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  • 39. That Sleepwalk Should Be Over By Now

    My first bicycle was a sixth birthday present: A blue Montgomery Ward knockoff of a Schwinn Stingray; sissy bar and ape hanger handlebars; a black banana seat with a white racing stripe.  I wasn’t a quick learner so I spent the first few weeks running next to my ride, up and down my neighbor Swede’s…

  • Deep Cuts: Ten Covers Done Right

    Sure every garage band when I was growing up played “Freebird,” but that doesn’t mean they played it well or brought anything new to the table.  That’s what makes a good cover song:  Bringing some new level of understanding to the listener.  Not just change for change’s sake, but “Oh, I never noticed that” kind…

  • 38. What Song Is It You Want to Hear?

    My first major breakup didn’t even involve me.   My sister dumped Mike, no doubt for valid hell-raising reasons, but without considering me.  How was I supposed to find my path to the Dixie Gem Garage — the hot spot for street races — without my travel guide?  In whose Chevelle would I cruise The Beacon…

  • 37. Loneliness Will Haunt You, Will You Sacrifice?

    Moravia, Iowa is a small farm town.  It was even smaller back in 1920, but it grew by one with arrival of a baby boy named Otis.  I imagine he was a happy boy, as most babies are, perhaps even more so because he was unencumbered by the knowledge that his dear mother would be…

  • Goodbye, Amy Winehouse

    I don’t really have anything new to say on the topic.  Six weeks later and I’m already in repeats:  https://jamesostafford.wordpress.com/2011/06/07/30-strewn-with-times-dead-flowers/

  • 36. So I Lit A Fire, Isn’t It Good?

    I have been listening to The Beatles since I was four years old.  I’ve heard “Norwegian Wood” so many times that I don’t really hear it anymore.  It is like a tree or a shrub — it’s just there, part of the landscape.  When I pick up a guitar I play it almost absent-mindedly.  Even…

  • Guys In Black Tee Shirts Who Jam, 2011 Edition

    Yeah, it’s like seeing a ghost.

  • Deep Cuts: Moby Frank

    I’ve mentioned previously my quest for the white whale that is the complete Frank Zappa CD discography.  It is a mighty beast, and I’m starting to lose track and buy duplicates that I’m too lazy to return for a refund.    I don’t have the short-term memory for this any more. And so in the interest of…

  • 35. Take Your Time, Don’t Live Too Fast

    I was a certified loser now.  There would be no more advanced classes for me.  My eighth grade classmates were the average and the rowdy:  Tony, who actually pulled the “dick in a box” trick on our study hall teacher;  Spazz, who practiced french kissing on his desk; Scott, who sat in front of me…

  • 34. Little John the Conqueroo

    Hal and I walked over to Time Out after school and waited for his mother.  I was a school bus kid, so this was my first time in the legendary junior high hangout.  Well, legendary to me at least since June Bug overdosed on yellow jackets and freaked out, or so the story went.  I…