Ziggy Played Guitar
If good looks was a minute/ You know that you could've been an hour- Smokey Robinson, 'The Way You Do The Things You Do'
The school year is around the corner. Hundreds of thousands of kids wil begin high school over the next two weeks. They will walk gingerly through the giant hallways, hands on bookbag straps, eyes like saucers. A more frightened and awkward group of humans you will rarely see. I’d love to give all these freshmen a copy of Ziggy Stardust when they enter school. Bowie never gets much credit for being much of an open-hearted romantic, but Ziggy was always a very good friend. The story of an alien on earth rings true to aliens in their own bodies.
God, I’m so glad I never have to be a teenager again.
You try it. You like it. You buy it. 
If You’re Ever Down in West Texas…
Long beards. Hot rods. Double guitars. When I was five, I thought ZZ Top were the coolest dudes in the world. Still do.
You try it. You like it? You buy it.
The Girl Who Got Away
The one for me had brown hair and blue eyes. She was a grade older than me in grammar school, so I did whatever I could do to catch a glimpse. I lived for school assemblies because I could gaze at her uninterrupted. The best were the awards presentations. She would receive a ton of awards, so she was always up and back, up and back. She bounced lightly, as if she could float, toward the front of Briody Hall. I couldn’t breathe. And then they would get to my grade. I would receive a couple awards, and when I walked to the front I imagined it was to receive the Nobel Prize in Anything, or maybe even better, like an Academy Award. I would make a speech. Everyone would hush. After the prolonged standing ovation, I returned to my brown-haired, blue-eyed wife, wiping a tear from her eyes.
A dream, for sure. But a dream I sill remember and a dream that will always be the source of inspiration.
Thank you, brown-haired girl.
You try it. You like it? You buy it.
It’s a Grind
All routines eventually drive me mad. I can’t help it. My mind wants to do different things. My mind wants to explore. My mind wants to dawdle. You have no idea how exhausting this is. I lack discipline. I know this. Shambollocks! has definitely given me a discipline, a drive, a purpose. Without a doubt, this site is the best thing I’ve done since college. Shambollocks! got me the column gig at PopMatters. So I can’t let it get away from me.
This being said, it sure ain’t easy keep this place updated. In the web publishing world we live in, if it ain’t fresh daily, it’s foul. I guess what I’m trying to say is have a little patience with Shambollocks!. It’s very much a one-man show 99% of the time. Reinforcements are welcome.
Enough excuses, let’s get back to Shambollocks! 2.0.
You try it. You like it? You buy it.
Confidence
‘The enemy within says that a body of work is just as strong as its weakest point.’
This is how a depressed writer feels, everyday. You think every single paragraph, every single sentence, every single word, every single thought of a word is absolute crap. The true feeling which you depend on as the source of all your instincts turns against you. And no lie, this will scare the shit out of you. Depression is a writer’s kryptonite, a disease which positively will suck the life out of you. It ain’t pretty.
‘The zebra’s afraid to take off her coat. She’s afraid she’ll lose her stripes.’
Every writer is intoxicated by their own talent. It’s impossible not to be. When you can use words to express not only your thoughts but the thoughts of others as well…Nothing in my life compares to that high. Yet once you start to doubt yourself, it becomes terribly easy to forget who you are. “I’m not a writer,” you think. “I can’t do that.” Meet your new best friend, the blank page.
Sphere: Related ContentCrystal Stilts ‘Love Is A Wave’
Red- it's the color of the season.
Love Is A Wave by Crystal Stilts
The guitar is an amazing elastic instrument. The amount of color and shape you can create from guitar chords never ceases to amaze me. In ‘Love Is A Wave’, the guitar comes in as a scanner, picking its way across the rhythm. Finally, it settles into a groove with the ferocity of a Duane Eddy riff. The lead singer comes in with a great, imperial vocal. A synth haunts the background, reminding us that not everything is joy and wonder. This track is a gift to those of us deeply in love with psychedelia. Short, sweet, complete.
7″ out 3/31.
A Live One- The Jam 5.26.1980 @ Pinkpop
The Jam at Pinkpop 05.26.1980 in 320 mp3
Paul Weller is my favorite British rock star. True. Not only am I head over heels with his music with the Jam and solo (eh, not so much Style Council), but I also love his taste in music. The compilation he made for Mojo last year provided K and I with our first dance song. I love the fact that his dad still manages him, even after all these years. His politics are dead-on working-class and sensible. Whenever you hear him interviewed he flashes the kind of sense of humor which would only get better after a few pints (even though Paul himself abstains). And last, but certainly not least, there is his sense of style. Sure, everyone wants to be a rock star, but Paul is the only one I want to dress like. I have to admit it. I have a man crush on Paul Weller. I’m OK with that.
Sphere: Related ContentThe Last Call 3/4/09
What d'ya mean some Jeff Lynne bloke will have us exiting a spacecraft?
Dont Make My Baby Blue by The Move
Whenever you think you’ve unearthed everything from the Golden Age of rock, there is always one more buried treasure lying blow. So much great music, such few outlets at the time. Many of these buried treasures had hits in England, yet never made a dent here in the States. A stellar example of these overlooked artists formed in 1966 with five veterans from various Birmingham rock bands. They were guitarist and principal songwriter Roy Wood, drummer Bev Bevan, bassist Chris “Ace” Kefford, singer Carl Wayne, and guitarist Trevor Burton. Calling themselves the Move, they signed with flamboyant manager Tony Secunda. Tony booked them as the replacement for the Who at the Marquee Club. The Move quickly made a name for themselves through an over-the-top live set with flash pots and Wayne smashing televisions. Dressed up in gangster suits, they should have been more flash than substance. Fortunately, Roy Wood loved American pop music and his songwriting fused this with the in vogue prog rock of the time.
Sphere: Related ContentYour February Shambollocks! Mix
For those about to rock, we salute you!
The Shambollocks! February Mix
1) Come Saturday- The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart
2) Politicians In My Eyes- Death
3) Into The Public Bath- Cattle Decapitation
4) Punks In The Beerlight- Silver Jews
5) My Brain Is Working Overtime- Rivers Cuomo
6) Butterfly Kisses- The Depreciation Guild
7) Pump It Up (Live)- Elvis Costello and the Attractions
8 ) Nobunny Loves You- Nobunny
9) My Maudlin Career- Camera Obscura
10) Danger Bird- Neil Young & Crazy Horse
11) Pine On- Obits
12) So Human- Lady Sovereign
13) Most Likely You Go Your Way (Live)- Bob Dylan
14) Cradle- The Joy Formidable
15) Optimist Vs. The Silent Alarm (When The Saints Come Marching In)- Casiotone For The Painfully Alone
Numbers for the month after the jump.
Sphere: Related ContentThe Joy Formidable “Cradle”
The Joy Formidable hail from Wales. You can download their debut album for free here. Mix the Pixies and Weezer together, bake, and voila, you have their song “Cradle”. The driving rhythms will snap you wide awake.
O'Hare Arpt., IL
