Things That Have Ceased Happening

It seems not so strange to me that barely any "real" media time was spent mourning/appreciating Mitch Mitchell. He was only one of the top 10 Rock Drummers of all time and spent most of his prime years playing next to arguably the best rock guitarist in history. His influence was legendary and his style was difficult to classify......we got a blip here...a blurb there...and then back to your regularly scheduled asshat bait comedy like Two and a Half Men. In this day and age of a public flogged with bottomed out economy and having no time for anything except the Biggest Loser..its just one of those things that have ceased happening. The respect of a rock giant's passing is barely touched upon...while we get to hear plenty of Kanye West proclaiming himself "The voice of our generation" with that overbite of his forcing the spittle to go arterial....or Cracky Wine-in the house spiraling in and out of lucidity again while she tries to ask for her brand of smokes from the deli on the corner.....
Anyhoo, it got me thinking about things that just don't happen anymore in the rock world and I'm all hot and bothered about it. Its what forces me to keep looking back in wonder and amazement at the decade I was just a few years too young to truly appreciate(1970-1980) Rather than give you a long list...I will present video evidence(mostly instrumental) for you to ponder the sheer brilliance, spectacle and bombast...all from the recently released DVD of collected performances on the Old Grey Whistle Test...a legendary British musical showcase/interview show...the likes of we'll never see again(thank you Simon Cowell, you twat!)

#1)Focus-Sylvia/Hocus Pocus- I know how nerdtastic this may sound...but yodelling is the SHIT! This just plain rocks and resonates off of the stone walls of a fjord somewhere....makes me wanna grow wings and make wishes with the faeries!


#2)Roxy Music-Ladytron- A sparkly green druid meets Elvis playing clarinet, a disco ball fade -in 4 YEARS BEFORE DISCO, Brian Eno,all gold gloves and leopard printed noodling on a pre MOOG synth he made in his basement and the unbelievable dulcet/vibrato on speed tones of Brian Ferry....simply awesome!


3)Edgar Winter Group-Frankenstein. Yes its one of the most popular instrumentals of the era, but having seen this vid for the first time the other night, its evident that these guys are geniuses. Lets start and end with Edgar Winter..just swaying back and forth with his portable keys..rocking out with albino abandon between a barely out of his teens Rick Derringer and Dan Hartman on bass( who later scored a huge 80s hit with "I Can Dream About You..yeah, thats him!) and Chuck Ruff on the skins...then he takes OVER on the timbale solo...in sync with Chuck, and keys swinging from his neck(WHO KNEW?) Brother Johnny gets all the praise but its evident that after his alien abduction, Edgar came back with some SERIOUS goods. just plain NERDTACULAR!


I hope that when they come for me...the men in white suits or the aliens in white light....they will eventually return me to inside the space/time continuum.. to roadie for the Edgar Winter group, or to run and get hot tea for Eno. I just need that elusive pair of metallic white overalls....