Funeral For Brian M. Connelly, US Army - Rolling Thunder, Washington DC

Funeral For Brian M. Connelly, US Army - Rolling Thunder, a photo by harmonica pete on Flickr.

Memorial Day isn't just a day off. It's a day to remember those who selflessly gave everything they could give for their flag.  They did it without hesitation and they did it for YOU.
 

NEVER FORGET!

ABO Pet Gear - Tested By Rescued Pets!

ABO Gear believes in the highest possible quality and prices points that generate profit, but we also believe in and adamantly support Animal Rescue.

We have a relationship with Barking Hound Rescue here in Atlanta that takes 60 dogs month slated for Euthanasia at the Metro Shelter, and gets them into No-Kill programs across the Eastern Seaboard, 720 dogs minimum a year. www.bhvfrescue.org

We provide everything we make to them, support them financially, and we sent the Director Melissa Roberts the HSUS EXPO (Humane Society of the United States) in early May. In return we do all our strength & durability testing with Barking Hound Dogs. We feature Rescue Dogs on all of our Hang Tags –Web Site, and I am expanding the program in a myriad of other ways. We are the only company in the world with this kind of program. Details can be found HERE.  

ABO Gear FACEBOOK Page

The Eco-Sustainable aspects of our product line have been visually coupled with our rescue philosophy. This combination of quality & moral responsibility will speak to the hearts and minds of your customer base; of this we have no doubt. Our retail story and imagery dovetails perfectly, we encourage you to visit these links below and see what ABO is doing.

Toys are here (All Rescue Dog models): http://abogear.com/dog/toys

PDF Toy Catalog (All Rescue Dog models)
http://abogear.com/pdfs/ABO%20Gear%20Toy%20Catalog%202011.pdf

PDF Accessories Catalog (Mostly Rescue Dog models)
http://abogear.com/pdfs/ABO%20Gear%20Dog%20Catalog%202011.pdf

Hang Tags w/All Rescue Dogs: Featuring our new products available 7-1-11
https://picasaweb.google.com/102500405096283025664/DropBox?authkey=Gv1sRgCPDb6Ifig4PqHA&pli=1&gsessionid=ndRKbWmLGmmiEl8zlTccOA#slideshow/5597261962822036002

Morrissey's First Solo Gig - 1988

Photo taken by Paige K. Parsons

This first solo Morrissey show was also meant as a farewell Smiths concert. The musicians backing Morrissey were ex-Smiths Mike Joyce and Andy Rourke, as well as Smiths #5 Craig Gannon filling in as lead guitarist. The setlist featured a mix of Morrissey songs with Smiths tracks from 1987, so none of it had been performed in front of a live audience before.

Admission was free to anyone wearing a Smiths or Morrissey shirt. Only half the fans who traveled to Wolverhampton made it inside the venue. Outside the queuing and organization almost turned to chaos. The atmosphere inside was obviously very charged. There was a great deal of cheering and chanting Morrissey's name to the English football tune. Throughout the short set many fans made it on stage, much more than for a typical Smiths concert.

Morrissey came on stage to a thunder of applause, after a long period of cheering and chanting. In the first song, "Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before", he sang "And so I drank one, or was it four?" instead of "... it became four". He actually sang that line as it had been originally written and not as it appeared on "Strangeways Here We Come". Before "Interesting Drug" which was yet unreleased and unknown to the fans, Morrissey started "This song is called..." but never finished his line. In that song as in the previous one, "Disappointed", Morrissey missed many lines because of the mayhem with the fans keeping him away from his microphone.
 
Just before "Suedehead", Mike Joyce teased the fans with a few notes of the drum intro to "The Queen Is Dead", but that song was not to be played. Morrissey changed the "oh so many illustrations" line in "Suedehead" to "Oh so many blank pages". He also sang "I'm so very saddened, oh, I am so sickened NOW". Before "The Last Of The Famous International Playboys" Morrissey started "I'd like to say hello..." but didn't finish his line and simply introduced the next song.
 
Before "Death At One's Elbow" Morrissey managed to say what he had originally meant to: "I'd like to say hello to Julian and hello to Mouse.... your mother's letter arrived today, she has a good hand...". In that song Morrissey changed a line from "you'll slip on the trail of my bespattered remains" to "you'll slip on the trail of all of my entrails". After that number and its final lines "Goodbye my love, goodbye my love", Morrissey just said "goodbye" and everyone left the stage. They were called back with much insistence and performed one more song, a very rocking "Sweet And Tender Hooligan".  - taken from Passions Just Like Mine

Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before 
Disappointed 
Interesting Drug 
Suedehead 
The Last Of The Famous International Playboys
Sister I'm A Poet
Death At One's Elbow

Sweet And Tender Hooligan  

Download HERE

The Rapture Didn't Arrive (No Shit, Sherlock)

Harold Camping may be misguided, but all of his followers are complete buffoons.  The world is full of idiots.

(Reuters) - With no sign of Judgment Day arriving as he had forecast, the 89-year-old California evangelical broadcaster and former civil engineer behind the pronouncement seemed to have gone silent on Saturday.

Family Radio, the Christian stations network headed by Harold Camping which had spread his message of an approaching doomsday, was playing recorded church music, devotionals and life advice unrelated to the apocalypse.

Camping previously made a failed prediction Jesus Christ would return to Earth in 1994.

 
In his latest pronouncement, he had said doomsday would begin in Asia, but with midnight local time come and gone in Tokyo and Beijing and those cities already in the early hours of May 22, there was no indication of an apocalypse.

Retired Metropolitan Transportation Authority worker Robert Fitzpatrick, 60, said he spent more than $140,000 of his savings on subway posters and bus shelter advertisements warning of the May 21 Judgment Day.

"God's people are commanded to sound the warning, to sound the trumpet so to speak so people know," Fitzpatrick said of his advertising blitz.

He said Camping led him to believe Judgment Day would be May 21, but added that he disagreed with the broadcaster's prediction it would begin in Asia.

In Fitzpatrick's view, from his reading of the Bible, Judgment Day would begin around 6 p.m. Eastern Time. He said on Saturday he still had no doubt Judgment Day would come this day.

"I wouldn't even entertain that question because there's too much proof from the Bible," he said.

(Additional reporting by Erik Tavcar: Writing by Alex Dobuzinskis: Editing by Jerry Norton)

Avatar Of The Week - Fine Azz Bootie!

Iggy & The Stooges - Pretty Panties!

A fantastic shot of Iggy in his legendary Soho panties.

The World's Largest Record Collection

I'd rather you watch the video than have me explain it to you.  A fascinating and sad few minutes documenting the decline of our appreciation for music.  Imagine having more than 1 million albums and 1.5 million singles at your fingertips...

New Lou Reed Tour, Book & DVD Release

Lou Reed and his band will perform a series of exhilarating summer concerts and outdoor festival appearances in Europe during July 2011.

The European tour coincides with the news and development of various major Lou Reed projects.  The first, and most recent, is the collaboration between Lou and Bob Wilson on a theatrical production of Lulu, currently being performed by the Berlin Ensemble Theatre in Berlin. Lulu is receiving rave reviews worldwide, and will continue to be performed in repertory throughout May and June. Order tickets online HERE.

Reed has also recently collaborated with renowned illustrator Lorenzo Mattotti to author an illustrated book of The Raven based on Lou Reed’s adaptation of Edgar Allen Poe’s famed work.  The Raven has been published in France, Italy, Holland and will also be published in the US and Canada by Fantagraphics in June. Pre-order the book HERE.

Lou Reed will release a live DVD of his historic performance at Lollapalooza in Chicago in 2009.  The forthcoming European tour in July features virtually the same band as showcased the live DVD.  The Lollapalooza DVD will be released worldwide in July 2011 by Sister Ray Enterprises. Songs performed on the DVD include Sweet Jane, Senselessly Cruel, Waves of Fear, and Paranoia Key of E, to name but a few.

Reed will perform two UK concerts including the Hop Farm Music Festival (July 2), and a special one-off London concert at the HMV Apollo Hammersmith (July 4).  Other artists to perform the Hop Farm Music Festival include Morrissey, Iggy & the Stooges and Patti Smith. 

At the London Hammersmith concert, and throughout the tour, Lou will perform songs from his vast catalogue of albums including The Raven, New York, the Blue Mask and Transformer.  Reed will also perform three French dates - Le Grand Rex in Paris (July 5), Les Vieilles Charrues Festival, Carhaix (July 17), and Lyon’s Les Nuits de Fourviere Festival (July 26).

The Italian leg of the European tour entails nine Italian concerts including Milan’s Arena Civica (July 8), Pistoia’s Piazza Duomo (July 10), Lecce’s Italia Wave Love Festival (July 16), Taormina’s Greek Theatre (July 18), Gardone Riviera’s Nuovo Festival Del Vittoriale (July 22), Solgliano Al Rubicone’s Piazza Matteotti (July 23), and Rome’s Luglio Suona Bene, Parco della Musica Cavea (July 25). Two more Italian concerts will be announced shortly.

Lou's band will feature:

Sarth Calhoun - processing, fingerboard continuum
Kevin Hearn - keyboard
Ulrich Kreiger – sax
Tony Smith - drums
Rob Wasserman - bass

LOU REED - HOP FARM MUSIC FESTIVAL – KENT, ENGLAND
Saturday, July 02, 2011
Lou Reed at Hop Farm Music Festival
Paddock Wood, Kent, England, TN12 6PY
Buy Tickets

LOU REED – LONDON, ENGLAND
Monday July 04, 2011
Lou Reed and band at HMV Apollo Hammersmith
Plus Special Guests - 'Buke + Gass'
45 Queen Caroline Street, London, England, W6 9QH
7:30pm
Ticket Hotline: 0844 844 4748
Buy Tickets | Buy Tickets

LOU REED – PARIS, FRANCE
Tuesday July 05, 2011
Lou Reed and band at Le Grand Rex Paris
1 Boulevard Poissonnière, Paris, France
8:00pm
Buy Tickets

LOU REED – MILAN, ITALY
Friday July 8, 2011
Lou Reed and band at Arena Civica
Viale Giorgio Byron 2, Milan, Italy
Tickets: +39 02 48 19 41 28
Buy Tickets

LOU REED – LECCE, ITALY
Saturday July 16, 2011
Lou Reed and band at Italia Wave Love Festival – Stadio del Mare
viale dello Stadio, 73100, Lecce, Italy
Buy Tickets | Buy Tickets | Buy Tickets | Buy Tickets

LOU REED – CARHAIX, FRANCE
Sunday July 17, 2011
Lou Reed and band at Les Vieilles Charrues Festival
Carhaix, France
Tickets: 0892 68.36.22
Buy Tickets

LOU REED – TAORMINA, SICILY
Monday July 18, 2011
Lou Reed and band at the Greek Theatre
40 Cartina, Taormina, Sicily
8:00pm
Buy Tickets

LOU REED – GARDONE RIVIERA, ITALY
Friday July 22, 2011
Lou Reed and band at Nuovo Festival Del Vittoriale tener-a-mente
Via Vittoriale, 12 – 25083 Gardone Riviera, Lago di Garda, Italy
9:15pm
Buy Tickets

LOU REED – SOGLIANO AL RUBICONE, ITALY
Saturday July 23, 2011
Lou Reed and band at Piazza Matteotti
Sogliano al Rubicone, Forlì-Cesena, Italy
Buy Tickets | Buy Tickets

LOU REED – ROME, ITALY
Monday July 25, 2011
Lou Reed and band at Luglio Suona Bene – Parco della Musica Cavea
viale Pietro de Coubertin 30
8:00pm
Buy Tickets

LOU REED – LYON, FRANCE
Tuesday July 26, 2011
Lou Reed and band at Les Nuits de Fourviere Festival
Theatres Romains De Fourviere
6, rue de l’Antiquaille, 69005, Lyon, France
10:00pm
Tickets: 33(0) 4.72.32.00.00
Buy Tickets

Johnny Thunders Rarity - "That's The Way Life Goes"

Recorded at Kåren, Gothenburg, Sweden on 11 March 1988.  Thanks for posting it, Retarderman!

Even as he neared the inevitable end of his life, he was still able to compose some great music.  Here, with the help of Michael Thimren, JT put together a roaringly rockin' tune lamenting personal loss, but understanding there ain't a thing you can do about it.

Random Lou Reed Ticket (1975)

28 July 1975 - Festival Theatre, Australia

Dove (The Band Of Love)

This is DEVO's Christian Soft Rock alter-ego Dove (The Band of Love)!  Take note of their ability to play the funkiest of grooves while keeping the stage show clean and Christian.  These guys keep it clean and fun (and full of the Holy Spirit), all while infinitely Rocking Out!  

All hail J. R. "Bob" Dobbs and the Church of the SubGenius!

(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction

As much as I love the original version of Satisfaction...

I also love it when the Stones changed up the style...

Here is probably my favorite live version of all time (outside of the "Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out" recording):

However, the only band in my eyes (and ears) to cover Satisfaction and make it entirely their own is DEVO.  It is completely faithful to the original while also being 100% DEVO.

Morrissey - "Speedway"

Taken from Introducing Morrissey.

Barack Obama To The Rescue

Usama Bin Ladin Is Dead

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

 I'll sleep with a smile on my face tonight.

New Band Alert: Billy Rath's Street Pirates

Billy Rath, Joey Kelly, Johnny Rao, Bill Tello

Anyone familiar with The Heartbreakers is familiar with Billy Rath.  You'd usually see him with a cigarette dangling from his mouth, red bandanna wrapped around the knee of his black leather pants, and the cool presence of the prototypical bass guitarist:  staying in the background keepin' the rhythm with the drummer, and looking cool.

After playing with Johnny Thunders on and off for years (with an Iggy Pop stint thrown in for good measure) he disappeared.  Rumors abounded:  He died...he joined a religious order...  But nobody knew for sure.  Then on September 11, 2010, Billy showed up at the CBGB Alumni Show and filled in on bass with Walter Lure's Waldos for a tune or two.  He looked a little worse for wear, but he was happy as hell:

It turns out he never completely disappeared, but after losing his foot in a car accident he's apparently stayed out the spotlight...until now.  Head over to the Street Pirates' Facebook page and you'll see they are lining tour dates up for an East Coast US leg and several UK dates in the Fall.  There's a club near me that has a 50+ capacity room that I think would be perfect for 'em.  If you are interested in booking information, shoot 'em an email at Greg.moore@konnessi.com.

As for his bandmates, you'll definitely recognize the great Johnny Rao from his work with Sylvain Sylvain and the David Johansen Group.