Amy Winehouse Booed Off Stage in Serbia, Cancels Part of European Tour

I spent three years in L.A. going to concerts, nearly every weekend, and the only performer I can recall on stage this drunk was Darby Crash of The Germs. He could sing, no matter how wasted, but he died from a drug overdose in 1980, just a couple days after the last time I saw the band play. I've never seen Amy Winehouse, but this is just sad. It's all sad, the drugs, the lost promise, the death. At the Independent UK, "They know that she's no good... Amy Winehouse booed off stage in Serbia," and Los Angeles Times, "Amy Winehouse cancels part of European tour":

That's When We Fall in Line...

The Go-Go's are touring. My wife and I tried to get tickets for their Pechanga show (August 20th), but it sold out fast. The band played on the Dancing With the Stars finale, although this is an earlier clip:

California Coastal Commission Rejects U2 Guitarist's Plan for Five-House Compound Near Malibu

Apparently not a "Beautiful Day" for U2's The Edge.

At Los Angeles Times, "Coastal Commission rejects U2 guitarist's Malibu development plan":

The California Coastal Commission on Thursday rejected a controversial proposal by U2 guitarist the Edge to build five mansions on a rugged ridgeline above Malibu that is home to mountain lions and native chaparral.

The 8-4 vote was the culmination of what has become a closely watched property rights battle between the musician, whose real name is David Evans, and the agency that regulates development along the California coastline.

"In 38 years of this commission's existence, this is one of the three worst projects that I've seen in terms of environmental devastation," Peter Douglas, the agency's executive director, said in an interview after the vote. "It's a contradiction in terms — you can't be serious about being an environmentalist and pick this location" given the effects on habitat, land formation, scenic views and water quality.

Douglas said he expected the matter to end up in court.

More at that link above.

And from Steve Lopez, "The Edge is a bully, not an environmentalist."

Dave Alvin at L.A. Times Magazine

See "Troubadour of Troubled Times":

Over the course of roughly three decades, Alvin has compiled one of the great, if underappreciated, California songbooks, cataloging the people and places most overlook or choose to ignore.

His is not the confectionary California of endless summers and Hollywood glitter or the kooky capital of New Age seekers and sunbaked hedonists. Alvin sings of life on the margins and between the cracks, of farm workers and illegal immigrants, of meth heads and lost souls and places like Bellflower, Fontana, the High Sierra and the 605 Freeway.

He sings in a throaty rumble of love and loss and ghosts of things past. California natives, Alvin believes, suffer an odd kind of nostalgia that comes when talk of old times refers not to generations ago but a period only a few years back. “By the time you’re 20, you’re 40 in the sense of waking up in the morning and thinking, Let’s go see the orange groves. But they’re not there anymore,” he says. “They’re just gone.”

lvin, a fourth-generation Californian, born and raised in Downey, wrote one of his best songs, “Dry River,” about the cement channel running through his hometown. He recalls the time he bicycled to an orange grove near his home, only to find a field of stumps. The trees had been chopped down overnight to make way for apartments and commercial development.

Alvin, 55, has never been an overtly political singer, in the sense of writing protest songs or lending his name to a cause. But he is an acute observer of politics—especially California politics—and with the Golden State in seemingly perpetual crisis, with high unemployment, meat-cleaver budget cuts and a government paralyzed by partisanship, he suggests the state, as we know it, may be headed the way of those orange groves. Listen closely, and you might hear it in a song.

RTWT.

I grew up in the City of Orange, and walked to school through orange groves. You miss them when they're gone. There's still a few left, actually, but few and far between. This is Orange County, for crying out loud.

BONUS: Check Dave Alvin's website.

Coldplay: 'Every Teardrop is a Waterfall'

The new single.

And the band's endorsing the movement of Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions against Israel? That's lame. See Uncoverage, "Rock Group “ColdPlay” Endorses Jihad Against Israel."

School's Out

For summer, at Pat Austin's, "On The End of School and Classroom Discipline Measures."

I'm not teaching this summer either, the first time in 11 years.

Winding Down, 'Top 100 Rock Albums of All Time' — The Beatles, 'White Album', at No. 35

Well, it's been years since I posted this, but definitely a favorite. I wonder of old ace commenter Kreiz is still reading along?

See The Sound L.A., "No. 35: Beatles | White Album (Side 1)."

I'm traveling to Temecula for barbecue with old friends. I should be online late this afternoon for blogging ...

Meanwhile, grab a beer and log on to The Sound L.A. for some classic album rock. It's kickin'.

A roundup of the countdown is here: "'Top 100 Rock Albums of All Time' — Lynyrd Skynyrd, 'Pronounced', at No. 42."

'Top 100 Rock Albums of All Time' — Lynyrd Skynyrd, 'Pronounced', at No. 42

Listened again to The Sound L.A. while out to the skatepark with my son. I caught "No. 42: Lynyrd Skynyrd | Pronounced (Side 2)," but check the homepage for updates. The station is just rockin' the vinyl!

The live clip's long, so fast forward to 5:00 and the boys start jammin' the guitars. And that Confederate battle flag is one hella touch, and for a BBC performance in 1975! British heads exploding?!!

PREVIOUSLY: "The Sound L.A., 'Top 100 Rock Albums of All Time' — J.T.'s 'Sweet Baby James' at No. 83," and "More From 'The Top 100 Albums of All Time' — David Bowie 'Ziggy Stardust' at No. 79."

More From 'The Top 100 Albums of All Time' — David Bowie 'Ziggy Stardust' at No. 79

"Star."

Heard it yesterday while out to the skatepark, "No. 79: David Bowie | Ziggy Stardust (Side 2)":

PREVIOUSLY: "The Sound L.A., 'Top 100 Rock Albums of All Time' — J.T.'s 'Sweet Baby James' at No. 83'."

The Sound L.A., 'Top 100 Rock Albums of All Time' — J.T.'s 'Sweet Baby James' at No. 83

For the holiday weekend, at The Sound L.A.: "The Top 100 Rock Albums of All Time." Pretty interesting. David Bowie's "Diamond Dogs" came in a No. 88.

I was out for a bit and heard "No. 83: James Taylor | Sweet Baby James (Side 1)," including, "Oh, Susannah":

As this post goes live, "No. 81: Elton John | Madman Across the Water (Side 1)", is on the turntable. It's happening all weekend and you can listen from your laptop.

(And this reminds me of my good friend Tony from Down Under, who posts his weekly Sunday Night Music entries over at P.A. Pundits International. Enjoy the music, Tony!)

'I'd hit that so hard she'd sing the aaa-aaa chorus of The Immigrant Song'

That's Ace, apparently clarifying some earlier vague statements regarding Christina Hendricks.

Folks might recall that Ace digs Zeppelin. I'm occasionally reminded of it while listening to The Sound L.A.:

P.S. Ace like big rock sounds and big breasts, and isn't shy about it -- in contrast to Scott "ASFL" Kaufman, who hates beautiful women.

RELATED RULE 5: At TOM: "Christina Hendricks Talks About Her Breasts: ‘They’re So Obviously Real …" (That's an encore link, so look forward to some additional TOM linkage later ... I'm trolling the dude for some traffic.)

If You Believe That Anyone Like Me Within a Song...

Flashback to 1981.

The Psychedelic Furs, "Into You Like A Train":

Lady Gaga's Next Chapter

At New York Times, "Lady Gaga Has a New Album, 'Born This Way'."

And from the comments at Althouse:

Gaga: progressively more tiresome.

I'd say more like a cross between Madonna and the Spice Girls with some Marilyn Manson thrown in for good measure.

I posted on Gaga's "Judas" previously, and ace commenter Dennis was also unimpressed.

I Got No Friends 'Cause They Read the Papers...

Alice Cooper, "No More Mr. Nice Guy":

From yesterday morning's drive time, at The Sound LA.

Killer set, especially while getting slammed in some serious traffic:

9:37am You're My Best Friend by Queen

09:30am Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald by Gordon Lightfoot

09:21am Mainstreet by Bob Seger

09:18am No More Mr. Nice Guy by Alice Cooper

09:15am Lady Madonna by Beatles (remastered)

09:12am Blue Morning Blue Day by Foreigner

09:05am Suite Judy Blue Eyes by Crosby, Stills, And Nash

09:00am One of These Nights by Eagles

08:51am Cold Shot by Stevie Ray Vaughan

8:46 - Empty Spaces / Young Lust by Pink Floyd

8:42 - Sunshine of Your Love by Cream

8:39 - Rock The Casbah by Clash

8:35 - Saturday In The Park by Chicago

8:26 - I Still Haven't Found... by U2

8:20 - Ready For Love by Bad Company