The News Blimp

                              The News Blimp 2010

Bob Dylan nailed it…years ago.

Broken lines, broken strings
Broken threads, broken springs,
Broken idols, broken heads,
People sleeping in broken beds.
Ain’t no use jiving,
Ain’t no use joking,
Everything is broken.

Broken bottles, broken plates,
Broken switches, broken gates,
Broken dishes, broken parts,
Streets are filled with broken hearts.
Broken words never meant to be spoken,
Everything is broken.

Seems like every time you stop and turn around
Something else just hit the ground

Broken cutters, broken saws,
Broken buckles, broken laws,
Broken bodies, broken bones,
Broken voices on broken phones
Take a deep breath, feel like you’re chokin’,
Everything is broken.

Every time you leave and go off someplace
Thangs/Things fall to pieces in my face

Broken hands on broken ploughs,
Broken treaties, broken vows,
Broken pipes, broken tools,
People bending broken rules.
Hound dog howling, bull frog croaking,
Everything is broken.

-Bob Dylan

“Everything is Broken”-RL Burnside

                              The News Blimp 2010

                               The News Blimp 2010

                                The News Blimp 2010

                             The News Blimp 2010

                             The News Blimp 2010

                    The News Blimp 2010

                                The News Blimp 2010

As we close in on the 2010 Major League baseball season…the game’s bumbling lead Napoleon…one Bud Selig… stammers on and on as usual about the evils of performance enhancers…then refuses to believe there’s a real man’s test for the use of human growth hormone.

So fans…we take you back in song to the “drug free” good ol’ hazy, crazy, major league days of yesteryear….circa 1970. When only a mirror ball full of cocaine and random LSD use was found in the pristine clubhouses at various major league ball parks in America.

Former KSAN-FM program director in San Francisco, Bonnie Simmons…reminded us of Todd Snider’s mesmerizing little acoustic ode to former Pittsburgh Pirate pitcher Dock Ellis…who once tossed a no-hitter while sky high out-of-his-mind on LSD.

America’s Favorite Pastime is one of the greatest sports songs of all time.

Play Ball!

                           The News Blimp 2010

                               The News Blimp 2010

                                The News Blimp 2010

There were three great, legendary “Willies” in the 1960’s: Mays, McCovey…and Mitchell.

The first two Willies aimed for the fences.

The third Willie aimed for our souls.

As baseball’s two Willies blazed important paths in so many ways for the ballplayers of today…many of Willie Mitchell’s ground breaking achievements in production and arranging helped pave the way for today’s recording artists.

The following is the Willie Mitchell obituary from The Recording Academy.

We are deeply saddened by the passing of Willie Mitchell.

An accomplished trumpeter who led one of the region’s premier bands of the ’50s, he made the transition to recording star at Hi Records in the ’60s. At Hi he became a vital part of the organization by engineering, producing, scouting talent and eventually running the label. A true renaissance man, Willie Mitchell created his own Memphis sound - a uniquely sophisticated brand of funk.

He put together one of the world’s greatest rhythm sections…Hi Rhythm…featuring Teenie Hodges on guitar, Charles Hodges on organ, Leroy Hodges on bass and drummer Howard Grimes. He made stars of Ann Peebles, Otis Clay, O.V. Wright and Syl Johnson, creating recordings still revered, covered and sampled to this day.

In 1969 while on tour with his Willie Mitchell Band, he met a young singer from Michigan in Midland, Texas and brought him back to Memphis. Together, he and Al Green made history, creating an unparalleled body of work featuring arguably the greatest voice in soul backed by Mitchell’s unique mix of gritty southern R&B and elegant arrangements.

In 2007 he was recognized by the Memphis Chapter of The Recording Academy at The Recording Academy Honors. In 2008 he received an even larger honor from The Recording Academy at the 50th annual GRAMMY Awards - The Trustees Award.

His impact on Memphis and music is immeasurable.

There will probably never be another one like Willie Mitchell.

When you love music as much as the Blimp Crew does…it’s really hard not to look back at the past 12 months and create a minds eye list of eardrum satisfying fave raves which…thank God…made a pretty lousy 2009 at least tolerable.

So…here, in no particular order…are 5 collections of music which helped keep The News Blimp aloft…while it seemed that for most of last year, much of our world was crashing forcefully down around us…

Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears/Tell ‘Em What Your Name Is  No other band in 2009 unleashed such an infectiously strong blend of party rockin’ soul and blues as these Austin, Texas guys. If you can’t get your ass up off the couch when they rip into Boogie or Sugarfoot…you died last year.

Joe Bonamassa/Live At The Royal Albert Hall Simply put, this is a white man on a mission to save the black man’s blues…and he’s doing a pretty damn good job of it. To really capture the essence of the gig…go for the DVD…and head straight for Woke Up Dreaming. Everything you ever imagined about live music being so totally awe inspiring emotionally will be validated on that track…as Bonamassa tears it up for 10 plus minutes with only his voice and acoustic guitar. Goosebumps.

Booker T/Potato Hole Who woulda figured this? 64 year-old Stax legend Booker T. Jones hadn’t released a collection of tunes in practically decades…then along comes this from outta-left field ear busting monster collaboration with Neil Young and Drive-By Truckers. Mr. Jones proves he can still romp…and it’s found as you chomp down hard on the cover of OutKast’s Hey Ya…and then get your ears kicked sideways by Pound It Out. Never thought we’d say this about work from Booker T…but here we go: Crank it up!

Bob Dylan/Modern Times The man could be kicking back somewhere comfy…resting on his laurels and sipping or smoking whatever makes him happy. But, nope. Rather, here roars Thunder on the Mountain…and Dylan concocting 9 additional tumbling, rumbling grooves which might as well serve as the soundtrack for the Boomers in Century 21. Someday Baby, maybe. Modern Times, indeed.

Rolling Stones/Get Yer Ya Ya’s Out If Dylan’s Modern Times is designated the soundtrack for Boomers in the 2010’s…then this re-mastered 40th anniversary 1970 live set from Mick and the boys was the soundtrack for the post-flower power 1970’s. The Stones during this era were so musically tight it practically made all other bands irrelevant. And when they were introduced as “the greatest rock and roll band in the world”…it was no hype. It was God’s truth…and 7 minutes of Sympathy for the Devil proves it. Paint It Black, for sure.

Now go out and make some noise in 2010.