route1

The "All-India" Tour of 1911

2012-01-28T05:32:00.003-06:00

I'm listening to PAKISTAN playing ENGLAND on the radio online while reading a fascinating story from the annals of cricket.
Dr. Prashant Kidambi, an historian with the UNIVERSITY OF LEICESTER, penned an essay in the 2011 WISDEN about the landmark "ALL-INDIA" TOUR OF ENGLAND of 1911.
The tour was the first by a truly combined team of Indians -- Parsis, Sikhs, Hindus and Muslims all took part.
Kidambi writes:
"The tour had indeed shown that Indians of different communities could play alongside each other, and thereby inaugurated a new idea of India on the sporting field."
The captain was a prince, Bhupinder Singh, the Maharaja of Patiala, and the best player was the star bowler, an "untouchable," Palwankar Baloo.
The team initially struggled in England, and rumors told of sectarian divisions among the players of such varied backgrounds.
The team improved toward the tour's end, however, and returned having learned much about the type of sporting excursions undertaken early in the 20th century, traveling by boat and train, and encountering alien cultures along the way.

All creatures great and small and so, so funny

2012-01-27T05:23:00.003-06:00

Here at ROUTE 1 H.Q., our crack team of Whatever-It-Is-We-Do-Heres includes two CATS and a DOG. These three provide hours of enjoyment, apart from the times they beg for pizza scraps or bits of tuna sandwiches.
We wondered about the joyful antics of the pets of our readers, which prompted this week's FRIDAY QUESTION:
"What's the funniest thing you've seen a pet do?"
INGER H. -- I think Rudy took the cake when we were playing on the bed, and something I did startled him so much that he flew backwards as if being shot from a cannon and ended up falling on the floor. I cried I laughed so hard.
LAURA C. -- Niko has, on more than one occasion, peed on his own face. He doesn't lift his leg to pee, so at times, when he really, really has to go, the stream is strong enough that it hits the backs of his front legs...which startles him, so he looks down to see what's going on...and...POW!
KERI M. -- My pet dives into the snow and comes out and looks at us like he is waiting for us to judge his dive.
BEKAH P. -- This is funny/sad. I had a blind dog. An adorable dog, but a very, very blind dog. So, when I would drive up the driveway, this blind dog and the three other dogs would coming running out, barking. But this poor puppy was always running/facing/barking in the wrong direction.
ROSEANNE H. -- Our poodle, Flanigan licks his lips when asked if he is hungry.
KERSTIN H. -- This weekend we got a bag of pipe cleaners for Lorelei to play with and we put them on a stool. She pulled all of them off 1 by 1 and then meowed for us to put them back on it so she could do it all again.
JIM S. -- Our old cat Tabby, who was de-clawed in the front because we had two young kids (and lots of furniture!), would chase squirrels about 15 feet up a walnut tree, then suddenly realize his only grip was his hind feet. He'd then turn around, give in to gravity and scamper down. Also, legend has it that when I was about 4, my dad and his buddies once let our little dog Joe drink some leftover Hamm's beer. He lost his balance and tipped over off our short front porch. (No injuries and just slightly tipsy.)
SANDYE V. -- My tuxedo cat, Cupid, plays a game with us. We hide Baby, his little stuffed cat, and (only when we are out of the house) he finds it and leaves it by the door. Occasionally we've caught him retrieving it. He makes weird noises and attacks it with his hind legs --- until he sees us watching. Then he drops it like a hot potato and walks away.
ANNIKA H. -- Open the door with a bra . . . Lorelei.
STACEY B. -- Bear (a large dog) treats a ZhuZhu Pet as his baby. For three weeks now, Bear has carried the toy in his mouth, licked the toy clean and slept near the toy. He freaks out if the toy goes missing.
BOB H. -- When I take Flanigan shopping and he gets bored, he takes his leash in his mouth and tries to lead ME out of the store.
MARY N.-P. -- OMG don't get me started - we have the funniest pets ever, mostly our cats, and they have us chuckling daily. If I have to pick a couple of best: 1 - Rolly, who stands on his hind legs to paw on glass doors or windows whenever another cat is outside. He'll do it for 5-10 minutes at a time. Don't know if he is trying to get through the glass or trying to attract their attention or what. 2 - Gracie, who "fetches" balls and toy mousies that we bounce down the stairs. She trots back up with them in her mouth, like a retriever, and drops them on the floor (not near you of course).
ERIK H. -- Our "dog" (if it seems like I use the term loosely, you'll soon find out why) has lived with our two cats a little too long, we think. Along with begging for tuna, perching on the top of the couch, sprawling in a rectangle of sun on the floor and eating Meow Mix, Rory the wannabe cat is fixated upon a squeaky mouse toy. Actually, fixated is not a strong enough description for the single-minded, if not manic, obsession that grips Rory when she hears the squeak (pictured). Once she has the toy mouse on the floor, Rory attempts to kick it with all four paws at once before unleashing a slobbering attack by mouth.

Happy Australia Day!

2012-01-26T05:12:00.001-06:00

Happy AUSTRALIA DAY everybody!
I plan on listening to Aussie band HUNTERS & COLLECTORS and reading about CRICKET to celebrate.
Actually, that's how I spent NOT AUSTRALIA DAY as well...

Trash Can Sinatras, the coast and Third Lanark (R.I.P.)

2012-01-24T20:09:00.002-06:00

I can never hear THE TRASH CAN SINATRAS without thinking of drives along the curving highway along the wind-swept coast of SONOMA COUNTY, CALIF.
No matter that FRANK READER and the rest of the band hailed from far-off IRVINE, SCOTLAND. I'll always associate the band and its brilliant debut album, "CAKE," with the coastal route because I listened to them constantly during summers off from college, driving along those roads to the beach.
I listened to the album, including the hits "Obscurity Knocks," "Only Tongue Can Tell" and "Circling the Circumference," while reading about British football in the 1950s tonight.
In particular, I was reading about Scottish football clubs, such as the late, great THIRD LANARK. Between 1872 and 1967, the "Thirds" were the GLASGOW club for supporters who wanted to enjoy football without the sectarian connotations of city giants RANGERS and CELTIC.
The Trash Can Sinatras' timeless, jangly sound is a great accompaniment to reading about defunct Scottish football clubs, too.

The little Scottish map that taught so much

2012-01-23T19:04:00.004-06:00

I listened to "THIS IS THE STORY," the debut album by THE PROCLAIMERS today, and couldn't help but think about a weathered, rather tattered, map book that's among my prized possessions.
"THE BARTHOLOMEW SCOTTISH FOOTBALL MAP" (circa 1978) seemed like a communication from some alien world to a 12-year-old boy growing up a soccer fanatic in suburban CALIFORNIA.
The map constantly taught me.
It told of teams with interesting names like "Queen of the South," "Partick Thistle" and "Alloa Athletic" and it featured such exotic locales as Brechin, Stranraer and Methil.
I learnt about the exploits of managers like Jock Stein and Willie Waddell, and of star players such as Asa Hartford, Danny McGrain and Alan Rough.
I learnt that Raith Rovers weren't from a place called "Raith," but are actually based in a place called Kirkcaldy, that chandeliers hung from the ceiling of Ibrox and that Berwick Rangers were the strangest anomaly of all -- an ENGLISH team playing in the Scottish league.
Today was a grey day, the Proclaimers were stridently singing, and I remembered the little illustrations of the shirts of Scotland. It was fine memory.

Stung by Niners' loss, Kelly reports

2012-01-22T21:50:00.003-06:00

I feel stung twice tonight.
Shortly before the SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS lost, 20-17, in overtime to the NEW YORK GIANTS in the NFC Championship game, multiple reports began emerging that CHIP KELLY, football coach of MY BELOVED OREGON DUCKS, was close to finalizing a deal to become the next coach of the NFL's TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS.
Say it ain't so -- squared.
The Niners' defense played well, but the offense did not -- barring a few big plays. Punt returner Kyle Williams also contributed to San Francisco's downfall, muffing one return and fumbling another to set up two crucial New York scores -- including the game-winning field goal by Lawrence Tynes.
Soccer and cricket will consume my sporting attention now, until rugby league and baseball return in a couple of months.
Yeah... I still might have to cue up one of those SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS WORLD SERIES DVDs to ease my troubled mind.

The wonders of Wisden

2012-01-21T18:24:00.003-06:00

Each morning this week I woke up early to listen to online commentary of the ENGLAND v. PAKISTAN cricket Test being played in neutral DUBAI.
Pakistan (338 & 15-0) defeated England (192 & 160) by 10 wickets to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series. Spinner Saeed Ajmal took 10 wickets in the match for Pakistan.
Each lunchtime this week, I buried my nose into one of my CHRISTMAS gifts.
The WISDEN CRICKETERS' ALMANACK is the 149-year-old, annual Bible of the sport, a yearbook, record book and rule book all wrapped in one hefty package.
I've always wanted one, so I was delighted when I received the 2011 edition at Yuletide.
Open the book to any of the 1,648 pages, and you can find nuggets about the sport and its personalities.
For example:
* Page 199, where the obituary for Gerald Percival Plumbly notes that the former president of the Stoics Cricket Club "was a Marylebone vet who treated an astonishing variety of animals in Central London, ranging from the Queen's horses to circus animals, and once had to rescue a Soho stripper who has being strangled by a boa constrictor."
* Page 703, where we're told the Birmingham & District League is the oldest such cricket league in the world, and that Shrewsbury won the 2010 title -- its first -- after bowler Elliot Green took nine wickets for only 77 runs scored against.
* Page 1,187, where we learn cricket is being revived in the Solomon Islands, where it had previously thrived during British colonial rule. Games are played every Sunday on a concrete wicket covered by a grass-colored mat.
I don't I will ever read every single page of my Wisden -- there are simply so many -- but I love being able to thumb through it, collecting bits of cricket knowledge and adding them to my ever increasing pile, like a religious zealot compiling shells and other trinkets while constructing a grotto.

Good eatin' the Friday Question way

2012-01-20T05:30:00.002-06:00

Here at ROUTE 1, we don't get out much. In fact, our attempt at "nightlife" often descends to the level of corndogs and "Rushmore" on DVD (but enough about what we did last night).
That's why we're keenly anticipating the answers to this week's FRIDAY QUESTION (because we can *dream,* can't we):
"What restaurants near you would you recommend to visitors, and why?"
STEVE M. -- If someone came to DC they should check out the Old Ebbit Grill on 15th St. Straight across the street from the Treasury Building, and only a couple of blocks from the While House. It has a cigar bar /oyster bar vibe at the bar, and good-sized sit down restaurant for meals. Huge 19th-century-looking mural on the wall, and an extra bar and seating in the back for a quieter experience. You feel like a senator or two should be in the place at all times. What's good? The breakfasts are good, and the bacon blue cheese burgers, among other things.
RICK T. -- Coastal Restaurant on US 98 in Panacea, Florida. Best grilled grouper you ever ate.
BRIAN M. -- In Grants Pass, Oregon, I would recommend several places. If you're looking for an informal lunch place, I'd try the Laughing Clam on G Street. There's no TV, so you won't see sports there. Good fish'n'chips, jambalaya. A great microbrew (and pizza) is Wild River Brewing Co., either the restaurant or the smaller "pub," both on F Street. A gem during the summer is Summer Jo's, on a farm a couple miles west of town. Interesting, organic dishes, good local wine, comfortable outdoor seating and usually live music.
LAURA C. -- L'ardoise for cozy ambiance and yummy French bistro fare...and if you're lucky enough to get a reservation, Frances. Their summer corn soup is the single best thing I have ever eaten.
SANDYE V. -- I would have to say, turn around and go back to Platteville, Galena or Dubuque, because there are no restaurants in my adopted hometown, Benton. They could get a good pizza or burger at the Wigwam Bar in Hazel Green, 7 miles away, but the ambiance is .... lacking...
MARY N.-P. -- We always tell folks in Bellevue to try out the Happy Bean, sometimes called Water Street Market, for its nearly always fabulous gourmet dishes and desserts. With a change of chefs, I personally don't know how things are going there now, so I will hold off until I know for sure they are continuing the wonderful tradition they are/were famous for...
ERIK H. -- Here in Dubuque, some of the best places to eat are either off the beaten path or disguised as simple, neighborhood taverns. The Bier Stube, a tavern a couple of blocks from my house, serves up delicious, home-cooked German food, complete with big slices of buttered rye bread. Does it taste good washed down with a German beer from the tap? Does it ever!

Johnny Otis, R.I.P.

2012-01-19T05:20:00.004-06:00

The pioneering R&B performer, VALLEJO, CALIF.-born JOHNNY OTIS, has died age 90.
He was the man who launched the HAND JIVE craze.
JILL I saw him perform once at his small night club in SEBASTOPOL, CALIF.
The son of Greek immigrants, Otis chose to live among the black community, which I believe helped remove some of the race barriers in music at the time.
I've got a pair of Otis albums -- one from the 1940s ("BE BOP BABY BLUES") and one from the 1990s ("SPIRIT OF THE BLACK TERRITORY BANDS"). I'll listen to them today in tribute.

The songs of Wes Anderson

2012-01-18T05:38:00.003-06:00

I tinkered with my iPod last night, creating a playlist of some of the most memorable songs from the first three films of WES ANDERSON.
"2000 Man" by The Rolling Stones is there -- it plays during the climax of "BOTTLE ROCKET."
"Judy is a Punk" by the Ramones is on there -- the insanely catchy song punctuates "THE ROYAL TENENBAUMS."
"RUSHMORE" is the best-represented film in my playlist of songs, for good reason. I think it's Anderson's greatest mix of music and movie.
"Making Time" by The Creation, "Concrete and Clay" by Unit 4+2 and "Ooh La La" by the Faces are all included.
I just don't the exact order! That's why I plan on watching "Rushmore" on DVD tonight. Does Cat Stevens' "Here Comes My Baby" appear before or after The Rolling Stones' "I am Waiting?" I'll find out tonight.

Farewell to my Golden Gate brick

2012-01-17T05:26:00.002-06:00

How's this for a rude awakening?
I woke up today, checked email, and read a startling newspaper article my sister INGER forwarded to me.
About 7,500 commemorative bricks purchased as part of the 50th anniversary of the GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE will be demolished this week, part of an effort to make the pathway near the bridge compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
That means the ERIK HOGSTROM BRICK will be no more, and I never had an opportunity to show it to my daughters, KERSTIN and ANNIKA.
"ERIK HOGSTROM COLLEGE GRAD 88" is the brick's inscription.
I have long viewed it as a symbol: It's the part of me that remains at a place I love, even though I am thousands of miles away.
We tried in vain to find the brick during a family vacation to my hometown SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA.
Determined to finally locate the brick, my detective work eventually paid off. I felt unmatched euphoria when I finally found it.
I have visited my brick twice since, even introducing it to my wife JILL and Inger (feet pictured).
I never got to show the girls, though. That's why today's article was such a rude awakening.
Good bye brick. Now, I'll have to rely on my memories of home, instead of a symbolic "anchor."

Niners' success is like turning back the clock

2012-01-16T05:53:00.002-06:00

The SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS' success in the postseason feels like a clock has been turned back a couple decades for me.
I have closely followed the 49ers since childhood, so I experienced all five SUPER BOWL victories from the team's glory years.
I admit, I was surprised the NEW YORK GIANTS defeated the GREEN BAY PACKERS so relatively easily last night.
Now, the Giants must travel to San Francisco, where the Niners are 18-4 in home playoff games since 1980.
San Francisco beat New York earlier this season at CANDLESTICK PARK, 27-20.
I'm not sure how about the outcome of this coming Sunday's game, but I am sure seeing the Niners one win away from the Super Bowl will turn back the clock once more.

Jumping around the house, whooping like a banshee

2012-01-15T06:49:00.003-06:00

The casual observer might have looked at the conclusion of SAN FRANCISCO'S 36-32 NFL PLAYOFF triumph over NEW ORLEANS with mild to moderate interest at the spectacle.
Me, I jumped around the house and whooped like a banshee.
Much-maligned quarterback ALEX SMITH set a roller coaster into motion when he raced down the sidelines for a 28-yard touchdown run with 2:11 remaining.
Drew Brees of the Saints was never going to go quietly, although his 66-yard scoring pass to Jimmy Graham with 1:37 left quieted both the CANDLESTICK PARK crowd and my house.
I adore the 49ers -- they and the SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS are the two teams I grew up cheering, through thick (five Super Bowl titles) and thin (recent drab, losing seasons).
When the 49ers returned to the field, I sat quietly watching, hoping Smith could at least engineer a drive to get the team into field goal range.
Smith did more than that. Finally seeming to come into his own as an NFL player, he passed to tight end VERNON DAVIS for a 47-yard gain, then two plays later found Davis at the goal line for a 14-yard scoring strike with 9 seconds left.
I erupted like a microcosm of the pandemonium sweeping through the stadium.
The buzz lingered for hours.
Sports can do that sort of thing to a person. I think that's why we need sports.

Led Zep Week: Bootlegs are bad, yes? Well...

2012-01-14T07:25:00.002-06:00

You can't celebrate *LED ZEP WEEK* without a mention of the thriving BOOTLEG scene, eh?
I am listening to "FOR BADGEHOLDERS ONLY" this morning before I head to work.
"Welcome to three hours of lunacy," ROBERT PAGE tells the LOS ANGELES FORUM crowd on June 23, 1977 before the band launches into a brief snippet of "THE ROVER" that segues into "SICK AGAIN."
It's a magical LED ZEPPELIN moment that wouldn't be possible without the illicit taping of the concert.
Led Zeppelin manager PETER GRANT would famously storm into record shops and smash bootlegs of the band, and he instructed security staff to toss out concert audience members suspected of having outlawed recording equipment.
Still, the bootlegging continued, offering an alternative document of the biggest band on the planet at the time.
Sure, the sound quality isn't always the best. The bootlegs do give a sense of the experience.
In the case of "For Badgeholders Only," the bootleg provides a parting impression of Led Zeppelin: The band never toured America again after that 1977 cross-country jaunt.

Led Zep Week: All of our favorites

2012-01-13T05:17:00.002-06:00

We hope you have enjoyed *LED ZEP WEEK* as much as we have.
The success of a single-themed week of posts at ROUTE 1 prompted officials to consider future series. Tentative plans call for weeks devoted to KARLHEINZ STOCKHAUSEN, GRANDPA JONES and KIDZ BOP.
For now, let us celebrate the legacy of LED ZEPPELIN by answering the following FRIDAY QUESTION:
"What is your favorite Led Zeppelin song?"
KERI M. -- "D'yer Maker."
MARY N.-P. -- Oh God this is embarrassing, but it's actually the much-maligned and parodied "Stairway to Heaven."
JIM S. -- As usual with music questions, it's too tough for me to pick just one. "Trampled Underfoot," "Rock and Roll" and "Over the Hills and Far Away" stand out, but I also can't leave out "D'yer Maker," "Whole Lotta Love" and "Fool in the Rain." My favorite album is "Houses of the Holy," and the most overplayed (and perhaps over-rated) is "Stairway to Heaven."
BRIAN M. -- It's so hard to pick a Led Zeppelin song just because it had so many phases to its career and had so many aspects to its music. But for right now, I'll go with "Since I've Been Loving You."
ANNIKA H. -- Who's Led Zeppelin? JUST KIDDING I don't know what my favorite is.
BRIAN C. -- "Living Loving Maid," especially right after "Heartbreaker."
SASKIA M. -- "Kashmir!!!!!!!!" (but I admit: I'm a sucker for "Stairway to Heaven" as well).
ERIK H. -- My favorite Led Zeppelin song changes every day. Some days, it's "The Rover," with its guitar-effects swagger, some days it's "Black Dog," with its incredibly complicated, endlessly looping riff and other days it's the beautiful, country tinged "Tangerine."
Today, my favorite is actually a trio of songs -- the three-song introduction to Side 2 (dating myself) of "Led Zeppelin II."
"Heartbreaker" features an indelible, crushing riff and Jimmy Page's non sequitur guitar solo; "Living, Loving Maid" sounds to me like an amped-up version of a bouncy, 1950s rock-n-roll jukebox classic; and "Ramble On" impresses with its wild, soft-to-loud dynamics and exquisite acoustic guitar playing. All three demonstrate not just the boundless talent of Page, Robert Plant, John Paul Jones and John Bonham, but the breadth of styles employed by the band.

Led Zep Week: You can't forget the Danelectro

2012-01-12T05:14:00.002-06:00

I have few complaints about NIGEL WILLIAMSON'S "THE ROUGH GUIDE TO LED ZEPPELIN," the comprehensive biography/discography of the band I have been reading during *LED ZEP WEEK.*
I do have at least one minor quibble.
The Page 79 feature on the guitars of JIMMY PAGE refers to Gibsons, Fenders, 12-strings, double-necks and acoustic guitars -- but makes no mention of the most surprising axe in the guitarist's arsenal.
Associated with the SEARS, ROEBUCK catalog, the DANELECTRO was considered the "beginner guitar of the post-war Baby Boom generation," according to "TOTALLY GUITAR: THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE" by Tony Bacon and Dave Hunter.
Page used the humble Danelectro for a specific and important role in LED ZEPPELIN -- it was the guitar of choise for slide playing.
He first used the guitar in the YARDBIRDS, tuning it in a modal fashion.
By the time Led Zep took flight, Page used the Danelectro for the "WHITE SUMMER/BLACK MOUNTAIN SIDE" medley on tours.
He also used it for such live favorites as "When the Levee Breaks," "Kashmir" and "In My Time of Dying."
Page thought enough about the Danelectro to use it during the band's 1988 reunion at the Atlantic Records' 40th Anniversary concert.
For a guitar of "low birth," Page's Danelectro gained a high profile.

Led Zep Week: Scenes from Danmarks Radio Broadcast, 17 March 1969

2012-01-11T05:15:00.007-06:00

Led Zep Week: Unknowns discover something special

2012-01-10T06:38:00.002-06:00

I'm reading "THE ROUGH GUIDE TO LED ZEPPELIN" during *LED ZEP WEEK* and after reading about the band members' backgrounds, I have reached the fledgling early days.
Although they eventually rose to ROCK GOD status, the band originally set forth as a rather risky proposition -- a pair of session musicians combined with a pair of unknowns.
Even the earliest rehearsals convinced one of the unknowns -- vocalist ROBERT PLANT -- that the quartet were onto something special.
Plant explained:
"Although we were all steeped in blues and R&B , we found in that first hour-and-a-half that we had out that we had our own identity. I could feel that something was happening within myself and to everyone else in the room. It felt like we'd found something that we had to really be careful of because we might lose it. The power of it was remarkable."
They found something remarkable and enduring, as well all subsequently learned.

Led Zep Week: Is "Beck's Bolero" the first Led Zep tune?

2012-01-09T07:55:00.002-06:00

We open *LED ZEP WEEK* here at ROUTE 1 by posing a question:
Is "BECK'S BOLERO" the first LED ZEPPELIN song?
The instrumental recorded in May 1966 (a very, *very* good month of that year) combined the talents of guitarists JEFF BECK and JIMMY PAGE and employed a Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame-quality rhythm section, with JOHN PAUL JONES on bass, NICKY HOPKINS on piano and the MUPPET SHOW'S ANIMAL -- no, sorry -- KEITH MOON (honest mistake) on drums.
Page wrote the song and modeled it on MAURICE RAVEL'S "BOLERO."
The dynamics of the song and the treated guitar parts certainly suggest the seeds of what would become the Led Zep sound -- no doubt also influenced by the presence of two Led Zep members on the track in Page and Jones.
Andrew James Kellett, writing in "FATHERS AND SONS: AMERICAN BLUES AND BRITISH ROCK MUSIC, 1960-1970," describes "Beck's Bolero" as a piece in which the musicians "did not merely copy the symphonic form, but welded to it the musical lessons they had already learned."
This combining of styles surely dictated Led Zeppelin's approach to blues and folk music forms throughout the band's career. In this regard, I think we can consider "Beck's Bolero" a proto-Zep tune.
I ultimately think the only true Led Zeppelin music were the tunes created by the original four members. "Beck's Bolero" certainly points the way forward -- the Led Zeppelin way forward.

Red Solo Cup get out of my head!

2012-01-08T07:38:00.003-06:00

BRAD WARREN, BRETT WARREN, BRETT BEAVERS and JIM BEAVERS have so, so much to answer for.
Here's why:
Our youngest daughter ANNIKA turns 13 today, and among her plans for the day is an almost continuous playing of the TOBY KEITH hit single, "RED SOLO CUP."
The rather simple (and Keith admits, rather stupid) song celebrates the red, plastic cups that appear as ubiquitous accessories at parties at which keg beer is prominently dispensed.
The song is infuriatingly catchy -- it will worm its way into your head and won't be dislodged unless you listen to something equally, memorably catchy (I find LED ZEPPELIN'S "IMMIGRANT SONG" does the trick for me).
Blame the two Warren brothers and the two Beavers brothers. Country musicians and songwriters (DIERKS BENTLEY has performed many of their songs), these four men penned "Red Solo Cup," creating a monster(ous hit) in the process.
At our house, we treat a BIRTHDAY as a personal holiday, a day with multiple little celebrations.
One of Annika's celebrations will be the playing of "Red Solo Cup."
My fear is that "HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU" isn't going to have what it takes to knock out this heavyweight champion EARWORM.

Route 1 resolutions

2012-01-06T05:44:00.001-06:00

It's a NEW YEAR and that means it's time for resolutions.
This week, ROUTE 1 readers announce their intentions by answering the following FRIDAY QUESTION:
"Any New Year's resolutions"
KERI M. -- Not to lose my mind while planning my wedding.
ANNIKA H. -- Don't die!
JOHN S. -- I am going to compete in a HALF Ironman: 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, 13.1 mile run. Just to prove I am only HALF crazy.
KERSTIN H. -- I don't believe in New Year's resolutions. I believe every day is a day to set a new goal for yourself.
BRIAN M. -- 1. See more baseball this year (which might be difficult since I'll have less time this baseball season than last, and I again have tickets to an MLS team).
2. Run a (10-mile) Pear Blossom Run in closer to 90 minutes than 2 hours. (This year's will be my sixth.)
3. Get a different job.
ERIK H. -- I want to do a better job of "practicing what I preach," or living the healthier lifestyle I write about for the newspaper. One step in that direction: We ate a big salad with chicken last night, rather than something more processed and with more sodium.

Rock debauchery on display

2012-01-05T06:18:00.002-06:00

Author Sean Egan remarks that when THE ROLLING STONES embarked upon their 1972 American tour:
"They cut a swathe of decadence through the country, partaking of drugs, groupies, hotel-trashing and Hugh Hefner's Playboy mansion along the way."
ROBERT FRANK'S unreleased documentary of the tour, "C*CKSUCKER BLUES," provides an unblinking and unflinching look at the Stones in full swathe-cutting mode. Watch "C*cksucker Blues" today, as I have been on YOUTUBE, and it appears as a darker version of "THIS IS SPINAL TAP."
Look no farther than author TERRY SOUTHERN'S onscreen declaration that "Cocaine is so expensive that I don't think it's possible to develop a habit."
The Stones have famously prohibited the film's general release -- perhaps they want to shield their fans from such sights as Keith nodding off on a groupie's lap.
We see this film today knowing full well that sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll swirled around the Stones during the swaggering Seventies.
"C*cksucker Blues" captures this hazy period in appropriately grainy images of debauchery that probably would have shocked 1972 audiences, but seems rather tame today.
Famously, a court order restricts "C*cksucker Blues" to being shown no more than five times per year and only in Frank's presence.
I don't know how it ended up on YouTube, but I have enjoyed seeing it as a period piece from a time when rock -- and the Stones -- seemed most dangerous.

Crazy night -- for all the wrong reasons

2012-01-04T06:59:00.002-06:00

It was a crazy IOWA CAUCUS night, for reasons you might not expect.
My wife JILL is in PHOENIX, ARIZ., for a corporate sales meeting and I was covering a caucus site at the DUBUQUE COUNTY FAIRGROUNDS.
Our oldest daughter KERSTIN was driving our youngest daughter ANNIKA to dance class when a tire blew on the Grand Am.
Kerstin called 911, I instructed Annika to call Jill's dad.
The car was towed to our mechanic and my father-in-law drove the shaken girls home.
I tried hard to concentrate on my task at hand -- tweeting, shooting video and interviewing participants.
I finally relaxed when I arrived home.
It was a crazy night for all the wrong reasons.

Stones' peak performance

2012-01-03T10:26:00.002-06:00

I am working a night shift (IOWA CAUCUS edition) so I had time this morning to clean the kitchen.
I listened to "EXILE ON MAIN ST.," the 1972 ROLLING STONES album that is either a lazy, aimless effort or the band's finest work, depending on the listener.
I am in the latter category: I think "Exile" is astounding.
Perhaps the album does sound like an unnecessarily murky mishmash upon first hearing.
I have listened to it many times -- I had it on cassette tape back in the day -- and can name at least nine classic songs from the album, including "Tumbling Dice," "Shine a Light" and "Torn and Frayed."
I am drawn to the album in part because of the presence of my favorite Stone, guitarist MICK TAYLOR.
KEITH RICHARDS has said he doesn't believe Taylor's virtuosic playing fit with the Stones' music. I think "Exile" helps prove the contrary.
On "Rocks Off" and "Stop Breaking Down," in particular, Taylor's guitar playing shines a light into the murky depths of the songs.

Ducks finally win the Rose Bowl

2012-01-02T20:36:00.002-06:00

WISCONSIN quarterback Russell Wilson spiked the ball after time had already expired, and I could finally exhale.
After a wild, high-scoring game filled with a succession of pivotal moments, MY BELOVED OREGON DUCKS had finally won the ROSE BOWL in my lifetime, 45-38.
We watched the game on TV, eating nachos and alternately cheering and groaning (only occasionally cursing) as the play dictated.
Darron Thomas tossed three scoring passes, Lavasier Tuinei caught two touchdown passes and De'Anthony Thomas scored on runs of 91 and 64 yards to fuel the Oregon offense.
It wouldn't have mattered without Oregon's defensive effort, led by linebacker Kiko Alonso. Alonso's interception of a Wilson pass thwarted a Badger drive and seemed to turn the tide -- finally -- toward a Duck victory.
A victory, I might add, I have waited my whole life to witness.

The Rolling Stones at their most radical?

2011-12-30T05:31:00.002-06:00

I'm reading "THE ROUGH GUIDE TO THE ROLLING STONES" this week and listening to the band's albums in order.
Yesterday, I reached "BEGGARS BANQUET," the 1968 album I now consider to be the Rolling Stones' most radical work -- when compared to its predecessors.
Songs such as "No Expectations," "Jig-Saw Puzzle," "Prodigal Son" and "Salt of the Earth" sound like they come from a completely different band than the group that create such albums as "Aftermath," "Between the Buttons" and "Their Satanic Majesties Request."
Is that because co-founder and multi-instrumentalist BRIAN JONES had largely faded from the scene, mere months before his sacking and death? Was KEITH RICHARDS exerting more control over the band as a result?
No matter the reason, "Beggars Banquet" marks a complete departure from the band's previous musical trajectory.
One of the great fallacies among some Stones aficionados is that "Beggars Banquet" represents a return to the band's country-blues roots. What country-blues roots? The songs from the first clutch of albums in the band's catalog are covers of Chess Records-style R&B -- much more B.B. King than Robert Johnson.
If The Rolling Stones had country-blues roots, they kept them to themselves and didn't record them.
While "Beggars Banquet" marks such a clean break, it also represents a template that the band would loyally adhere to, even to this day. Styles like funk, disco and even reggae were later incorporated into a swaggering, bluesy sound that got its start on "Beggars Banquet" -- an album that's radical and trend-setting.

I must be doing something right -- she loves Bowie

2011-12-29T06:10:00.002-06:00

I must be doing something right as a parent: My 16-year-old daughter KERSTIN posted the lyrics to the DAVID BOWIE classic "LIFE ON MARS" while praising it on FACEBOOK last night.
Although it has played in the background for ages, the song came into focus for her one recent night while the two of us drove home from a school debate tournament in DES MOINES.
Kerstin took control of the iPod, and we delved into the music of the 1970s, then the 80s.
We alternated playing each others favorite songs by artists including Queen, Roxy Music, Bowie, Culture Club, Propaganda and Terence Trent D'Arby.
Enveloped by darkness and with an empty road ahead of us, we could intently listen to the songs' various elements -- their lyrical touches and musical arrangements.
I explained that while I can never make sense of "Life on Mars" -- "see the mice in their million hordes from Ibiza to the Norfolk Broads" -- Bowie sings it with such conviction and emotional intensity that it has become one of my anthems.
Maybe I'll figure out what he's singing about in the future, but I love the song so much it doesn't really matter.
The few minutes of listening must have made an impression on Kerstin. Vacationing this week with our younger daughter ANNIKA with grandparents in RENO, Kerstin posted lyrics to some of her favorite songs last night.
"Life on Mars" was included, so I must be doing something right.

'Got, Not Got' is great for triggering memories

2011-12-28T06:01:00.002-06:00

During the pre-Internet, pre-satellite TV days of my childhood, I connected with the game I love via academically intoned results on a shortwave radio, a handful of player cards and magazines imported from BRITAIN.
In short, the types of items celebrated by a book I received for CHRISTMAS.
"GOT, NOT GOT: THE A-Z OF LOST FOOTBALL CULTURE, TREASURES & PLEASURES" presents exactly what is listed in the title.
The book celebrates memories of games, cards, magazines, figurines and other memorabilia of soccer's less-commercialised and pre-globalised past.
The book's authors, Derek Hammond and Gary Silke, note:
"Football used to be better in the past. It's a fact - scientifically proven by this giant collection of memories, characters, anecdotes, Mirror Football archive... pics and the very stuff of all our footy-mad childhoods in the 'Golden Age' of the 1960s, 70s and 80s."
The artifacts have triggered number of my own childhood memories, as I routinely poke my nose in this wonderful book.

Happy Christmas everyone!

2011-12-23T08:15:00.000-06:00

Introducing the ambition of Terence Trent D'Arby

2011-12-22T06:33:00.002-06:00

Driving home from DES MOINES in the might-as-well-be-winter darkness, I introduced 80s music aficionado KERSTIN (age 16) to a clutch of songs that mesmerized 80s music aficionado me in 1987 (then age 21 -- yeah, I know).
"INTRODUCING THE HARDLINE ACCORDING TO TERENCE TRENT D'ARBY," an album ROLLING STONE describes as "dripping with look-ladies-no-hands ambition."
"If You Let Me Stay," "Wishing Well," "Dance Little Sister" and the magnificent "Sign Your Name" are among the highlights of a fabulous debut album.
In hindsight, D'Arby never lived up to the expectations he set for himself.
"He was the great post-everything soul hope, a black American living in England with a Napoleonic sense of pop destiny," Rolling Stone writes.
His followup albums couldn't match the virtuosic glory of the debut, though.
So he didn't change music. So what? I defy you to listen to "Wishing Well" today and not want to dance.
It recently happened to me, driving home in the darkness from Des Moines.

(ROUTE 1 will be on a brief hiatus during the festive period, but check Twitter and Facebook for updated information on our return before the end of the year. And thanks for reading!)

Hot weather Xmas tunes

2011-12-21T05:49:00.002-06:00

A hot wind off the desert sways the palm trees but does little to cool the air, which has been baking all day.
Conjures up images of SANTA CLAUS and reindeer, right?
Well, it did for somebody.
GENE AUTRY'S "HERE COMES SANTA CLAUS" was written on a hot July night in 1947, with the songwriters gathered around a swimming pool in the Hollywood Hills.
It's just one of several examples of CHRISTMAS songs that were penned during hot weather.
I'm intrigued by the concept, because these are the songs we associate with snow and cold and holidays. Not palm trees.
Here are two other examples:
* "SLEIGH RIDE" by LEROY ANDERSON was written by the Boston Pops composer and arranger in the middle of a heatwave in July 1946.
* IRVING BERLIN reportedly wrote "WHITE CHRISTMAS" during a sweltering night in Banning, Calif., in 1940.
Can you think of any other examples of hot-weather Christmas songs?

Quirky enough for now, Niners, but what about later?

2011-12-20T05:53:00.002-06:00

SAN FRANCISCO is quirky.
I know, because I have spent many days in the city by the bay. I was born and mostly raised in the area, and I make it a habit to return as often as possible. I love the place.
The quirky nature of the place is why I wasn't surprised when last night's twin POWER OUTAGES that delayed the 49ERS' 20-3 MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL victory over the STEELERS.
Power outages are quirky, just like how earthquakes are quirky (as long as they don't cause too much damage or kill too many people) and baseball relief pitchers with chest-length beards are quirky and foggy days in July that are colder than some days in January are quirky.
Besides being quirky, the power outages at 51-year-old CANDLESTICK PARK reminded the nation why the 49ers cannot wait to move to a state-of-the-art stadium in SANTA CLARA.
That's what made me pause last night. I'm just afraid the South Bay isn't quirky enough for my Niners.
"Will they still be called the San Francisco 49ers when they move?" one of my daughters asked during the telecast.
I honestly don't know. I am afraid the team owners might concoct some name-by-marketing-committee, like the dreadful "LOS ANGELES ANGELS OF ANAHEIM."
That's just a dumb name. It's not quirky.
I hope when the 49ers do move, they retain some of their identity. You know, that quirky nature that leads to power outages and victory parades with cornerbacks striding atop phony cable cars. Now that's quirky.

Remembering Spurs' Argentina swoop

2011-12-19T05:24:00.002-06:00

The first big English football news I can remember as a kid was TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR'S audacious transfer coup of signing OSSIE ARDILES and RICKY VILLA from ARGENTINA.
I reflected on the move last night, while I read old soccer magazines after returning home from work.
Ardiles became such a fixture on the British football scene -- 10 seasons with Spurs, managing numerous clubs, serving as a television pundit -- and foreign players have become so ubiquitous -- Premier League clubs on occasion have fielded teams without any English players -- that it's easy to forget how shocking the Ardiles/Villa double signing seemed at the time.
Ardiles and Villa had contributed to Argentina's 1978 World Cup win, and many people thought they would go to Europe to play in Spain or Italy. North London? They were probably more likely to play on the moon.
It was more difficult for an American kid to follow English football back then -- in the pre-Internet and pre-digital cable days.
Still, I remember the shock and awe of Spurs' Argentine adventure, and I laugh today and the quaintness of it all.

Yuletide music that makes us scream "uncle!"

2011-12-16T05:25:00.003-06:00

Since we have been hearing CHRISTMAS MUSIC since mid-October, we at ROUTE 1 have had plenty of opportunities to monitor the various JINGLE/SILENT/HOLY/SANTA/BELLS songs on offer.
Readers have been listening as well, and provide a guide to the overused Yuletide audio by answering the following FRIDAY QUESTION:
"What Christmas tune has overstayed its welcome?"
JEFF T. -- "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" and "Jingle Bell Rock" are definitely tired... Maybe from all that rockin!
KERI M. -- "Little Drummer Boy" with Bing Crosby and David Bowie.
JIM S. -- "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer." It was funny for about 15 years. Not anymore.
BRIAN M. -- I've managed to stay away from most Christmas music, particularly radio stations that have replaced their programming with all-Christmas music during the season, but there are the commercials that have fashioned their own lyrics out of the traditional songs. The one done to, I think it's "Sleigh Ride," for some department store, done in "Glee" style, has overstayed its welcome.
KERSTIN H. -- I'm starting to get tired of the classics like "Jingle Bells," "Silent
Night" and "Deck the Halls." I wish some one who will not be named (my mom) would play other Christmas songs.
RICK T. -- "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer." Enough of that song.
SANDYE V. -- "Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer."
JOHN S. -- "Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer."
MIKE D. -- Almost thirty years after Bob and Doug McKenzie's great spoof of "The 12 Days of Christmas," I'm growing tired of hearing parodies of that song. And Nissan has spoiled "It's the Most Wonderful Time (Sale) of the Year" by including it in its ever-present TV commercials.
ERIK H. -- When Justin Bieber's inevitable Christmas album included a version of "Silent Night," I finally threw up my hands and said, "Enough is enough!" Is there a musical artist who has not felt compelled to rework this song? It has been translated into more than 40 languages and after musical artist No. 300 covered the song, people quit counting. Yet still they come, your Mariah Careys, your Christina Aguileras, your Brad Paisleys -- everybody who sings, it appears, must belt out their version of this 152-year-old song. How different can their interpretations possibly be? Not different enough, I am afraid.

ALERT: Christmas musical Grinch in holiday mood

2011-12-15T06:16:00.002-06:00

BREAKING NEWS: Erik Hogstrom selects Christmas album to play in car today.
Hogstrom, who resists his family's urgings to begin playing Yuletide classics starting in mid-October, picked the Gene Autry album after hearing "Here Comes Santa Claus" on BBC Radio 2 this morning.
"It's time," he said. "With 10 days to go, it's finally time."

"Crocodiles" still sounds brilliant, three decades on

2011-12-14T05:42:00.002-06:00

I listened to "CROCODILES" by ECHO & THE BUNNYMEN while driving ANNIKA to dance class last night.
I was surprised that it continues to sound brilliant, even after all of these years (it was released 31 years ago).
I'm not the only one who sees the disc's radiance continue undimmed as the decades stretch. Looking back at the album in 1997, INTERNATIONAL MUSIC PUBLICATIONS declared:
"Still, to this day, one of the most classic debut LPs of our time."
The writers at STYLUS magazine declared in 1999 that:
"Crocodiles was a gorgeous post-punk blast of star-flung angst which was as perfect for its time as 'Sergeant Peppers' or 'Nevermind.'"
Crocodiles stands as a timeless album set amongst the pantheon of other great moments in rock. That's their words, but it might as well be mine.

Drinking themselves into oblivion

2011-12-13T06:14:00.001-06:00

I am slightly behind the times. The November issue of the thought-provoking magazine THE ATLANTIC arrived in the mail yesterday.
I am not complaining -- the substance of the magazine always compels me to keep reading.
There's a short article in the November magazine dealing with an issue I have not seen widely reported, even though its implications seem potentially severe.
RUSSIA has lost 5 million residents during the past two decades and a man's average life expectancy is a mere 59.8 years. In effect, heavy abuse of alcohol is depopulating the nation.
The author of the Atlantic piece takes a look at the wider problem of deadly binge drinking within the scope of his MOSCOW apartment building. (You can read the Atlantic's story, here.)
As I read, I couldn't help wonder how low birthrates and rising death rates will impact the country in successive decades. Also, with our obesity problems, will the UNITED STATES be far behind?

Ali G and our relationship with the media

2011-12-12T05:42:00.004-06:00

I spent some time this weekend watching a few episodes of SACHA BARON COHEN'S "DA ALI G SHOW" on DVD.
The show presents the interactions of three Cohen characters -- dimwit gangsta-wannabe Ali G, outrageous Austrian fashion reporter Bruno and Kazakhstan correspondent Borat -- with unsuspecting celebrities and members of the public.
As Jacob Smith described the show in the book, "VOCAL TRACKS: PERFORMANCE AND SOUND MEDIA:"
"The televised encounters between Cohen and his interviewees rapidly become ridiculous... watching the show, one marvels at the absurd situations and offensive lines of questioning that people will endure when sitting before a camera crew."
In this respect, Cohen's comedy is as much about our strange relationship with the media as it is about his three memorably awkward characters. Do we find the media so compelling and powerful that we are in thrall to it even as it strangles us with our own stupidity? Ali G seems to present our inability to break out of the media's mesmerizing stranglehold.
The show also provides some much-needed escapism after a busy week.

Engvick's song of Oakland and remembrance

2011-12-11T08:40:00.004-06:00

The 1965 FRANK SINATRA masterpiece album, "SEPTEMBER OF MY YEARS," appears to be dominated by Ervin Drake's "IT WAS A VERY GOOD YEAR."
That's the song most casual listeners remember from the album packed with songs featuring the theme of aging.
My favorite song on the album appears three tracks later.
"That year in Oakland High, when I was 17; the grass from there to San Jose was high and cool and green," Sinatra sings on "I SEE IT NOW."
ALEC WILDER and WILLIAM ENGVICK'S song details a feeling of reminiscence and nostalgia -- a lamented taking for granted of a youthful time and place -- that is set in my native BAY AREA and strikes a resonant chord in me.
Wilder wrote the music and came from upstate New York.
Lyricist Engvick, however, is a true-blue Bay Area kid -- a graduate of both the Oakland High School referenced in the song and the UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT BERKELEY.
Engvick still lives in the Lake Merritt area of OAKLAND -- my birthplace -- and his song always reminds me of the part of the country I'll always consider "home."

Bourbon, ice, Sinatra

2011-12-10T04:29:00.003-06:00

The week included travel to and from ATLANTA, lengthy sessions studying and touring at the CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION and two days of work at the newspaper thrown in for good measure.
I needed to relax last night, and that's where FRANK SINATRA entered the frame. Armed with BOURBON ON THE ROCKS, "THE ROUGH GUIDE TO FRANK SINATRA" and a 177-song Sinatra playlist, I delved into the world of "The Voice."
I skipped around the Sinatra catalog, snapping fingers to "RING-A-DING-DING," then backtracking to a few CAPITOL-era tunes, then luxuriating in some of the lush arrangements of the mid-COLUMBIA period in the singer's career.
Being able to lose myself in the swelling strings, massed brass sections and that distinctive singing style helped me shed a week's worth of stress -- more than a week's worth, actually, because all of the travel made this week seem more like a fortnight.
Just before bed, I dialed up "SEPTEMBER OF MY YEARS" and listened to the first eight songs, finishing with Ervin Drake's masterpiece, "IT WAS A VERY GOOD YEAR." It was a very good way to wind down from a very busy week.

Faces finally in the Hall of Fame

2011-12-08T06:07:00.002-06:00

Amidst all the clamor about GUNS N' ROSES and BEASTIE BOYS making the ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME, I'd like to direct your attention to the combined honor for the SMALL FACES/FACES.
Fronted by ROD STEWART and powered by RON WOOD'S guitar, the Faces have long seemed one of the most underrated of rock's great groups.
This honor, then, seems wholly appropriate.
I celebrated the news yesterday, by listening to the Faces while driving home from the airport in MOLINE, ILL. I was completing the final leg of a journey that began yesterday morning in ATLANTA.
Stewart possesses one of rock's great voices (shame he has used it so often for other musical purposes). Paired with the rhythm section of the Small Faces -- including the late and oh-so-great bassist/vocalist RONNIE LANE -- Stewart and Wood blazed a hard-rocking trail through an often more-style-than-substance rock world of the early 1970s.
I was thrilled to hear of the Faces' induction into the Hall of Fame, and you should be thrilled, too.

Heading south

2011-12-04T07:20:00.001-06:00

ROUTE 1 will return later this week, following a work-related sojourn to ATLANTA.
Stay tuned, and thanks for reading!

Enjoying a film that has everything

2011-12-01T06:58:00.002-06:00

Every once in a while I have to watch ORSON WELLES' "TOUCH OF EVIL" -- the version restored as closely as possible to the director's original vision -- to remind myself what a great film can achieve.
I can watch "Touch of Evil" for the plot, which follows the uncovering of a corrupt law official in a border town, or I can watch it for the cast, which includes a wide-eyed and frenzied DENNIS WEAVER in a small but significant role.
CHARLTON HESTON, JANET LEIGH and Welles himself are superb, too.
I can also watch the film for its mastery, including a three-minute-20-second opening tracking shot that set a standard for great, long takes.
Last night, I watched it just for the pure enjoyment of all its parts meshing together, and I marveled that the studio could even consider messing with it.

Farewell to Big Artie

2011-11-30T19:24:00.003-06:00

I saw the first tweet while I sat in my car in a parking lot, waiting for the end of ANNIKA'S dance class tonight.
ARHTUR BEETSON had died, age 66.
"Big Artie" holds a special place in AUSTRALIA'S sports history. The rugby league legend -- whose glory years came with the BALMAIN TIGERS and the EASTERN SUBURBS ROOSTERS, was the first INDIGENOUS AUSTRALIAN to captain the country in any sport.
Beetson played and coached in more than 400 first-grade games, played 29 Tests for the Kangaroos and represented QUEENSLAND in three STATE OF ORIGIN matches.
He has also been universally cited as a great man -- an athletic star who always made time for the younger players, even those whose time in the "big time" would prove short.
Tweets began to spill forth from some of the Down Under news sources I follow as I refreshed my phone.
Beetson's death has shocked and saddened many. Me included.

The Golden State's allure has faded

2011-11-29T12:26:00.002-06:00

When I was a kid, it seemed like everybody wanted to move where I lived, CALIFORNIA.
How times change.
I worked on a story at the newspaper today about migration figures from the U.S. CENSUS BUREAU.
Instead of acting like a resident-magnet, the once-golden state now finds itself topping the list of states experiencing "domestic outmigration" -- meaning residents moving to other states.
California lost 573,988 residents to other states while gaining 444,794 residents from other states, for a net loss of 129,239 -- slightly more people than live in Visalia. Births meant the population still grew, but the migration numbers show the allure of California has certainly faded.
California was the state of origin for four of the top-10 out-of-state migrations in 2010, losing residents to TEXAS, ARIZONA, WASHINGTON and NEVADA.
I joked among my coworkers: Perhaps I'll wait a few years, and move back to California. It might need some re-populating by then, with less traffic congestion to deal with, too.

5 Things to Know About the Grey Cup

2011-11-28T07:14:00.003-06:00

Here are five things to know about last night's GREY CUP, the title game of the CANADIAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE.
1. This year's contest was the 99th edition of the game and was held in VANCOUVER, B.C. We watched it on television when I got home from work.
2. The host B.C. LIONS defeated the WINNIPEG BLUE BOMBERS, 34-23.
3. The Lions became the first team in CFL history to win the title after beginning the season 0-5.
4. Lions quarterback TRAVIS LULAY passed for 320 yards and a pair of touchdowns. He is a MONTANA STATE grad.
5. Fans did not riot following the game, in contrast to the scenes in Vancouver after the CANUCKS lost the Stanley Cup this spring.

Gary Speed's death looms large today

2011-11-27T17:31:00.002-06:00

It was difficult watching SWANSEA and ASTON VILLA play their PREMIER LEAGUE match today, and not because it ended goalless. Under the circumstances, a dearth of scoring was probably expected.
The match kicked off about an hour-and-a-half following the confirmation of the overnight death of GARY SPEED, the WALES national manager and a former top-flight player.
Speed, who died age 42 in what was reportedly a suicide, won 85 caps for Wales and played his club football for Leeds, Everton, Newcastle, Bolton and Sheffield United.
The Welsh crowd in Swansea sang Speed's name and burst into a minute's applause when called upon to observe a minute's silence before kickoff.
Watching the match, it seemed the players' minds were elsewhere. My mind was, too, as I kept checking TWITTER for the tributes that continue to pour forth for a footballer genuinely held in the highest regard.

A Groove that is "simply scary," deeply infectious

2011-11-26T07:24:00.002-06:00

Pitch black at 7 a.m.?
I blame it on the RAIN and the lateness of the year.
The darkness means everybody else is still sleeping -- including all three pets.
I'm sitting here by myself, earbuds in place, nodding my head to the funky sounds of RICHARD "GROOVE" HOLMES, a jazz organist who more than earned his sobriquet.
New Jersey-born Holmes began his musical career as a bassist, which probably explains the beats he continually conjured from the foot pedal of his HAMMOND B-3 organ (beats that have been heavily sampled in the hip-hop era). Music writer Steve Lodder described Holmes as "fluent with his feet," with a pedal action that set him apart from others wringing soulful sounds out of the Hammond B-3.
Lodder praises Holmes for his hands' abilities on the organ, too:
"The speed and articulation are simply scary."
Scary and remarkably funky.
Richard "Groove" Holmes never fails to get my head nodding along to the music. On an otherwise quiet morning like today, I'm even shaking my shoulders to Holmes' brilliant beat.
Heck, there's nobody watching: Even the pets are asleep in the gloom.

Thanksgiving seasoned with Vince

2011-11-24T13:43:00.001-06:00

JILL'S broken foot is keeping us home this THANKSGIVING, but that hasn't stopped us from enjoying the holiday.
This morning, we put DEPECHE MODE on the stereo, and all worked together to get the TURKEY into the oven, boil the potatoes, prepare the stuffing, place the green-bean casserole into the crock pot and perform all the other necessary tasks to set the big meal in motion.
I danced around the kitchen as the music played.
Now, as the smell of the cooking turkey fills the house, I have moved on to THE ASSEMBLY and ERASURE -- keeping the emphasis squarely on the electronic musical genius of VINCE CLARKE (don't worry, I'll fit YAZOO into the mix somehow).
I wish you all a happy Thanksgiving, and hope your day is similarly filled with good memories.

Still charmed by "Speak & Spell"

2011-11-22T18:27:00.003-06:00

This morning I supplemented my breakfast with a DEPECHE MODE documentary.
"DO WE REALLY HAVE TO GIVE UP OUR DAY JOBS" is a look at the band's 1980-81 origins, their signing to Mute Records, the recording of their debut album "SPEAK & SPELL" and the departure of founding member VINCE CLARKE following their first United Kingdom tour.
It was illuminating and made me nostalgic enough to listen to "Speak & Spell" while driving around town.
I had forgotten how much I love that album.
PITCHFORK reviewed its reissue recently and rightly asserted that "Speak & Spell" "can you charm you giddy."
"New Life," "I Sometimes Wish I Was Dead," "Puppets," "Just Can't Get Enough" and the other songs bounce right out of the car speakers and into your head.
Depeche Mode eventually became slightly more serious, with much darker lyrical subject matter, but they never sounded so enthusiastically fresh.

Amidst all of the violence, the death of the West

2011-11-21T19:13:00.002-06:00

I watched SAM PECKINPAH'S 1969 epic "THE WILD BUNCH" on DVD tonight.
In the past, I have watched the film for the spectacle -- appreciating Peckinpah's trail-blazing use of multi-angle camera shots, quick-cut editing and slow-motion action. All of his techniques would enter film's mainstream, to the point where we take them for granted now.
Tonight, I watched it for evidence of the movie's theme of the dying West.
Set circa 1912-13, the film explores the dying breed of the lawless and the law -- a era that closed with the encroaching civilization of the modern world. This enveloping modernism changed the West irrevocably.
Freddie Sykes (Edmond O'Brien) echoes the theme in his immortal line to Deke Thornton (Robert Ryan) at film's end:
"It ain't like it used to be, but it'll do."
Gang leader Pike Bishop (William Holden) knows the truth, too, when he says:
"We've got to start thinking beyond our guns. Those days are closing fast."
Peckinpah's use of violence blinded many contemporary cinemagoers to the film's true messages: That friendship is a man's most important bond and the modern world's encroachment of the gunslinger was the most one-sided fight of all.

Rather have minor accidents than be in a dysfunctional band

2011-11-20T07:00:00.002-06:00

When DON FELDER joined the EAGLES during the recording of "ON THE BORDER," he witnessed the creative and personal fissures opening between DON HENLEY and GLENN FRY, saw the marginalization of his Florida high school buddy BERNIE LEADON, felt RANDY MEISNER was growing apart from the rest, and Felder felt convinced he had agreed to participate in a music-making endeavor that was on the verge of breaking up.
Although the Eagles' first phase of operations continued another five years, Felder's conclusion was actually correct -- the band was breaking up, they were just doing so in slow motion.
Yesterday was a rather awful day. Our newest driver, KERSTIN, was involved in a minor fender-bending that caused more trauma for her than actual damage to the vehicles and my father-in-law's recovery from surgery continued, albeit in a slow, taxing fashion.
With MY BELOVED OREGON DUCKS playing the latest fall guys in college football's ranking follies, last night I decided to plunge back into MARC ELIOT'S "TO THE LIMIT: THE UNTOLD STORY OF THE EAGLES" while listening to what many critics consider the Eagles' creative peak, the 1976 landmark album "HOTEL CALIFORNIA."
Eliot's description of the world tour accompanying the album sharpens the focus on the widening fault lines of the band's slow-motion breakup.
"To many veterans of the Eagles' road crew, the extent of the band's self-indulgence seemed worse than ever. Moreover, the competitive friction between Henley and Frey not only hadn't let up, it became more intense on the road, where the two were constantly in each others faces, their conflicts over the band's leadership fueled by ever-increasing amounts of cocaine. Things became worse when each developed factions of support within the crew and nobody from one faction was allowed to communicate directly with anyone from the other. Each now occupied his own section of the band's jet, with only his friends allowed there."
I actually began to feel better, as I read more details of the dysfunctional band.
Sure, they had (and probably still have) millions in the bank and beautiful California coastal homes.
Here's what I have, though: The empowering ability to hug my daughter after a minor accident help her stop crying in a parking lot.
I'd take that any day.

Refilling my Spinal Tap prescription

2011-11-19T06:41:00.003-06:00

Laughter really is the best medicine (sorry doctors) and it worked like a charm for me last night, the culmination of a stressful, lengthy week.
"THIS IS SPINAL TAP" is one of the most effective prescriptions, as I continue to work this analogy. It never fails to elicit -- not just chuckles -- real, deep LAUGHTER, the coming-from-the-diaphragm stuff that can't help but unleash the endorphins.
This laughter is triggered by lines such as:
"It's part of a trilogy, a musical trilogy that I'm doing in D... minor, which I always find is really the saddest of all keys, really, I don't know why. It makes people weep instantly to play."
As well as:
"What day did the lord create Spinal Tap, and couldn't he have rested on that day?"
These moments of hilarity occur with remarkable consistency throughout the film.
"The Boston gig has been cancelled...I wouldn't worry about it, though. It's not a big college town."
They spark laughing fits that seem to flush the stress of the day completely out of my system.
Spinal Tap manager Ian Faith at one point says:
"Certainly in the topsy, turvy world of heavy rock, having a good solid piece of wood in your hand is quite often...useful."
I feel somewhat the same way about "This is Spinal Tap." In this hectic world of ours, it's just a great movie to have around.

Just like Guardian Music, but with a smaller audience

2011-11-18T05:25:00.001-06:00

Music writers at THE GUARDIAN newspaper recently compiled their lists of favorite albums, then invited readers to do the same.
Never ones to shirk from appropriating a good idea, we here at ROUTE 1 have done the same with this week's FRIDAY QUESTION:
"What is your favorite album?"
RICK T. -- "Full Circle" by Rick Tittle.
MARY N.-P. -- "Legend" by Bob Marley and the Wailers.
BRIAN M. -- SO hard to nail it down to just ONE favorite album, so I'll cheat and say, "Exit..Stage Left," Rush's live album from 1981. Critics don't seem to like this one of the band's four (I think there are five now) live albums, but it has what I think are great performances of some of my favorite late-70s/early-80s Rush material. A highlight is the "Broon's Bane/Trees/Xanadu" triptych.
JOHN S. -- "Thriller!"
SASKIA M. -- "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" by Elton John.
BEKAH P. -- Easily, hands down, "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band." There's nothing that can beat that. Nothing.
KERI M. -- "So It's Come To This" by the Irish Plantation Orchestra.
KERSTIN H. -- "The Best of Culture Club."
STEVE M. -- Beatles' "Revolver." Best rock album of all time, no? Free's "Fire and Water" is an under the radar great album, but we are talking different leagues here.
ERIK H. -- Ever since I was in high school, the ska and rocksteady tunes on the compilation, "More Intensified: Original Ska 1963-67" has provided me the musical equivalent of comfort food. Basically reggae before its commercial globalization, the album includes tracks by The Skatalites, Stranger Cole, the Ethiopians, Desmond Dekker and The Maytals, among others.

Eliot: Music insanity followed film craziness

2011-11-17T07:29:00.003-06:00

The wind-chill reading dipped to 9 degrees this morning. That's just too cold for me.
I'm trying to warm myself up by reading MARC ELIOT'S fiery tell-all, "TO THE LIMIT: THE UNTOLD STORY OF THE EAGLES."
There haven't been many scandalous revelations thus far in the tale. GLENN FREY, DON HENLEY, RANDY MEISNER and BERNIE LEADON have come from various backgrounds (none in CALIFORNIA) to form the band that would define the West Coast sound of the 1970s.
I am intrigued how DAVID GEFFEN rose to power -- it was Geffen who launched the Eagles' career, having determined that the old guard of the music industry was growing increasingly out of touch with music's vanguard.
Eliot likens Geffen's creation of Asylum Records to the quest for creative freedom taken by silent film stars Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks and D.W. Griffith when they broke away from the movie establishment to found United Artists.
"It was considered by everyone in Hollywood to be the height of insanity, a case of the inmates running the asylum," Eliot writes of the film stars' decision. "Now, it was rock and roll's rubber room that was about to run amok, as Geffen swung the door to his version of creative freedom wide open."
As I delve deeper into Eliot's book, I am sure to discover the musical madness that awaits.

I never let Lush Life languish

2011-11-16T05:59:00.002-06:00

One of my favorite albums is such an anomaly it sat unreleased for 13 years.
"LUSH LIFE" by LOU DONALDSON represents as near to a 180-degree by its participants as seems possible, and is all the more beautiful because of it.
By 1967, alto saxophonist Donaldson was at the vanguard of a movement he helped create -- a funky soul-jazz concoction that helped bring jazz renewed commercial success against the rising tide of rock and R&B.
For this album, he gathered an all-star cast who were heading in another direction. Trumpeter FREDDIE HUBBARD, tenor saxophonist WAYNE SHORTER, pianist MCCOY TYNER and bassist RON CARTER were composing and performing lengthy, complex pieces that stretched the boundaries of jazz.
That direction is what makes "Lush Life" both so remarkable, and remarkably beautiful.
Donaldson led his team of fantastic musicians on an exercise exploring sweet ballads, standards like "Stardust," "It Might As Well Be Spring" and "The Good Life."
Their renditions were based upon the arrangements of DUKE PEARSON, and sounded nothing like the normal jazz output of 1967.
Author Will Friedwald describes the effect the approach had on the ubiquitous tune, "Stardust," as "a well-orchestrated chamber-style accompaniment (that) sounds bigger than it actually is."
"Lush Life" was so far out of its time that it languished in the vaults for years. It's such a good record, I never let it languish for long -- I'm going to play it today, in fact.

Rubberbandits keep me in stitches

2011-11-15T06:04:00.002-06:00

Wildly subversive and shockingly funny, if THE RUBBERBANDITS were more effectively exported by IRELAND'S government, I am sure the Republic's debt problems would vanish in a flash.
BLINDBOY BOAT CLUB (Dave Chambers) and MR. CHROME (Bob McGlynn) formed the comedy duo The Rubberbandits in their native Limerick in the early 2000s.
They met with mounting success and eventually landed a spot on the RTÉ TWO comedy show "REPUBLIC OF TELLY," where their music videos and clips satirized youth life in Ireland -- episodes of living leprechaun-hunting tourists fail to see.
The duo released their latest single, "BLACK MAN," on Friday, Nov. 11.
The accompanying video (see it here) is a dance number in which the lads lament that they have varied representation in their gang -- including "both types of Indian" -- but lack a black man to help legitimize the crew.
It provided me with much-needed laughter yesterday, a day I accompanied my father-in-law to CEDAR RAPIDS for a pre-operation procedure. In fact, the video left me in stitches.

Big 5: As Philly as the cheesesteak

2011-11-14T09:52:00.002-06:00

PHILADELPHIA is already home to the iconic CHEESESTEAK SANDWICH. It's also home to one of the most storied, multi-school rivalries in COLLEGE BASKETBALL.
LA SALLE, PENN, SAINT JOSEPH'S, TEMPLE and VILLANOVA comprise the BIG 5, a set of schools who have been playing against each other as an organized, traditional rivalry since 1954.
The five schools met to determine the city's best basketball team, while the proceeds helped the University of Pennsylvania maintain its PALESTRA facilities. In his book, "PALESTRA PANDEMONIUM: A HISTORY OF THE BIG FIVE," sportswriter Robert S. Lyons described part of what makes the rivalry so special:
"Frequently these Big 5 battles, waged between institutions located within a radius of only 17 miles, were renewals of some of the intense rivalries that characterized many of the local Catholic and Public League high school games. Maybe it would be a couple of ex-high school teammates from South Philly facing each other in the Temple-La Salle game or kids from West Philly and the Northeast teaming up to beat their former CYO buddies in the Penn-St. Joe’s game. During the summer they would go at it again in pickup games at the Palestra, on the playgrounds, or down at the South Jersey shore."
Big 5 play opens tonight, with Temple traveling to The Palestra to take on Penn.
Here is the schedule of this year's remaining games:
Tue. Nov. 15: La Salle at Villanova (The Pavilion), 7 p.m.
Sat. Dec. 3: Penn at Villanova (The Pavilion), 7 p.m.
Sat. Dec. 10: Villanova at Temple (Liacouras Center), 5 p.m.
Sat. Dec. 17: Villanova at Saint Joseph's (Hagan Arena), 8 p.m.
Tue. Jan. 10: La Salle at Penn (The Palestra), 7 p.m.
Sat. Jan. 21: Saint Joseph's at Penn (The Palestra), 7 p.m.
Sat. Feb. 4: La Salle vs. Saint Joseph's (The Palestra), 2 p.m.
Wed. Feb. 22: Temple at La Salle (Tom Gola Arena), 7 p.m.
Sat. Feb. 25: Temple at Saint Joseph's (Hagan Arena), 7 p.m

Listen in the dark for full, bluesy effect

2011-11-13T08:06:00.002-06:00

It's a good thing overcast skies and the hint of RAIN have combined to make it dark as I sit here.
The record I am enjoying should only be heard when it's dark.
"BLUE HOUR," a 1960 collaboration between tenor saxophonist STANLEY TURRENTINE and THE 3 SOUNDS boasts a type of laid-back cool that works the best when the lights are low.
The secret to this musical concoction might be GENE HARRIS, the piano-playing third of the aforementioned trio, the 3 Sounds.
Harris was revered for his beautiful touch on his instrument, and the 3 Sounds' popularity among jazz fans of the late 1950s and early 1960s was such that the trio released nine albums for BLUE NOTE RECORDS during the period.
The chemistry Harris shared with the other two members of the trio, bassist ANDY SIMPKINS and drummer BILL DOWDY, is also easily recognized and appreciated when you hear them.
"To appreciate our jazz, an audience must listen," Harris said in a contemporary newspaper interview. "We talk different languages. Listen long enough, you'll catch the beat and the melody."
I would add that if you listen in darkness, you'll also catch a bluesy vibe, a memorable feeling.

A Jesus and Mary Chain kind of day

2011-11-12T15:22:00.002-06:00

After a long week spent at work or in doctor's offices, the last thing I wanted was a busy SATURDAY morning of errands and chores.
I had no choice, however, so I worked fairly steadily from 8 a.m. to noon.
I decided the beautiful noise -- or is it noisy beauty? -- of "PSYCHOCANDY" by THE JESUS AND MARY CHAIN would be the appropriate musical accompaniment.
Since its release during my college days, "Psychocandy" remains a brilliant album I can always revisit. No matter how many times I listen, "Psychocandy" always seems both fresh and dangerous -- just like true rock 'n' roll should sound.
MOJO MAGAZINE once described the album as "like no other debut LP. Describing themselves as 'eighties beatniks with an image that is shoddy but stylish,' the Mary Chain made an exhilarating, intoxicating Wall of Sound. Beneath that chaotic Velvet Underground-style white noise hid dark but beautifully crafted melodies worthy of Phil Spector."
The critics always shower "Psychocandy" with five-star reviews. I accord it my own version of a top ranking: I always keep it close at hand for days like today.

A Route 1 a day keeps the doctor away. Except for this one time

2011-11-11T07:17:00.002-06:00

ROUTE 1 staff have been dealing with some medical issues lately, which leads us to this week's FRIDAY QUESTION:
"What are your most vivid memories about doctors or hospitals?"
BEKAH P. -- Well, it doesn't help that I've been in doctor's offices constantly this past month for medical issues... so those are the most vivid. BUT, beyond that, I would definitely say getting stitches as a elementary school student. My brother was chasing me, I tripped and split my lip open. I don't remember getting the stitches, but I do remember vomiting all over my mom's carpet because I was so grossed out by all the blood. Great day for my mom, I'm sure.
ROSEANNE H. -- When I caught polio at 10 years of age. It was all quite dramatic.
KERI M. -- Working in the psych ward. Because I do.
RICK T. -- When I was a kid I got pneumonia and I was put into the hospital. They put a tent like cover over half the bed covering both sides and top and had a steamer pumping Vicks and meds into the tent. I felt like I was camping.
MARY N.-P. -- It's the only time I was ever the patient in a hospital (have accompanied many family members!). The birth of my only child, daughter Morgan, in 1979. The emergency C-section was bad enough, but then she had only 3 of the required 10 vital signs for newborns and a hole in her heart and a twist in her intestine. Luckily I was out for all the worst stuff and because we were in the best post-natal hospital in Denver, she turned out just fine and still is a lovely, talented, funny young lady. In those days, they kept you in-house for much longer, so we were there for about a week - she in intensive care and me in a post-op, then post-birth room. But it was all worth it...
BRIAN M. -- Visiting my father when he got his finger caught in a motor and cut tendons when I was in 6th grade. He spent and entire weekend in the hospital for that. And when I was 13, I took a baseball off the hard dirt right off my right eye, which left me with the biggest black eye a solid month into my eighth grade year, and I had x-rays.
MIKE D. -- Other than when I was born, my only stay in a hospital was for a 1988 kidney stone attack. I remember being left on a gurney in a hallway, writhing in pain for at least an hour, yelling out for someone to give me some pain meds. All was better the next morning, when my brothers and some friends came to visit.
ERIK H. -- Although I endured more ear operations as a child than I can accurately count, my most memorable visits to doctors and hospitals occurred when my wife Jill was initially diagnosed with chronic myelogenous leukemia. Those visits were the most vivid because we were frightened, and heading into uncharted territory.

Once upon a time... an album left me cold

2011-11-10T20:57:00.002-06:00

I bought all the albums, wore the buttons, read the books and even saw the gig.
I was the biggest SIMPLE MINDS fan I knew in high school.
Then "ONCE UPON A TIME" came out.
Oh, I bought it. I just didn't really like it.
The Simple Minds of "SONS AND FASCINATION," "EMPIRES AND DANCE" and the like were my band -- obviously European, forward-looking, definitely alternative.
SPIN MAGAZINE'S contemporary review by Armond White summed it up for me:
"Grandeur is the hobgoblin of Simple Minds. The band has great skill and panache, but on 'Once Upon a Time,' singer-lyricist Jim 'Look Ma, I'm Flying' Kerr pushes it to empty extravagance."
Put, er, simply, Simple Minds were straining too hard to be "big," too hard to be a Glasgow U2.
White blamed the shift on the band's American breakthrough single: "The radio-ready, movie single 'Don't You'... may have been the worst thing to happen to Simple Minds. Now, every cut is neat and punchy pomp in the name of Bono. Who can trust Simple Minds' innocence after this vapid, big-beat production?"
Four years elapsed by the time the next album, "STREET FIGHTING YEARS," and by that time I had moved on, and was exploring reggae, rhythm & blues and even some jazz.
I listened to "Once Upon a Time" in the car today, and I can report it has grown on me a little. Of course, it might just be nostalgia that has shed a more forgiving light on the album.
I still don't rate it with the earlier efforts.
As funny as it might seem, it sounds too "American" for me.

Music for a long week -- and it's only Tuesday

2011-11-08T09:10:00.002-06:00

It's been a long week and it's only Tuesday.
Yesterday, I accompanied my father-in-law for a surgical consultation -- he has artery bypass surgery in his leg next week.
This morning, I took JILL to work -- her first day back in the office since she broke her right foot last week. It was a struggle for her to reach the front door of her building. I hope the day goes easier for her. We meet with an orthopaedic surgeon Thursday morning to determine the next course of action in her treatment. I hope she heals soon.
I work a later shift tonight -- I am helping to cover a local election -- so I am sipping coffee and listening to a pianist whose career was cut painfully short by drugs and poor health.
SONNY CLARK was a Pittsburgh-area native who relocated to the BAY AREA in the 1950s.
He eventually moved back east, to New York City, where he recorded as both a sideman and leader for iconic BLUE NOTE RECORDS before succumbing to a heart attack -- probably exacerbated by the ravages of drug abuse -- at the age of 31.
Clark played with Grant Green, John Coltrane, Sonny Rollins, Dexter Gordon and more jazz luminaries.
Today, I am listening to the Uptown Records release "SONNY CLARK, OAKLAND 1955."
It chronicles Clark's trio performances of the mid-50s, before he moved back east. Bassist Jerry Good and drummer Al Randall joined Clark for this recording, made at the MOCAMBO CLUB in my birthplace, OAKLAND, CALIF.
Critic Michael G. Nastos describes Clark's sound here as "freewheeling," and it is enjoyable hearing the trio cook up a great groove.
It helps me, too, during a long week that has only reached the Tuesday mark.

The greatest H of the "H Final"

2011-11-07T07:52:00.002-06:00

I have a SICK DAY today, as I must accompany my father-in-law to CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA for a surgical consultation for an upcoming operation.
JILL cannot attend because of her broken foot -- which she injured a week ago today.
I am reading some historical accounts of WOLVERHAMPTOM WANDERERS while I wait, including the 1908 F.A. CUP FINAL, known today as "THE H FINAL," because all of the goalscorers had last names beginning with the letter "H."
The greatest "H" of the bunch was probably the REV.KENNETH HUNT, an Oxford Blue and amateur international who scored Wolves' first goal in the final, which the Second-Division Wolves won, 3-1, against the more highly fancied NEWCASTLE UNITED.
"Newcastle had 90 percent of the play, but our 10 percent, plus our dash and directness, was enough for victory," Hunt said.
George Hedley and Billy Harrison also scored for Wolves. Jim Howie scored for Newcastle.
Hunt went on to represent ENGLAND at the 1908 and 1920 Olympics. He became the headmaster of Highgate School in London following his playing career.

Dead man walking? Well, the 'keeper was good

2011-11-06T09:44:00.004-06:00

A condemned men on death row was traditionally called "DEAD MAN WALKING," thus was the seemingly inevitable sense of his impending demise.
WIGAN seemed like a "dead team standing around" during their 3-1 loss at WOLVES today -- the Latics' eighth successive league defeat keeping the club rooted at the bottom of the PREMIER LEAGUE.
I like Wigan manager ROBERTO MARTINEZ. I admire the slick-passing playing style he promotes. I marvel at the world-class saves performed by goalkeeper ALI AL HABSI. I just don't see Wigan surviving in top-flight football this season.
I watched today's match on television, wincing at the glaring misses, misplaced passes and clumsy fouls on display from a pair of clubs in the bottom third of the league.
Wolves deserved to win because they were productive where Wigan were profligate.
Wigan looked -- apart from Al Habsi -- like 10 dead men walking. Or largely standing around, in this instance.

High school tunes

2011-11-04T05:53:00.002-05:00

Fall often makes us nostalgic, so this week ROUTE 1 readers take a look back by answering the following FRIDAY QUESTION:
"Is there a song that always makes you think of high school and why?"
MARY N.-P. -- Any songs from "The Fugs" a crazy hippie anarchist group from NYC (some say the first underground band) who sang - :Slum Goddess, Nothing, Boobs a Lot, I couldn't get high, Carpe Diem, etc. My girlfriend and I would hide out in her bedroom at night and listen to them quietly so no one could hear us (or their words!). Quite a change from our days spent in the classrooms of Mount St. Gertrude Academy, a Catholic all-girls, prep school in Boulder, Colo.
JIM S. -- Ah, yes, probably a hundred (likewise for college, my first job, when my first son was born, etc.) Anyway, for high school, here is a sampling:
Freshman year - "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey," by Paul McCartney & Wings. (All the girls sang along to it on the freshmen bus ride to an out of town varsity football game.)
Sophomore year - "You Are the Sunshine of My Life," by Stevie Wonder. (It was popular when I got my driver's license.)
Junior year - "The Most Beautiful Girl," by Charlie Rich. (I had a crush on a sophomore girl but never had the courage to ask her out.)
Senior year - "Philadelphia Freedom," by Elton John. (We were eager to graduate and this was popular during the spring high school baseball season.)
RICK T. -- The song "See You In September" was a hit in my high school years. Loved that song, I think by "The Happenings". If you had a crush on a girl at school, you always had to wait until September to see her again.
KERI M. -- No rain by Blind Melon. It was constantly played at our high school.
BRIAN M. -- These days it's usually something from the era that isn't played on radio much these days, like "Say It Isn't So" by Hall and Oates, or "Goin' Down" by Greg Guidry or "Overkill" by Men at Work... songs that are kind of trapped in amber of the period from 1980 to 1984.
JOHN S. -- People are People by Depeche Mode. It was the theme for Hempstead's Spring Wind 1990.
ROSEANNE H. -- All the Fats Domino songs...like Blueberry Hill.
SASKIA M. -- Queen: Bohemian Rhapsody - every single recess we would sing along with our "cassette players" over and over and over again... I also recall similar situations as portrayed in Wayne's World, with school mates in the car singing along and headbanging to the song.
MIKE D. -- Songs from AC/DC's "Back in Black" and REO Speedwagon's "Hi Infidelity" albums. Also, Billy Joel, Steely Dan, Pat Benatar, The Cars, The Knack, ... and even Steve Martin ("King Tut"). Aaahh, the late '70s/early '80s!
ERIK H. -- When I hear Billy Squier's "Lonely is the Night" and close my eyes, my mind conjures images of palm trees, the canal and the massive auditorium -- I am transported back to Central High School, Phoenix, Ariz. It never fails.

Music that triggers a rare (these days) smile

2011-11-03T07:14:00.003-05:00

It's been a rough several days, with a death and an injury in the family.
JILL'S prognosis for her broken foot seems daunting: At least a month with no weight bearing on the foot. My role changes, as I run nearly all of the errands now.
As usual, music is helping to salve.
I have been listening to "THE BOOTLEG SERIES VOL. 6: BOB DYLAN LIVE 1964, CONCERT AT PHILHARMONIC HALL."
It's a fascinating record, enjoyable and enlightening: We hear Dylan beginning the transition from acoustic folk singer to something more, a poet-artist armed with seemingly baffling lyrics. He'd turn electric within the next two years.
Having listened to MILES DAVIS all last week, it makes a certain sense that I would turn this week to an artist similarly noted for an almost constant reinvention.
I guess I'm drawn to their creativity.
One of the album's highlights, for me, is Dylan's rendition of "I Don't Believe You (She Acts Like We Never Have Met)."
Last night, the song made me smile. Not much else has triggered a smile the past several days.

Goodbye to a great man

2011-11-02T07:32:00.003-05:00

Today I mark the passing yesterday of HUGH SMITH of Williams, Calif.
He was my great uncle and the description fit in more ways than one.
Hugh Smith was a great man, probably the nicest man I have ever known.
He grew up during hard times on the family ranch in the foothills of northern CALIFORNIA.
Later, he survived the ferocious fighting of the BATTLE OF THE BULGE, although that World War 2 conflict in Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany left deep psychological scars.
I grew up admiring Hugh Smith, for both his actions and for the principles that drove those actions.
That's all I have to say today. Goodbye, Uncle Hugh. I love you.

A perfect sound for today

2011-11-01T17:54:00.002-05:00

VINCE CLARKE and ALISON MOYET created something so special.
I pulled out the YAZOO CDs today because this week's forecast features a hint of WINTER, and we all needed a synth-pop lift after my wife JILL broke her foot.
Clarke's computerized bleeps and blips should never have worked with Moyet's bluesy voice, but the combination actually produced a timeless music that even transcends the 1980s production values.
I heard the extended version of "NOBODY'S DIARY" en route home from work. It's such a powerful song, with a catchy tune and lyrics that stand above the usual fare of the time -- or our time, to be honest.
It's a song I needed to hear today -- as winter begins to creep into the picture, and the implications of Jill's injury begin to become clearer.

Classic crime film distilled

2011-10-31T09:50:00.002-05:00

JEAN-PIERRE MELVILLE'S 1967 film "LE SAMOURAÏ" is like a classic crime film distilled.
Not only is extraneous dialogue trimmed from the film, it often seems some necessary speech has been discarded as well.
The spartan plot is minimalist, too: Hit man completes contract, is double-crossed, seeks revenge, tripped up by girl.
Yet Melville imbues the film with some much C-O-O-L that it always leaves a startling impression upon me when I see it, and the underlying themes of individualism and the role of honor are anything but simplistic.
I watched it again yesterday, taking special note of the Parisian setting -- including ALAIN DELON'S chase scene in the MÉTRO.
I highly recommend this film.

Early morning brain fry

2011-10-30T05:49:00.002-05:00

It never fails.
I dog-sit for my father-in-law and visiting REBEL and our own dog, RORY, wake me at 4 a.m., needing outdoor relief.
I wouldn't mind, except I can never return to sweet slumber.
When it occurred this morning, I chose to accompany the eerie darkness of the wee hours with the eerie sonic offerings of "AGHARTA," the 1975 MILES DAVIS album chosen as No. 3 in MOJO MAGAZINE'S 2005 list of "50 ALBUMS THE WILL FRY YOUR BRAIN."
Davis recorded the sprawling jazz-rock fusion album (originally spread across four sides of vinyl) during a concert in Osaka, Japan. By all accounts, the music represents the climax of Davis' electronic experiments, and the trumpeter went on an extended hiatus (primarily because of failing health) after "Agharta" was recorded.
Writing in Mojo, critic David Sheppard describes the album as boasting a "startling, dense sound."
It is beautiful music, albeit difficult to digest initially.
Saxophonist SONNY FORTUNE and guitarist PETE COSEY are among the highlighted contributors, and both excel.
"('Agharta') presents the band in full, frightening form, a continuously shifting, grooving beast -- dissonant, ferocious, unbeatable," Sheppard writes.
Perfect for the weird hours of darkness and cups of coffee that follow an unwanted, canine wakening, eh?

Immersed in the controversial, but rewarding, 1970s Miles

2011-10-29T13:56:00.002-05:00

The early to mid-1970s were almost without question the most controversial period of MILES DAVIS' landmark -- unparalleled -- career.
I'm reading about the period today in Richard Cook's excellent "IT'S ABOUT THAT TIME: MILES DAVIS ON AND OFF RECORD," which could best be described as a "biography" of the trumpeter's discography.
I have been listening to albums from the period, too, including "A TRIBUTE TO JACK JOHNSON" (one of my favorites), "ON THE CORNER" (definitely what I would call a "grower") and "GET UP WITH IT" (a varied collection I need to spend more time exploring).
Many jazz purists hated this period of Davis' career, especially those contemporary fans who had followed the trumpeter's work throughout the 1950s and 60s. These purists must have felt Davis had abandoned them, as he disregarded much of what we associate with jazz (including recognizable song structures).
I take a different view. Davis hadn't abandoned the fans. The problem was the fans were unable to keep up with him.
As I listened to the dense sound scape of "Mr. Freedom X," from "On the Corner," I envision Davis' music as a jetliner on a runway. Gaining speed throughout the late 1960s, the jet soared by the early 1970s, leaving the fans running along on the tarmac in my analogy.
I imagine not many of the fans who worshiped Davis for songs such as "My Funny Valentine" were going to warm as immediately to his poly-rhythmic funk workouts of the 1970s.
Much of the 1970s Davis work is alien-sounding, but it also boasts a remarkable beauty to the open-minded listener.
Besides, there are passages on "A Tribute to Jack Johnson" that rock as hard as any metal.
Is it really jazz? Who cares? It's definitely Miles.

We'd have a blast, if I had Orioles

2011-10-28T09:50:00.003-05:00

I've always been intrigued by this building on the corner of Central Avenue and 16th Street in DUBUQUE.
It's probably apartments now, but the facade suggests a VINTAGE NIGHTCLUB -- something of a rarity in Dubuque, where good old-fashioned Midwestern taverns tend to dominate.
The dilapidated neon sign reads "ORIOLES," which again suggests a nightclub.
I always think that if I had enough money, I would purchase the building, renovate the facade and the sign, and create my own JAZZ CLUB.
Dubuque had a jazz club a few years ago, and we listened to a combo there (a coworker and I had taken a JAZZ APPRECIATION COURSE at the same time).
Lack of patrons doomed the jazz club, perhaps predictably, and the new owners converted it into a sports bar -- like we need more of those.
Yep, if I had the resources, Orioles would be mine and I would "return" it to the former glory I imagine it having.
We'd play jazz there. We'd have good whiskey. We'd have a blast.

Wait: You mean I'm not in Argentina?!?!

2011-10-27T05:50:00.002-05:00

I was shocked by the ALARM going off today -- not because it was morning, but because I woke to find I was not in ARGENTINA.
I dreamt I was staying with a family in LA PLATA. The family included a curmudgeonly old Italian grandfather and the whole clan were SOCCER fanatics, which suited me perfectly.
In my dream, they were teaching me about Argentina's various soccer clubs. I was at a neighborhood newsstand, thumbing through some SOCCER MAGAZINES, when the alarm jolted me back into reality.
You'd be surprised how many of my dreams end with me looking at soccer magazines. Or maybe you wouldn't.

We're just #KeepingItPeel on #JohnPeelDay

2011-10-25T08:58:00.003-05:00

An ANGLOPHILE kid growing up in CALIFORNIA and ARIZONA, I sadly didn't get enough opportunities to hear the British radio that formed a generation or more of my kindred spirits.
I remember cherishing every little scrap of shortwave radio blast or cassette mix that included the DJ work of luminaries such as KID JENSEN and JOHN PEEL. (They are wearing shirts bearing the names of the other person in the above photo.)
The legendary Peel ("influential" in this case is too mild a word) passed away seven years ago today, and the tributes are so extensive that #KeepingItPeel is trending rather loftily in the United Kingdom today.
I don't have much to add, but I do recommend you visit our allies at FOOTBALL AND MUSIC (see the link to the right), where an excellent podcast of football-related Peel broadcasts is available for download.
That way, you can help keep it Peel, too.

A result like a thunderbolt

2011-10-24T10:34:00.002-05:00

The pundits had predicted a cagey match -- like a cup final -- and I had no reason to disagree.
Those expectations are why yesterday's result of the 161st Manchester derby reverberated like a thunderbolt.
MANCHESTER UNITED 1-6 MANCHESTER CITY
The champions were well and truly blitzed, having a man sent off and conceding six goals in a top-flight home match for the first time since Sept. 10, 1930.
I watched the encounter live on television. I couldn't believe what I was seeing.
I recognized that Roberto Mancini's side was full of talented players. I was surprised at how Manchester United seemed to have no answer for the creativity of David Silva and James Milner.
I recognized all eyes would be on Mario Balotelli, who hours before had set part of his house on fire by shooting off fireworks. I was surprised he rose to the challenge, scoring Manchester City's first two goals (and showing a sense of humor with his T-shirt message: "Why Always Me?").
I recognized that the champions were probably not as strong as last season. I was surprised by the way in which they seemed to switch off mentally in the game's final moments, enabling the visitors to score three goals from the 89th minute on.
It was certainly a memorable match. I feel fortunate to say I witnessed a little history.

Slowly, enjoyably working my way through Miles Davis' life, work

2011-10-23T15:01:00.002-05:00

RICHARD COOK takes a rather unique -- yet seemingly appropriate -- approach to his biographical subject in "IT'S ABOUT THAT TIME: MILES DAVIS ON AND OFF RECORD."
Cook presents Davis' life in discographical order, detailing the tracks of each album as he relates what was happening in the trumpeter's life at the time. I have been reading it slowly, with purpose.
Once I arrive at a chapter on an album I own, I stop, listen to the record, then read the chapter. I re-listen to segments of the album as well, based on Cook's insights that I have just read. (It helps that we have approximately 23 hours of Davis' music on CD/iTunes.)
It makes for slow-going, but highly enjoyable, progress through a book.
I read about/listened to "KIND OF BLUE" and "SKETCHES OF SPAIN" today. I am going to save "SOMEDAY MY PRINCE WILL COME FOR TOMORROW."
Listening to jazz in between watching sports on television is a fantastic way to spend a weekend. I already knew that, but this weekend has cemented that opinion.

Watching the Baggies big win

2011-10-22T11:03:00.003-05:00

A dodgy sending off helped as WEST BROMWICH ALBION accomplished a feat that last occurred back in the days of the great Cyrille Regis.
The Baggies won at Villa Park in the league for the first time since 1979, beating 10-man ASTON VILLA, 2-1.
I watched the match live on television, cheering on the club I supported as a boy.
Villa had taken an early lead through a 23rd-minute penalty by Darren Bent.
The match turned on a controversial play 12 minutes later, when Villa's Chris Herd was controversially sent off by referee Phil Dowd, presumably for stamping on the Baggies' Jonas Olsson.
Olsson then equalized 10 minutes later.
West Brom took the lead in the 57th minute, thanks to a great goal by Paul Scharner (pictured).
Roy Hodgson's men then passed the ball around the park for the remainder of the match, and the first-in-a-generation victory was secured.
It was all great fun for me, as I recalled those days so long ago, when I might catch West Brom's score on BBC WORLD SERVICE or snatch a bit of news from an imported copy of SHOOT! magazine.

Friday Question left out in the cold

2011-10-21T05:30:00.002-05:00

The dog just broke her individual record for shortest outdoor excursion to relieve herself.
Why?
Because it's C-C-C-C-COLD outside!
ROUTE 1 readers recall chilling times of old by answering the following FRIDAY QUESTION:
"What is the coldest you've ever f-f-f-felt?"
KERI M. -- One year, my brother was playing outdoor hockey and my sister and I had to stay and watch him, because we were too young to walk home by ourselves. We exchanged clothing and hid behind a garbage dumpster until he was done. I still remember how my fingers felt.
INGER H. -- Pretty much any time I wade in the surf at a northern California beach... Yow!!! It hurts!!!
BRIAN M. -- That's easy. It was a point in December 1990 in Lakeview. It was my first full winter there and not quite two years before you and Jill arrived. We had a stretch of weather where the temperature dipped to zero and below, and dropped to -20 degrees at night. I remember one one of these 0 degree days, with the wind howling, a friend and I moved my stuff from the south end of town to the apartment at which I spent most of my time in Lakeview.
JOHN S. -- One year at Ice Fest I put on Troy Henkels' dry suit and went into the river. I was dry, but damn cold!
KERSTIN H. -- I've been very cold but the coldest would be when. I was waiting for the bus the day when it was only like -30 below... even tho I was only there for like 5 minutes it still felt like it took me all day to warm up again!
JIM S. -- I distinctly remember this, even though it was so long ago. One night when I was a junior in college, I was walking the mile or so from campus to my Regent Street Apartment complex in Madison, Wis. As is common with students (male students?), I wasn't dressed warm enough for the evening (no hat). It was about 10 degrees, but the wind was whipping in my face as I walked down some railroad tracks, which was a shortcut. I tried jogging, but it made it worse. It was the longest mile I've ever trekked.
SANDYE V. -- One winter in the 1990s (I think) we had an actual temp of about 30 below (not the wind chill -- the real deal) and it was so cold that we'd have to fire up the car and drive it around on our lunch break so that the gasline didn't freeze. And it was wear-your-longjohns-in-the-office weather, too.
RICK T. -- Eight years ago on the dock at Roadway Express in the middle of winter! Never again!
BEKAH P. -- Once, as a child, I fell through ice into a small creek in my grandparents' timbers. My brother, who could run faster than me, chivalrously offered to run back and get Grandpa, who would come and pick me up with the truck. About an hour passed, and by this point, my clothes were freezing to me. I trudged up to my grandparents' house, where my brother was drinking hot cocoa. He had forgotten about me. The jerk.
MIKE D. -- The coldest my HANDS ever felt was probably during my days at Loras College, circa 1982. Of course gloves weren't cool for walking between classes on campus. I remember one day when I went from Keane Hall to the basement (actually, it might have been the boiler room) of Old St. Joe's for a sculpture class. My left hand was wrapped around textbooks and an oversized spiral notebook. When I got to class, my hand was so frozen, I didn't think I'd be able to straighten my fingers to do any work.
BRIAN C. -- Christmas break 1975-76. Drove from Columbia, Missouri, to suburban Chicago with a malfunctioning climate system (automatic, with no blower switch) blowing out air conditioning air the entire time. Driving and scraping the inside of the windshield for 7 hours! I didn't thaw out until 1982.
ROSEANNE H. -- Standing on a pier in northern Holland overlooking the sea with the wind blowing in November. My tear ducts froze and I have problems now with any wind in my face. IT Was way too cold!
ERIK H. -- I have lived in some pretty cold places (here, for example), but the coldest I have ever felt was during what should have been a delightful, nighttime stroll across the Brooklyn Bridge. A native Californian with no real conception of winter -- despite the fact I was attending college in Iowa -- I wore only a sweatshirt for the January trek across the glorious old span. I still shiver th-th-thinking about it.
(NOTE: ROUTE 1 FRIDAY QUESTION will return in two weeks -- after we thaw out.)

Savanna Army Depot: You'll have a blast (possibly literally)

2011-10-20T05:31:00.003-05:00

I spent most of yesterday exploring SAVANNA, ILL., part of a "day-trip" series of stories I am writing for the newspaper.
En route home, I was able to visit a portion of the former SAVANNA ARMY DEPOT site. The 13,062-acre area was a weapons-testing facility from 1917 to 2000. A portion is being converted to business-park space and another large area of the former depot has been designated a National Fish and Wildlife Refuge.
The vast majority of the site is off-limits to visitors -- there's the little problem of UNEXPLODED ORDNANCE remaining from decades of firing weapons and storing ammunition.
I was able to catch glimpses of the area's military past, with strange, decaying buildings behind towering barbed-wire fencing.
I thought the buildings would provide excellent sets for science fiction or horror films.
There are also plenty of signs warning visitors of the area's hidden, explosive legacy.

Post No. 2,195: In which our hero salutes the cassette tape

2011-10-18T05:44:00.002-05:00

Compilers of the OXFORD ENGLISH DICTIONARY have excised "CASSETTE TAPE" from the "Concise" edition, another sign of shifting technologies and once-ubiquitous daily items now rendered obsolete.
I admit that I am among the mourners.
During my college days, I would not have survived without my cassette tapes. There was no local radio station in CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA that would play JOY DIVISION, ECHO & THE BUNNYMEN, THE CURE or similar bands back then -- hell, there probably isn't a local radio station in C.R. now that will play that stuff -- so I depended on cassettes as a link to the music I loved.
My first college work-study job involved sweeping out the system of subterranean pedestrian walkways that connected buildings on the MOUNT MERCY COLLEGE (now "Mount Mercy University") campus.
The task gave me a nickname that stuck -- "TUNNELMAN" -- while giving me an opportunity to listen to cassettes on a WalkMan.
Did you know "UNKNOWN PLEASURES" is a perfect album to hear while sweeping dust down a seemingly endless tunnel? I learned that lesson the hard way, thanks to my cassette tapes.
Later, I would tape all my albums so I could listen in the car.
Drives along the astonishingly beautiful coast of SONOMA COUNTY, CALIF. -- which I consider to be "home" -- were punctuated by alternative music, R&B rarities, reggae and even jazz on cassette. Years went by and you could identify my car by the shoebox full of cassettes in the passenger side.
Yes, the iPod era is much easier for storing a music collection. I just don't think the current era is as cool as a shoebox full of eclectic cassettes.
R.I.P., cassette tape.

3 things to do

2011-10-17T07:14:00.003-05:00

Things to do this week:
1. Bundle up. It's going to be COLD, with overnight low temperatures forecast for the 30s all week.
2. Finish reading my book. Nick Reding's "METHLAND" is a fascinating and disturbing look at how increasingly industrialized agriculture and global pharmaceutical practices helped facilitate the methamphetamine epidemic in rural America. You'll never look at small-town life the same way.
3. Listen to more JAZZ. When days shorten and the autumnal nights lengthen and grow colder (see above), my mood shifts to jazz. Today, I am listening to the 1959 album "CANNONBALL ADDERLEY QUINTET IN CHICAGO." Alto-saxophone player Adderley is joined by other members of Miles Davis' legendary sextet, including John Coltrane, Wynton Kelly, Paul Chambers and Jimmy Cobb. It's wonderful music.

More excited by the result, not the fracas

2011-10-16T18:42:00.001-05:00

Alex Smith's fourth-down, 6-yard touchdown pass to Delanie Walker effectively won the game as the visiting 49ERS defeated the previously unbeaten LIONS, 25-19, but all the media focus following the contest seems fixated on the coaches.
San Francisco's Jim Harbaugh and Detroit's Jim Schwartz had to be separated after the customary postgame hand shake.
We watched the game on television this afternoon.
Schwartz took offense to something Harbaugh did or said after the game and charged his opposite number as the teams left the field.
Exciting, eh?
I'm more excited by the way the 49ers have opened the season. They are winning "big games" in a way they have been unable to accomplish in years.

Drums drums drums drums drums galore

2011-10-15T10:56:00.003-05:00

Does the sound of various types of DRUMS help you work hard?
It does for me, as I experienced earlier today.
I gave the bathroom a thorough cleaning to the sound of "ORGY IN RHYTHM," the percussion album led by ART BLAKEY in 1957.
Accomplished percussionist Blakey recruited three more top-notch drummers, Art Taylor, Jo Jones and "Specs" Wright -- with the latter two also playing tympani.
Blakey also called in bongo and timbales legend Sabu, conga players "Potato" Valdez and Jose Valiente, timbales man Ubaldo Nieto and multi-percussionist Evilio Quintero, who played cencerro, maracas something called "tree log," which must have been exactly what the name implies.
The result is a drums feast, aided by Herbie Mann on flute, Ray Bryant on piano and bassist Wendell Marshall.
Afro-Cuban sounds dominate this Blue Note records classic, but the instrumental combination really produces a sound unlike I or many others had heard before.
"Side one opens with Jo Jones on tympani, the mournful flute of Herbie Mann and Sabu crying the 'Buhaina Chant' in a manner somewhere between a muezzin and a cantor," Ira Gitler wrote in the original liner notes. "Then Art explodes into the forefront and after a while the Latin rhythm joins him."
The eclectic mix of rhythm must be heard to be believed, and believe me -- it provides an excellent soundtrack to some hard work.

Favorite drives

2011-10-14T05:43:00.001-05:00

ROUTE 1 assistant KERSTIN receives her license this week, prompting the following FRIDAY QUESTION:
"What is your favorite drive?"
RICK T. -- A ride along US highway 98 (Coastal Highway) in Florida.
KERI M. -- Right now - to work (a 15 min drive) and back. There is a "Wired 963 Traffic Jam" mix show that I love driving anywhere to. She would love it.
JIM S. -- There's a short drive near Kieler, Wis., called Peddle Hollow Road that is very pretty and relaxing. It's just past the Kieler Bank and gas station heading toward Dickeyville. Take it about two miles and you'll run into other pretty drives along Timber Lane and Bluff Hollow Road - all fairly close to the Mississippi River. I've also taken some runs along Peddle Hollow Road.
MIKE D. -- About this time of year, my family always takes a drive to enjoy the fall foliage along the Great River Road in Iowa and Wisconsin.
ROSEANNE H. -- Along the Sonoma County and Mendocino County coastlines.
SANDYE V. -- Wisconsin Hwy. 23 from Dodgeville north to Spring Green. Any time of year, it's absolutely gorgeous, curvy and hilly with stunning views of the bluffs and valleys. And then when you get there, you can look at Frank Lloyd Wright stuff at Taliesin.
MARY N.-P. -- Actually, my daily commute to and from work - a 30-minute drive along US 52 from Bellevue to Dubuque which includes stunning scenery, interesting wildlife and little traffic - a great way to start and end each day of the past 13 years.
JOHN S. -- Old Highway 20.
KERSTIN H. -- The old highway cause I know it really well and its nice knowing that all I have to focus on is the driving part and not the where do I turn at part.
ERIK H. -- Sebastopol, Calif., to Jenner, Calif., via Bodega Bay and coastal Sonoma County will always be my favorite drive.

Losing two legends of League

2011-10-12T06:13:00.002-05:00

RUGBY LEAGUE has lost a pair of legends the past two days.
KEITH HOLMAN (1927-2011) starred at halfback for the WESTERN SUBURBS MAGPIES, scoring 381 points in 203 games. He also played 32 times for AUSTRALIA (1950-58).
Pictured above, DICK THORNETT (1940-2011) was one of only five Australians to represent the country in three sports. He played WATER POLO at the 1960 Olympics in Rome before playing RUGBY UNION.
After two seasons of union, he joined his brother Ken playing league for the PARRAMATTA EELS.
He scored 173 points in 160 matches for the Eels, then played part of the 1972 season with Easts.
The sport will miss both of these legends.

Intellectualism as rock revolution

2011-10-11T05:26:00.002-05:00

I'm listening to "ALADDIN SANE" by DAVID BOWIE today, drawn to some classic glam rock by a forecast of three days of dreary rain.
It's difficult now to relate to the sensation Bowie caused as he rocketed to stardom in the early 1970s, setting a different course for pop with his changing personas from album to album.
Writing in the NME in 1973, Ian MacDonald defended Bowie against critics who couldn't see beyond the artifice -- or couldn't recognize the artifice as an experiment in pop culture:
"They feel that he is being more than pretentious, he is being callous -- enjoying a huge ego trip at the expense of people, feelings and situations. He is, in fact, as far from the singer-songwriter ethos -- as embodied by its initiator, Bob Dylan -- as you can comfortably get, and he's alone in taking up this position. For good or ill, David Bowie's intellectualism is a revolution in rock."
All I know is that "Aladdin Sane" still sounds great, 38 years after its release.

From 8-track to iTunes

2011-10-10T05:05:00.002-05:00

I can remember owning three or so 8-TRACK tapes when I was a kid (there were probably more, but I only remember three).
Don't bother looking for a pattern, they were a rather random trio:
I had "PRESENCE" by LED ZEPPELIN, something by KISS (probably "LOVE GUN," but it could have been "ROCK AND ROLL OVER") and "FRENCH KISS" by BOB WELCH.
Of the latter, some of you might be thinking: The Dodgers and A's pitcher made a record?
A select few are correctly remembering: Oh yeah, that guitarist from FLEETWOOD MAC before Nicks and Buckingham made them famous.
I renewed my acquaintance with Welch's 1977 album, "French Kiss," thanks to a recent iTunes purchase.
"Sentimental Lady," "Hot Love, Cold World" and "Ebony Eyes" were hit singles from "French Kiss."
My reunion with the album -- after decades -- revealed some other gems as well.
"Mystery Train," "Easy to Fall" and "Carolene" are a few more great songs from "French Kiss."
Listening this weekend, I could barely remember enjoying the album on 8-track. It was one of the select few albums I enjoyed until high school and ALTERNATIVE ROCK swept all else aside, at least for a little while.

Surreal scene at Miller Park

2011-10-08T14:01:00.002-05:00

The surreal scene at the conclusion of last night's 3-2, 10-inning victory by the MILWAUKEE BREWERS over the ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS in Game 5 of the NATIONAL LEAGUE DIVISION SERIES wasn't the sight of complete strangers running up to offer congratulatory high-fives.
That happens every time a success-starved community celebrates an unexpected victory.
No, for me the surreal scene occurred as sat in the parking lot, enjoying some postgame tailgating while a long line of cars attempted to exit.
Looking up into the night sky, we could see some of the golden, shiny confetti dumped on the stands being blown up and through the open roof of Miller Park.
Caught in the parking lot lights, the confetti looked like sparks emitted from a volcano.
Until they came fluttering down to earth, when the shiny confetti looked like double-sized, golden fireflies.
It was a remarkable scene after last night's remarkable game.

Pardon the interruption of your nirvana, but here's the Friday Question

2011-10-07T06:33:00.001-05:00

The vast majority of ROUTE 1 readers live in a happy-go-lucky, sunshine-y, bubblegum-infused puppy-dog-tail world filled by bliss after bliss after bliss.
We can safely assume this state of affairs because so few people answered this week's FRIDAY QUESTION:
"When was the last time you let out a good rant and what was it about?"
Today, we celebrate the following curmudgeons:
JOHN S. -- It was about the major league conspiracy to keep the Cubs down, and I rant about it every June!
MARY N.-P. -- Oh Lord - it was not long ago and about politics, but that's all I can say without getting into trouble...
ERIK H. -- It drives me to distraction (and ranting) when sports journalists -- often East Coast-based -- pass off their hyperbole as accepted truths. No, I don't think the Phillies rotation is the greatest of all time. I think the 1971 Baltimore Orioles staff (just to name one), would have out-pitched them every time. Please, ESPN, don't belittle our ability to remember true greatness from other eras just so you can hype people into continuing to watch your coverage.

Go ahead and try to "Beat Dis." You can't

2011-10-06T19:44:00.002-05:00

Thursdays before a Friday off work are special.
I marked the occasion of today's such Thursday by listening to some classic DANCE MUSIC when I arrived home from work, highlighted by the towering 1987 single "BEAT DIS" by BOMB THE BASS.
Brixton-born TIM SIMENON was his name, and blazing a trail for British dance DJs was his game.
I loved "Beat Dis" when I first heard the song in college.
Sampling was relatively new at the time, and Simenon added sounds like a magpie.
What do Kurtis Blow, Fiorello LaGuardia, Jayne Mansfield, Prince and the "Thunderbirds" puppet television series have in common? Samples of their sounds were included in "Beat Dis."
I'm going to settle down to watch MY BELOVED OREGON DUCKS on television tonight, but my long weekend kicked off with dance music of the classic kind.

Taking my eyewear cue from a jazzy source

2011-10-05T05:53:00.002-05:00

If I need to wear GLASSES, I might as well make them stylish enough to fit my personality.
That was my thinking when picking out frames for my prescription "work glasses," tailored to allow close focus while reading and to allow me to see what I am posting to ROUTE 1.
Since their Friday arrival, my glasses have become a source of annoyance to me -- I feel like I am wearing safety goggles -- and a source of speculation for my friends.
"Is he trying to look like Elvis Costello?"
Not really. The musical inspiration for my choice of frames -- BANANA REPUBLIC CHANNING 086 (TORTOISE SHELL) -- goes back farther than "OLIVER'S ARMY."
I was really aiming for BILL EVANS on the cover of the jazz pianist's 1959 album "PORTRAIT IN JAZZ."
It was recorded eight months after Evans teamed with MILES DAVIS on the landmark "KIND OF BLUE," and "Portrait in Jazz" continues in the modal vein Evans explored with the trumpeter. There are even a couple versions of "BLUE IN GREEN."
I was never going to choose those rectangular, minimalist frames that seem de rigueur these days.
Nope. My furrow has always been my own.

Cannot wait for "Arrested Development" to return

2011-10-04T06:21:00.002-05:00

I love "ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT," the 2003-06 TV series created by MITCH HURWITZ.
Thrilled to hear reports that the show is coming back, perhaps next year, I watched the first three episodes of the first season last night on DVD.
The casting, the writing and the faux-documentary shooting style keep the show head and shoulders above its competitors.
JASON BATEMAN as Michael Bluth provides the center of the show, and Bateman is consistently brilliant in his role. Supporting cast members such as WILL ARNETT, DAVID CROSS and PORTIA DE ROSSI, to name just three, also bring a wealth of talent to the show.
I cannot wait until it returns.

Renewing an old cassette acquaintance

2011-10-03T07:36:00.002-05:00

As introductions to jazz go, you can't go wrong with "STAN GETZ AND THE OSCAR PETERSON TRIO."
I know, because my late DAD gave me this Japanese-reissue cassette of the album when I was in college, and I nearly wore it out listening.
Getz was the legendary tenor saxophone player who gained his greatest fame playing Brazilian-influenced music in the 1960s.
Peterson was the Canadian pianist who was revered, winning seven Grammy Awards and releasing more than 200 recordings.
Peterson led a drummer-less trio, with guitarist Herb Ellis and bassist Ray Brown.
Getz and Peterson paired on this album in 1957.
Critic Michael G. Nastos describes the musical interaction between the players "approaches telepathic or magical."
I downloaded the album on iTunes the other day, and I plan on renewing my acquaintance with it as I drive today.

Manly rides to glory thanks to "Greatest Show on Earth"

2011-10-02T10:28:00.002-05:00

A sign in the ANZ Stadium crowd today read:
"Stewart Bros. Circus: The Greatest Show on Earth."
The sign proved prescient in today's 2011 NRL GRAND FINAL, as siblings BRETT AND GLENN STEWART became the first set of brothers to score tries in an Australian rugby league decider, powering the MANLY-WARRINGAH SEA EAGLES to a 24-10 victory over the NEW ZEALAND WARRIORS.
Watching the game on TV capped a season in which I followed Aussie rugby league like never before. I listened to online radio coverage of matches every weekend, and even recorded a radio spot that was broadcast on TRIPLE M'S MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL pregame show.
I was happy Manly won today. My sister INGER and I enjoyed ourselves immensely during our visit to the seaside suburb last year.
I cheered for New Zealand, too. The Warriors have two of the most exciting players I followed this season in Krisnan Inu and Shaun Johnson. Johnson and Manly's Daly Cherry-Evans today became the first rookie halfbacks to oppose each other in a Grand Final in 64 years.
Today's match was memorable, and I am so thankful I was able to see it on TV.
I really look forward to the beginning of next season.

Celebrating 40 years of rugby in Dubuque

2011-10-01T20:59:00.004-05:00

I like the idea that we have RUGBY UNION in our town.
JILL, KERSTIN, ANNIKA and I attended today's GENTLEMEN OF DUBUQUE match against PALMER COLLEGE.
Dubuque won, 42-10, in a match that marked 40 years of the sport in town.
Watching, I was able to explain lineouts, scrums and conversions to Annika -- it was fun to educate her on a sport rarely seen on TV.
I like the idea that we have rugby union in our town because it's special and unique.

What to do when you're alone

2011-09-30T05:22:00.003-05:00

Sometimes we all need to be alone.
ROUTE 1 readers describe their favorite solitary activities by answering this week's FRIDAY QUESTION:
"What do you like to do when you are alone?"
RICK T. -- Play on the computer.
KERI M. -- Yoga.
MARY N.P. -- In lovely weather, walk through our gardens, followed by cats and listening to the bird songs. In inclement weather, read, cook, make jewelry or (especially) play/read on my iPad...
SANDYE V. -- I like to stretch out with a good book --- outside on my swing/glider, weather permitting, or (and I think this season is fast approaching) on the couch with a fire crackling in the wood stove and the cat behind my knees.
KERSTIN H. -- normally i like to read but lately i love to sleep... you no now that i think about it i really dont care who is around i'm sleeping!
SASKIA M. -- Either surf of play games on the laptop while listening to music or peeking over to the TV.
ERIK H. -- I like to listen to music with my eyes closed. I catch more of the nuances that way.

Still digesting a wild night of baseball

2011-09-29T09:44:00.004-05:00

What a wild night of BASEBALL.
I'm still trying to digest all that happened:
* Down 7-0 against the YANKEES heading into the eighth inning, the RAYS rallied and eventually won, 8-7, on Evan Longoria's 12th-inning homer.
* Up 3-2 against the ORIOLES, the RED SOX completed a dismal September collapse by losing, 4-3. The two results combined to knock Boston out of playoff contention.
* The CARDINALS dominated the ASTROS, 8-0, behind pitcher Chris Carpenter.
* The PHILLIES finally put the BRAVES out of their misery, 4-3 in 13 innings, to complete a spell in which Atlanta lost 20 of its final 30 games to miss the playoffs after appearing to be locked into a wildcard spot.
It almost made me forget the rather whimpering end to the GIANTS season (6-3 losers to the ROCKIES).

Sobering view of the Ramones

2011-09-28T06:35:00.002-05:00

I watched "END OF THE CENTURY" last night on DVD.
It's the documentary chronicling the rise of the RAMONES, the pioneers of punk.
Viewers learn about the youthful days in Queens of John Cummings (JOHNNY RAMONE), Douglas Colvin (DEE DEE RAMONE), Jeffry Hyman (JOEY RAMONE) and Thomas Erdelyi (TOMMY RAMONE).
The film explores the music and conflicts of the band -- Johnny and Joey quit speaking to each other for the band's final 17 years in operation.
The Ramones were also prophets without much honor in their own country. The band would sell out large arenas in Europe, only to return for gigs in the small, American clubs where they had always played.
Drugs and cancer also took their toll, claiming the lives of three of the four founding members.
It was a fascinating and ultimately sobering view of the Ramones.

Eliminating the unnecessary

2011-09-27T06:27:00.002-05:00

"Eliminate the unnecessary and focus on the substance," is how Tommy Erdelyi (TOMMY RAMONE) described the credo of THE RAMONES.
I thought about this credo this morning, as KERSTIN and I listened to the band's landmark, debut album en route to her driver's education class.
It's becoming harder to imagine the Ramones as revolutionary, now that their songs are so prominently features in movies and TV commercials.
We would hear an "ooh ooh ooh" chorus and I would explain to Kerstin that the band decided to reject the lengthy guitar solo pretensions of the current music scene, returning to the simpler, "fun" era of early rock 'n' roll and girl-group pop.
It all sounded so raw for two reasons: They consciously rejected virtuosity and, quite frankly, they were just learning their instruments.
Even the iconic cover lives up to the credo. It's in black and white, it's just the band standing in front of a wall, and the only word is "Ramones" emblazoned on the top.
Simple.