This is a blog about my passions, including (but not limited to) music, writing, Vegas, poker, my homeland Indiana (mostly sports), and any little thing that strikes my fancy. I publish new posts at 11:20 (Central) on Tuesdays and Thursdays with an occasional Saturday post. I do, however, reserve the right to add a big story as it happens.
Since I haven't posted anything in a while, I thought I'd do something simple…just to keep things going.
This is a song I first heard 12 years ago (during the era of "She Who Has No Reflection"). She had been studying abroad in Austria, and came home armed with CDs. Curious as what the kids of Germania were listening to, I gave it a shot, and loved it. At the time, I had a small working knowledge of German—which is to say that I could ask where the bathroom was, but wouldn't be able to understand the response.
Recently, I heard this song on my iTunes. It occurred to me to find a translation. Although I was taken aback by the (literal) translation of the song, I wasn't surprised that this wasn't the sweet love song I thought it was. After reading how horrifying the lyrics are, I thought it appropriate that SWHNR introduced me to it.
Note...the live version of the song I have doesn't have the gun SFX at the end.
Everything from love I would say to you gladly,
as very much I like you, why I can think only of you.
I feel as verhext and in captivity and you alone carry debt to it.
Words are too weak for it, I fear, you believe me not.
It seems to me,
as if someone warns me,
this fairy tale will not go out well.
It is the jealousy,
which up-eats me,
whenever you are not in my proximity.
By Dr. Jekyll I become to Mr. Hyde,
I cannot do anything against it,
suddenly it is so far.
I am shortly before durchzudrehn,
from fear, you too verliern.
And that us no misfortune happens now,
but I cannot garantiern.
And everything only,
because I love you,
and I do not know,
like ich' s to prove is.
Come, I show you, how large my love is,
and kill yourself for you.
As soon as your mood is somewhat worse,
picture I me equal that you do not want me no more.
I die with the thought to it,
that I cannot hold you always.
A fire in me burns at one time and the remainder of the world becomes black.
I feel like our time run,
we approach to the last act.
And everything only,
because I love you,
and I do not know,
like ich' s to prove is.
Come, I show you, how large my love is,
and kill yourself for you. I am shortly before durchzudrehn,
from fear, you too verliern.
And that us no misfortune happens now,
but I cannot garantiern.
And everything only,
because I love you,
and I do not know,
like ich' s to prove is.
Come, I show you, how large my love is
and kill yourself for you.
Come, I show you,
how large my love is,
and kill us both.
The steal the line from Stan Marsh, "What is wrong with German people?"
It's not like Mick Jagger to invite controversy. No not at all!
No other Rolling Stone song has attracted more vitriol than "Brown Sugar". Even before it was released, the song was already at the center of controversy. The release was delayed for over a year due to a legal battle over the rights of the song. While the lawyers were hashing it out, the Stones debuted the song at Altamont.
Not what I would call an auspicious start.
Since then, people have pored over the lyrics like it was The DaVinci Code. Claims have been made that the song is about slavery, rape, heroine and interracial sex…all dressed up as a party song.
Heavens to Betsy. What a dreadful idea. Not from the Stones.
Many learned Stones scholars would point out the song was really about Mick Jagger's affair with Claudia Lennear. She was one of the back-up singers for Ike Turner when his band toured with the Stones. Although Lennear has never confirmed that the song was about her, she's never denied it either. She raised no objection to her 1974 Playboy pictorial being titled "Brown Sugar". Assuming that this theory is correct, this would be the first of two songs inspired by the former Ikette. David Bowie's Shirley Bassey-esque song "Lady Grinning Soul" from Aladdin Sane is supposedly about his meeting with Lennear in 1972 (which was ironically a B-Side for Bowie's cover of "Let's Spend The Night Together").
However, singer, model, actress Marsha Hunt has claimed on several occasions that the song is about her. Hunt is the mother of Jagger's first daughter, Karis.
The song was never intended to glorify raping slaves (as the first verse would indicate). If the song was really inspired by either of the above mentioned women, it's more likely a contrast of interracial relationships from the colonial days to the late 60s.
It's checkered past hasn't prevented companies like Pepsi and Kahlua from using it to sell their products.
It's no secret that I am a huge Colts fan. This is not a recent development that started when some guy named Peyton came to town 12 seasons ago. I date back to the Jack Trudeau/Ron Meyer era. Sure, I was a fan of other teams in the past as well. To be fair, I was 11 when the Colts played their first game in the venue formally known as the Hoosier Dome (to this day, I refuse to call it by its corporate name, as the same year the Radio Company of America gave the Circle City a huge check for naming rights was the same year they closed the RCA/Thompson plant in Bloomington because of budgetary reasons. Nice, isn't it). Plus, if I wanted to root for a team in January, it couldn't be the Colts (for a long time, I was a Dolphin fan, too). With the Pacers in state, I was convinced that Indy would never be the home of a professional sports champion (The ABA era doesn't count). Sure, every now and then, the Colts would have a winning season, but nothing consistent.
I really started to get into the Colts in 1995. I was working promotions at WGBF, and our radio station had done some charity work with Colt Tight End Ken Dilger (who is also a Southern Indiana native). That season, I went to my first Colt game with my brother (Indy is a good three hour drive from Evansville). They lost to the San Diego Chargers, a defeat that would be avenged in the AFC playoffs. The Colts made it to the AFC Championship game that year, and got screwed out of making the Super Bowl, thanks to Kordell Stewart's illegal TD catch before halftime, and the pass interference no call in the end zone on the last play. I'm still convinced that the Colts would have beaten the Dallas Cowboys that year for the Lombardi Trophy—a theory that was bolstered by the Colts beating the Cowboys AT DALLAS 25-24 in week 3 of the next season.
When I moved to Bloomington, I was able to watch the Colts every Sunday, and my love of the boys in blue grew. I hung with them during the Lindy Infante seasons, and then hoped they got the 1998 draft right. Indy picked Peyton Manning, and the rest was history. The Colts started to build a juggernaut that would eventually break the record for franchise victories in a decade. It was a magical time.
I'd like to take a little credit for the hiring of Tony Dungy. I was working nights at WTTS after Dungy was unjustly fired in Tampa. Knowing that Indy was looking for a new head coach and that Colts owner Jim Irsay listened to our station, I repeatedly stated on the air that Dungy would make the Colts a contender. A month later, Dungy was hired. Coincident? I would have asked for confirmation of my influence during my bizarre interview with Irsay later that off-season, but his 15 minute answer of the question "How are you, Jim?" took us to commercial break.
Being a Colts fan is advanced fandom. You have to endure drafting Chris Chandler and Jeff George, and the consistent pantsing by the New England Hatriots. You have to hear Mel Kiper Jr. tell the world that the Colts don't understand what the draft is all about, and that's why they'll be a bad team for a very long time. You had to watch home games on a field that looked like pool felt in the Mini-Me version of Minneapolis's Metro Dome. Every Dan Marino milestone that is perfectly preserved on NFL films was captured in Indy. Indianapolis endured threats of nuclear obliteration by the great city of Baltimore (even after they stole the Browns from Cleveland).
All of it was worth it three years ago. A Super Bowl Championship. Hot damn.
There have many storylines that have popped out in the time since the conference championship games. However, for as ridiculous as some of these are, here are some subplots that haven't surface. Why the hell not, there are two weeks and 24 hour coverage. And I'd be willing to bet, if Dwight Freeney was healthy, some may have come up.
The Lincoln Had A Secretary Named Kennedy Subplot: Manning is from New Orleans, Breese play college ball in Indiana.
The What Could Have Been Subplot: Manning almost left Tennessee after his junior year to enter the draft, and was projected to be the number one pick overall. The team who had the first pick that year? New Orleans. With Manning deciding to finish his colligate career, The Saints instead drafted Florida QB Danny Wuerffel.
The Should Have Been Bowl Subplot: The last time the Colts played in the Super Bowl three years ago, also in Miami, they faced the Bears. The Bears beat the Saints in the NFC Championship Game.
The Jim Mora Subplot: The two greatest coach's meltdowns in the history of the NFL were perpetrated by Jim Mora. One when he was the coach of the Colts, and the other when he was the coach of the Saints.
The Dome Sweet Done Subplot: This is the first time in the history of the Super Bowl that both teams that play their home games in an indoor stadium are facing off in the Super Bowl.
The You Really Should Forget Your First Time Subplot: Record of first time Super Bowl teams in the championship game (not including first time teams playing another first time team): 4-12. The winners were the Pittsburgh Steelers (SB IX against Minnesota), New York Giants (SB XXI against Denver), Baltimore Ravens (SB XXV against the Giants), Tampa Bay Buccaneers (SB XXXVII against Oakland). The losers were the Minnesota Vikings (SB IV against the Chiefs), Dallas Cowboys (SB V against the Colts), Denver Broncos (SB XII against Dallas), LA Rams (SB XIV against Pittsburgh), Philadelphia Eagles (SB XV against Oakland), Buffalo Bills (SB XXV against the Giants), San Diego Chargers (SB XXIX against San Francisco), Atlanta Falcons (SB XXXIII against Denver), Tennessee Titans (SB XXXIV against the Rams), Carolina Panthers (SB XXXVIII against the Hatriots), Seattle Seahawks (SB XL against Pittsburgh), and the Arizona Cardinals (SB XLIII against Pittsburgh). The Saints play in their first ever Super Bowl.
The Miami Colts Subplot: The Colts have made the Super Bowl four times. Each time, the game was in Miami. Wearing the white unis, the Colts are 2-0. Wearing the blue uniforms, they are 0-1. The Colts wear blue Sunday.
The Indianapolis Saints Subplot: Before Robert Irsay moved the Colts to the Hoosier Dome, Indianapolis real estate developer Bob Welch tried to buy the New Orleans Saints from John Mecom in order to relocate them to Indy. Mecom instead sold the team to Tom Benson, and kept the team in New Orleans.
All this being said, I like the odds for my boys, even without Freeney. I say that after a bit of a rough start, Manning figures out how to dissect the Saints D, and picks them apart. Final Score: Indy 31, Saints 21.
Do you think that Tom Hanks leaves Joe Versus the Volcano off of his resume? After winning two Academy Awards in a row (only one of two people to pull that off), does it piss him off when USA Network shows that God-awful film, and bills it as "Oscar winner Tom Hanks in Joe Versus The Volcano"? Conversely, I'm sure that Meg Ryan talks it up. She'll shout it to anyone within earshot. "I was in three movies with Tom Hanks, and he never returns my calls. I used to be cute, you know!"
Every artist has that at least one embarrassing piece that makes them cringe. It's the same embarrassment you feel when your mom shows your significant other your naked baby pictures. It happens a lot in music. Sometimes an established artist will try something new that just doesn't work, or they really need the money. Sometimes they were just doing someone a favor (Michael Jackson singing back up on "Somebody's Watching Me" comes to mind). Here are a few albums by otherwise respectable artists that confused the hell out of their listening audience, and may have prompted some to demand their money back.
Hot Space – Queen (1982)
Although one of the band's most loved song is on this album, Queen's 9th album leads off this list. It's a shame that "Under Pressure" closes the CD, when it's too late for the band's David Bowie duet to save the album. Coming in at the tail end of the Disco Era, the album attempts to meld Queen's signature sound with a tired dance beat and bass line, as well as a liberal use of (the word) "funk-tion". The only positive thing about this album (besides "Under Pressure") is that the band learned its lesson and produced a more successful album, The Game, a year later.
Emotional Rescue – The Rolling Stones (1980)
On the late, lamented TV show Freaks and Geeks, a roller disco DJ (played by Joel Hodgson of Mystery Science Theater 3000 fame) trumpets "Rock and roll sucks!" and notes that even the Rolling Stones have "gone disco". Of course he was talking about Some Girls, the beginning of Stones' long downward spiral. This album made it apparent that Mick and Bianca had attended one too many cocaine-fueled orgies at Studio 54, and the credibility of a once-great rock band had been compromised. The Stones never fully recovered from their two disco albums, and their next release, Tattoo You, was a case of "too little, too late."
Kilroy Was Here – Styx (1983)
I've tried to look at this work from the perspective of Styx. Yes, the music landscape was changing. Bands like Journey, REO Speedwagon, and Styx needed to change their sound to survive the decline of classic rock. While the others found their niche, Dennis DeYoung's vision of the band's future was inspired by The Who's Tommy, and the rock opera Kilroy Was Here was born. Although the album is mostly known for its Top 40-friendly songs "Mr. Roboto" and "Don't Let it End", the concept behind Kilroy's story and lyrics is laughable. In the "story" Kilroy (DeYoung) is an aging rocker when a fascist dictatorship outlaws rock and roll. Kilroy is imprisoned by Dr. Righteous (David Young), and escapes his shackles by hollowing out a Roboto (yes, there's a story behind that stupid song). Kilroy then seeks to track down Jonathan Chance (Tommy Shaw), a young rebel who is trying to bring back rock. The heroes fight an outdated foe (Communists were the villains of choice in 1983, not fascists), armed with the most ridiculous names this side of James Cameron. The result is an unbearable cheese-fest of an album, loaded with songs like "Heavy Metal Poisoning". Unsurprisingly, nobody wanted to see the live show of Kilroy, and the disastrous concept album drove the band members apart. It would take seven years before Styx recorded another studio album.
Metal Machine Music – Lou Reed (1975)
This would be a fun party game: see how long you can listen to the first track of Metal Machine Music before you tap out and beg for it to end. If you last longer than two minutes, you win a prize. There are some who believe that this two-record "experimental" electronic noise was Reed's way of cutting loose from his contract with RCA. Reed has claimed that this album was a serious attempt at music, but he also confessed to being really high at the time. This album also marks the end of Reed's creative streak, and it gives John Cale fans all the evidence they need to prove that he was the true musical mastermind behind the Velvet Underground's best work.
Amnesiac – Radiohead (2001)
I really wanted to like this album. I gave it an honest listen. Twice. But after repeatedly subjecting myself to Amnesiac, I got the feeling that this is what severe head trauma must sound like. I guess after writing Radiohead's four previous albums, Thom York must have grown weary of composing actual songs. There is plenty of blame to be meted out for this one: by the band's third album, OK Computer, it was evident that Radiohead was en route to a major misstep in their musical catalog. Instead of staging an intervention and issuing the band an ultimatum, critics praised OK Computer as original and refreshing, ignoring the strange arrangements and weird lyrics. As a listening public, we should recognize signs like this as a musical affront, and vow to auto correct any band at the first sign that they have gone off the rails.
I am an author and freelance writer. I have published a novel titled Radio Radio, written a full length screenplay, four short films and a pilot for a television show. I am a two time Script Frenzy winner and the music columnist for Praxis Magazine. In between cheering for my beloved Indianapolis Colts and playing in online poker tournaments (as IndianaShane on PokerStars), I’m working on my second novel and screenplay (they are the same story). I live in Minneapolis with my very beautiful and extremely cool wife, DeAnna, our two dogs and pet rat.
