Thunderbolt

"Scott thinks he knows what he's doing." That's what I heard when I began telling people that I was in love and planned to marry the woman I'd only known a few months. In May of 1992 I had a plan: live with my folks, find a job, save some cash, and move to California. It started out that way. I found work at a store called Nature's Bin in Lakewood, Ohio. It was a storefront that sold fresh produce and was a non-profit training adults with disabilities how to perform in a workplace. It was only supposed to be a summer job. Three months of saving up and then I was leaving for Los Angeles to pursue the dream. Hollywood. Writing. Directing. Stardom. I had no interest in getting to know someone and opening up myself to another human being; leaving them. It was all working just fine until the end of July. That smile and those bright blue eyes. A kindness and joyful spirit that was so contagious I wanted to be in every room she was in; that kind of feeling where you ...

A quick update. I didn't expect six weeks to pass between postings. I have half of my Cyndi Lauper entry already written! However, I was out with the flu for a week, I had to do a revision of the Christmas drama I wrote for my church, I went through a week or anticipation of officiating a wedding, and then I married two young people! I became a year older, my son got a year older, I got sucked into revising a portion of the novel I'm writing, then it was Thanksgiving. Oh, and work. And here we are! Me, me, me, me. Get over yourself, Malchus! The public demands your opinion about Cyndi Lauper and masturbation (they're linked, but "She Bop" fans know that). I promise I'll post by the end of next week. A special t6hanks to the one person who reached out to see if I'd be continuing the series. I do have a habit of starting columns and letting them peter out (just check out my Popdose history). But I promise that I'm dedicated to seeing this one through to ...

I can't say that I heard of Nirvana before "Smells Like Teen Spirit" changed the musical landscape and altered pop culture in the 90s. However, I can say that I heard Nirvana and "Smells Like Teen Spirit" before the song and band impacted the world. In the fall of 1991, after spending a summer in Los Angeles listening to KROQ and their their mix of west coast alternative, I asked a classmate named Dean to make me a mix tape. He was one of the few "alternative types" I knew at BGSU, as well as a fellow film student with similar cinematic tastes. Little did I know that Dean was more inclined to listen to brooding, darker songs than anything I'd heard all summer. The tape that Dean made me, entitled "On and/or Over The Edge Muzik," contained the likes of Primus, Mr. Bungle, Skinny Puppy, Bad Brains, Ministry, plus "Smells Like Teen Spirit" recorded off the radio, Detroit's 91X! That tells you the time period, sometime in mid-S...

I was gifted a nice piece of artwork called "My 90's Tapes" by an artist named Jeff Klarin . The picture is  seen below and available to purchase at the artist's website ( https://www.bughouse.com/wall-of-sounds/choose-a-tape-collection-print . Klarin has five versions of this theme of his cassettes from the era of the late 80s/early90s, the others are more genre based, but this one felt like I'm looking at my own collection at that time. As you can see, it's a mix of rock/classic rock, pop, new wave, punk, dance, heavy metal and soundtracks. I love it so much that I have it hanging above my desk at work. As I've struggled to get back into blogging, I decided to use this artwork as a writing prompt to review all 115 albums pictured and share some personal anecdotes along the way. Consider this me dipping my toe back into the Basement Songs pool. I hope you enjoy it. Actually, I hope I enjoy it because there is some music on here I don't look forward t...

In the fall of 1991, Robbie Robertson released his second solo album, Storyville , to glowing reviews, including a four-star feature write up in Rolling Stone ("a mature and masterful work that lends additional luster to the formidable legacy Robertson shaped with the Band). A month later, Nirvana's Nevermind was released, and we all know which one went on to be considered one of the most important albums of all time. Robertson's Storyville is all but forgotten, which is a shame, because the record's atmospheric tribute to New Orleans contains one of his most beautiful songs, "What About Now." I'm not sure what prompted me to have my best friend buy me Storyville for my birthday that year, most likely Anthony Curtis' review in Rolling Stone, but "What About Now" was also receiving minor airplay on, of all places, the AOR radio station in Toledo that I listened to while finishing up my senior year at Bowling Green. Initially, ...

Hearing "Young Americans" in the back of the red van as my parents drove through the heartland of our country. Discovering the message of "Under Pressure" and playing the song for a 7th grade class presentation on "What is Horror?" with Matt. Watching the "Let's Dance" video in the basement of a friend's house. Listening to "China Girl" and discovering SRV. "Space Oddity" while cruising the Metroparks on Classic Rock Saturday Night (thanks MMS). Might as well include "Transformer" in this mix. Speeding down I480 screaming "wham bam thank you ma'am!" "Blue Jean" - a most underrated song. The summer paint crew at the height of the classic rock revival and hearing the best of Bowie on endless rotation (Cleveland has long ties with Bowie, you know). "The Last Temptation of Christ." "Sound and Vision." "Heroes." "Fame 90" (a killer remix, just listen ...

Last summer I was pretty ambitious about my serial novel, Legendary, which ran on Popdose for three months. I posted a new chapter every other day, each one with at least one song and an original work of art. I was so excited about it and I had planned to write entries about each chapter here on the BS Blog. What I didn't realize is how exhausting the whole project would be and how quickly my energy was used up at the end of every day. I failed miserably. I apologize to anyone who was paying attention, which may be about 15 people. Hey you 15, SORRY! Anyway, I'm going to do my best to finish what I started and write a little blurb about each music artists I used in the book. By the way, each chapter is still up on Popdose, along with the music and art. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, go to this LINK, which explains everything. Links to successive chapters are available at the end of every chapter, if that makes any sense. I may still publish it as a Kindle boo...

One of the columns I used to write on a regular basis for Popdose was The Three Strike Rule. It was a weekly (!) review of some television series, usually new, based on its first three episodes. With the advent of instant opinions available on the web, I started to fall behind on my reviews and, frankly, lost some interest. With binge watching and people discovering shows both new and old every day, I've decided to give it a try again. I'm not out to impress anyone, just offer my two cents and maybe start some conversations. I must also admit that I felt some apprehension writing about television during a period of time when I was submitting spec pilot scripts to managers and agents. But you know what, I'm forty-frickin-five, so if someone wants to hire me they would have done it by now. I'm giving up, mind you, but I'm tired of holding back on writing about the subjects that I enjoy. I love telkevision, and I do enjoy writing about it. I also enjoy podcasting about...

Lou Reed died today, at the age of 71. I can't claim to be the world's biggest Reed fan, but several of his works are favorites. Transformer and New York receive regular plays on my iPod, while the Velvet Underground's "Sweet Jane," and Reed's moderate hit single, "I Love You, Suzanne," are songs I can't go very long without listening to. In 2009, I wrote about a memorable night in North Olmsted, driving around and listening "Walk on the Wild Side." I do believe this was the first time I heard this song and it was my introduction to Transformer, one of the best albums of the 70s. We huddled outside the North Olmsted recreation center waiting for the rest of the spirit band to arrive.  On this cold December night, we were supposed to be energizing high school hockey fans, but when not enough kids showed up, we were presented with a three-hour window to spend the rest of the night.  Our foursome included Dan, a junior, cool, laid back ...

On Tuesday night I attended the Patty Griffin concert at the Wiltern Theater. One of the songs she performed that night was "Be Careful," a song that I featured in the Basement Songs column back in 2009. I love this song and it always reminds me of Sophie.   When I wrote this piece Sophie was still a little girl. Now she's entering high school and I couldn't be prouder. It's a bittersweet feeling, though. She's growing up, and soon, oh so very soon, she won't need her dad any more.  Since the day we moved into our house, I have regularly snuggled my daughter Sophie for about 10 minutes before she goes to sleep at night. When she was younger, it was to help ease her fears over the creaks and rattles of her room when the lights were off. As she got older, this routine turned into an opportunity for the two of us to catch up on our days. I found out about how school was for her, and Sophie asked me questions about my job.  For the past year I have tried to en...

I feel like this was a great Mother’s Day, but I’ll have to let Julie tell you that. Both of the kids sang in church this morning, and afterward Sophie made the family brunch. She’s becoming quite the cook.   She prepared biscuits (a favorite of hers to cook) and scrambled eggs. At her age I could barely make peanut butter and jelly for myself (occasionally with a slice of American cheese in the middle). I’m so impressed with the young lady she is becoming and the confidence she has in herself. Do I fret over her entering high school next year? Hell yes. It’s not her I’m concerned about, it’s the boys. I was a stupid teenage boy at one time. Hopefully the young male population has progressed in the thirty years since I was a freshman in high school. God, I hope so. We spent most of the day lounging around, watching TV. The temperature outside was 103 degrees! I’ve lived in L.A. nearly twenty years and I can’t recall a May when it was this hot. 103? That’s insanity. We went to an ea...

This weekend I'm driving up to Ventura to see the Gaslight Anthem perform live at the Ventura Theater. The Gaslight Anthem are a Jersey band whose influences range from Stax soul to the Clash, as well as a guy named Bruce Springsteen. It was because of Springsteen that I was initially interested in their music, but I soon became a huge fan of their work. The '59 Sound was the album that put them on the map in 2008, and they've release two others, American Slang in 2010 and Handwritten which came out last year. The latter is particularly strong . In honor or seeing the band this weekend, here is the Basement Songs column I wrote about "The '59 Sound" back in November of 2008. Back in January, I wrote a special Basement Song column dedicated to my daughter, Sophie, on her birthday.  Tomorrow, November 14, is my son Jacob's birthday, and I now I want to dedicate something to him. When it came time to choose a song to focus on, I couldn't help but re...