when sung by someone old enough to draw from a 401k without penalty. Compare the Sullivan version vs. the Cialis version.

4) "Mildred Pierce," Sonic Youth. I caught "Homerpalooza" episode of The Simpsons the other day, which is old enough that Billy Corgan of The Smashing Pumpkins was drawn with hair. Anyway, Sonic Youth were in that episode, with bassist Kim Gordan uttering the classic line, "Hey, Hullabalooza isn't about freaks; it's about music, and advertising, and youth-oriented product positioning." Little did they know how much more true that would become by the time Billy Corgan lost his hair, lost his band, and regained his band.

5) "Family Snapshot," Peter Gabriel. This is a terrific Gabriel track, with a passionate vocal and a nice soft opening that builds to rocking main portion of the song. But what do I hear in the back of the mix? A cowbell. Will Ferrell's collateral damage continues.

6) "Stan (Live)," Eminem with Elton John. This is from the Grammy Awards performance. The most unlikely duet pairing since Axl "Immigrants and Faggots" Rose and Elton John sang "Bohemian Rhapsody" at the Freddy Mercury tribute show. I guess Sir Elton isn't afraid to sing with controversial people. Too bad he missed his chance to sing "What's Love Got to Do With It?" with Ike Turner.

7) "Brass Buttons," Gram Parsons. I think this is what the Eagles were trying to sound like. If this isn't a tequila sunrise, I don't know what is.

8) "It's Been a Hard Day's Night," The Beatles. To follow up on "Satisfaction," McCartney could play this and it would still seem okay. But if he tried to play "I Wanna Hold Your Hand," now, it would seem kind of silly. Especially because the reason he wants to hold your hand is to hand you the divorce settlement and be done with it.

9) "Losing My Edge," LCD Soundsystem. I'm normally not a big fan of speak-singing songs, where the guy or gal talks more than sings. Maybe that's why I never made a big connection with rap. But this is a pretty funny song about an older DJ expressing his fear of losing his edge to the "kids coming up from behind," and then trying to show he's still cool by talking about the shows he's gone to and the records he owns. As someone with a Peter Pan complex, I can completely relate. Worth it for this line alone: I'm losing my edge to the art-school Brooklynites in little jackets and borrowed nostalgia for the unremembered eighties. Christian from Project Runway, I think he's talking about you.

10) "Plush," Stone Temple Pilots. They were poor man's Pearl Jam, but I liked a lot of their hits, including this one. I admit to singing along in the car.

11) "Dio," Tenacious D. Dio, time to go, you must give your cape and scepter to me! I will never admit, even under threat of waterboarding, how much I have air guitarred to Dio.

Have a great weekend, and I'm praying for a speedy, full recovery for Bossy's Daughter.