Happy Doomsday!

  Since this whole end of the world thing is becoming quite popular, I thought maybe you all would enjoy a little 1950's and 60's propaganda as well as a doomsday playlist. I personally don't believe in all that end of the world mumbo jumbo, but just in case it does all happen, here's a little post you can read to make yourself feel better as the world crumbles around you.

Like It's the End of the World from itsamodmodworld on 8tracks Radio.

1. "Live and Let Die" by Paul McCartney and Wings (1973).
2. "What is Life" by George Harrison (1970).
3. "Run For Your Life" by The Beatles (1965).
4. "The Answer's at the End" by George Harrison (1975).
5. "End of the Line" by The Traveling Wilburys (1988).
6. "The End" by The Beatles (1969).
7. "Dead End Justice" by The Runaways (1976).
8. "The End" by The Doors (1967).

Just a Little Weird Sometimes

  I find that everyone I meet has a little quirkiness to them or a weird side of them that they don't necessarily show to the public. They bottle this "weirdness" up inside and don't like to show it off because they're afraid of other people not liking the real them. But this weirdness is a good thing, and it shows how much a person cares. This weirdness could be having an obsession that they love about a TV show or band (I know half of Tumblr follows this rule, including me) or a secret hobby that they don't like to show. It could be the things they decorate their room with sometimes or the clothes they wear when their friends from school aren't around. Whatever it is, some form of weirdness dominates us all.
  I think my own weirdness shows through the music I listen to, the clothing I wear, and the way I decorate my room. Just a year or two ago, my room was this dull, drab pink, with posters my friends had given me of Eminem and Harry Potter plastered all over my walls. Harry Potter is obviously an exception, but that was back when I just listened to music that was played on the radio for me and dressed the way all the other girls in school dressed. I was just another teen doing what everybody else did, and I hated it.
  Then I rebelled, letting my inner weirdness take over. I started dressing however I wanted at the end of eighth grade and beginning of freshman year and started listening to the kind of music I liked, which happened to be classic rock. I started letting others know that I liked this music as well, as opposed to bottling my musical taste up like I did throughout most of the eighth grade. I wore band shirts and changed my computer and phone wallpapers to musicians I liked, and soon a few of my friends started to say that they liked my music, too. I took down the posters and hung up new ones of the Beatles, Woodstock, and other bands/music that I liked, and decorated the room with lava lamps and beads hanging from the doorway (which eventually got very annoying, so I had to take them down).
  Maybe you all will enjoy a little more weirdness in my room; so here it is, a few knickknacks from around my room that show who I really am.

My tin Beatles lunchbox that got too noisy and clangy to carry around everywhere. It didn't fit in my bag, so I stopped using it in seventh grade. Hard to believe I had a Beatles lunchbox in the seventh grade and barely knew who they were!

My lava lamp, a picture of my neighbor and I in one of those electric cars made for kids, a little bear figurine standing on its head that my friend who moved to Germany sent me, a miniature waterfall that broke that my dad gave me for Christmas, a mini clog that the same German friend sent, a small painting from Jamaica, and behind that, the hardcover to a Beatles book I received for Christmas.

The head of my old Sequoia guitar that I no longer play because it sounds absolutely dreadful and some bumblebee stickers.

This crazy Elvis purse my friend gave me. It's made out of a high heel!

Oh, remember that time when I was seven and I met Hilary and Hayley Duff?

I love this; Purchased in Cape Cod, a mini figurine of a dachshund in its best Hawaiian gear.

The old bag my grandmother gave me that I now use as a book-bag for school. I used some of my dad's house paint and painted the RAF roundel (or more commonly known as the 'mod symbol' by me) on it, and now I feel like a real mod!

My Quadrophenia poster, which I love love love! It even compares the film to A Clockwork Orange, another favorite of mine!

Maybe Just a Little Weird from itsamodmodworld on 8tracks Radio.

1. "Honey Pie" by The Beatles
2. "Hurdy Gurdy" by Donovan
3. "I'm in Love With the Ooo-Ooo Man" by The G.T.O.'s
4. "People Are Strange" by The Doors
5. "I'm Not Like Everybody Else" by The Kinks
6. "Strange Magic" by Electric Light Orchestra
7. "Rainy Day Women #12 & 35" by Bob Dylan
8.  "Wild World" by Cat Stevens
9.  "Victoria" by The Kinks
10. "The Captain's Fat Theresa Shows" by The G.T.O.'s
11. "Baby You're a Rich Man" by The Beatles
12. "D'yer Mak'er" by Led Zeppelin

Some Girls

  Since bands with attractive men began, they have had dedicated followers who would do anything to be noticed by the band. In the early-mid 1960's, Beatlemania rocked the world and left millions of girls in a craze. These fans were probably the first example of crazy, over-obsessed fans, who took their love of the band just a little too far.
 These fans waited outside places where The Beatles were and made posters, signs, cardboard cutouts, and every little physical symbol of their love for the Beatles as possible. Girls made dresses with The Beatles on them, decorated their hair with Beatles clips and pins, and even made dolls with The Beatles' faces on them. Some songs were even recorded by dedicated fans, like "We Love You Beatles," by the Carefrees, "My Boyfriend Got a Beatle Haircut" by Donna Lynn, and "Ringo, I Love You" by Bonnie Jo Mason (Nowadays she's known as Cher). At Beatles concerts and places in public where The Beatles showed up, cops and other authority figures had to actually physically hold the crazed fans back before they broke loose and went on a rampage. These fans were literally obsessed!
  Beatlemania faded with teenage girls as The Beatles decided they wanted to be taken seriously around 1967 when they released Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. The fans backed off, but deep down, there were secretly fangirls still buying every single Beatles album and waiting outside The Beatles' homes.

 By the time The Beatles broke up in 1970, a group of young girls who were extreme fans emerged. These girls were called groupies, and they were girls who slept with the musicians in their favorite bands while they were on tour. Groupies often earned slutty reputations, as they were known to sleep with many different musicians. These musicians loved their groupies, but almost "threw them away" the next day, as they were simply used for a night of drinking, dancing, and sex.

  A group of groupies in the late 1960's and early 70's were nicknamed the "baby groupies" because of their young age. These girls, anywhere from age 14-17 were still in school, yet they got to sleep with celebrities on the weekends! A few very famous 'baby groupies' were Lori Maddox and Sable Starr. Sable had decided she was ugly and gotten work done on her nose by age 15. When she was 16 (Either that or 17) she recruited a young Lori Maddox, aged 14, to join her scene. Lori claims she lost her virginity to Angie and David Bowie, and she went on to have a secret relationship with Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page, who was 28 at the time. (Double her age!)

  One of the most famous groupies of all time is Miss Pamela, also known as Pamela Miller and Pamela Des Barres. She was in the girls group The G.T.O's (Girls Together Outrageously) created by Frank Zappa. All the girls involved in this group were groupies in one way or another, but Miss Pamela was by far the most famous. She's even published books on her groupie ways.

Some Led Zeppelin groupies

Lori Maddox and Sable Starr

Miss Pamela (During her GTO's stage) discussing why she sleeps with English groupies.

Star Magazine, a popular groupie magazine in LA.

Some groupies.

The GTOs

Starfucker from itsamodmodworld on 8tracks Radio.

1.) Star, Star - The Rolling Stones; Originally, this was called "Starf--ker," which is slang for a groupie. Atlantic Records made them change it, eliminating "f--k" from the title, although the band always refers to it by the original title.

2.) Stay With Me - The Faces; The song is a tale of sexual debauchery where the Stewart gives a step-by-step account on how to pick up a groupie for a one-night-stand. He makes it very clear that she should be gone in the morning, although he does offer to pay her cab fare home.

3.) Sick Again - Led Zeppelin; This was the closest Led Zeppelin came to Glam Rock. It sounded a little like T-Rex and David Bowie, but Zeppelin was not about to put on make up or wear feminine clothes. The song is about Led Zeppelin's groupies. Robert Plant's vocals are hard to hear because they are buried in the mix.

4.) Some Girls - The Rolling Stones; The Stones wrote this about the women in their lives, mostly groupies. Richards said they called this "Some Girls" because they could never remember their names. Before they edited this down, it was 24 minutes long. Many of Jagger's outrageous ramblings were cut. The Stones considered this a dirty version of The Beach Boys' "California Girls."

5.) Stay - Pink Floyd; The song deals with a one night stand, or possibly a groupie.

6.) Living Loving Maid (She's Just a Woman) - Led Zeppelin; This is a song about a groupie who bothered the band in their earlier days.

7.)  She Came in Through the Bathroom Window - The Beatles; Paul McCartney wrote this about a fan who broke into his house. Diane Ashley claims it was her: "We found a ladder in his garden and stuck it up the bathroom window which he'd left slightly open. I was the one who climbed up and got in. I don't regret any of it. I had a great time, a really great time."

8.) Summer '68 - Pink Floyd; This is about touring and groupies. It's really Richard Wright asking a groupie how they feel about what they're doing: "have you time before I leave to greet another man?

My Favorite Christmas Things

 Christmas is right around the corner! With all the holiday buzz, I've decided to come up with a few things that remind me of Christmas and just give that overall holiday glow. Enjoy!

The Beach Boys’ Christmas Album

The Beach Boys, 1964

   I absolutely love the Beach Boys. They sing about pretty much everything, but I think it's their holiday album that really showcases how great they are at writing tunes for any topic. They have more than one Christmas album, and I'm pretty sure I own all of them. But The Beach Boys' Christmas Album is by far my favorite."Little Saint Nick" will by far be one of my favorite Christmas songs of all time. It's such a classic, and I really love listening to it on Christmas. It's just a song that never gets old, really. The Beach Boys' Christmas Album is an album that is timeless for me, and always brings me holiday joy.

A Christmas Story

A Christmas Story is a 1983 American Christmas comedy film. Around the holidays, TBS usually plays it in a 24-hour marathon. The movie is about 9-year-old Ralph "Ralphie" Parker and his struggles to get the perfect Christmas present: A Red Ryder BB gun. While trying to get this present, most people usually reply with the famous line about the BB gun, "You'll shoot your eye out." The movie is absolute hilarious, and is a Christmas classic. I highly recommend it.

Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town & The Year Without a Santa Clause

  These two TV specials are absolutely wonderful. Both are from the early 1970's and feature some of the greatest stop-motion filming I have ever seen.  They feature such incredible songs that almost don't seem like they're from a children's cartoon, like "Put One Foot in Front of the Other" from Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town and both Mr. Snow/Mr. Heat from The Year Without a Santa Clause. Although I love both films, The Year Without a Santa Clause has to be my favorite of the two, simply because of the story line.

Christmas Time is Here Again: A Classic Rock Christmas from itsamodmodworld on 8tracks Radio.

People I Admire: Ray Davies

  If you don't know who Ray Davies is, here is Wikipedia's official definition:

Raymond Douglas "Ray" Davies born 21 June 1944) is an English rock musician. He is best known as lead singer and songwriter for The Kinks, which he led with his younger brother, Dave. He has also acted, directed and produced shows for theatre and television. Since the dissolution of the Kinks in 1996, Ray Davies has embarked on a solo career as a singer-songwriter.

  Ray Davies is mostly known for being in The Kinks, one of my all-time favorite bands. It's just something about The Kinks that drives me crazy (in the a good way!) and I don't know what it is. Maybe it's the way all of their songs describe traditional British life (See my post on it here) or how they just seem so... British. I love the Brits more than anything; My time in England was the best five days of my entire life.
  The Kinks in particular love expressing how traditional they are to their British lifestyles. Many of their songs have a clear basis: "On Saturdays I do this, on Sundays I do this, I'm British, and I love it." And let's face it; The Kinks are smart motherfuckers!

"With the over-population and inflation and starvation and the crazy politicians, I don't feel safe in this world no more."  - The Kinks, Apeman 

"The wonderful world of technology, napalm, hydrogen bombs, biological warfare." - The Kinks, 20th Century Man 

  The Kinks were the ultimate mods, but even when mod culture started to fade around 1967, they embraces psychedelia in both their clothing and musical style. These guys stayed together until 1996, when they disbanded simply because they weren't making enough money, which is rather unfortunate. They have more talent than pretty much all of the artists of 1996!

Unfortunately 8Tracks wasn't working today, so here are a few of my favorite Kinks tunes. 

1. The Village Green Preservation Society

2. Sunny Afternoon

3. Autumn Almanac

4. Apeman

5. Waterloo Sunset

6. Victoria

Also, enjoy a live performance of "Autumn Almanac" by The Kinks!

I'll Never Be Your Beast of Burden

 

 And it's sure been a cold, cold winter
And the wind ain't been blowin' from the south
It's sure been a cold, cold winter
And the light of love is all burned out

  As the winter season passes, I find that by looking out by window, the world moves both more slowly and quickly than normal. It moves quickly because it's the holidays and everyone is always rushing. It seems December in general rushes by, as people are trying so desperately hard to grab all the presents for their friends and relatives that they can, leaving themselves broke. But December and winter in general go by slowly, too.. it's always cold here in Massachusetts and soon snow will be falling. The trees are bare and leaves clutter the ground, and the sky is always dark and grim.
  I used to appreciate snow a lot as a kid; hell, anything that's fun to play in and may get me out of class is worth a try. But now I absolutely despise it. It's cold, wet, mushy, gets in your shoes, and is nearly impossible to walk in. I do love how glistening snow may look on the ground around Christmas Eve-time, but the next morning, I want the substance to be ridden of.

 

Let Your Hair Hang All Around Me from itsamodmodworld on 8tracks Radio.

If You Want to Sing Out, Sing Out

  I absolutely adore the film Harold and Maude (1971). If you want to watch it, click here, it's on youtube. Although, with copyright complaints, I don't know how long it'll be there. Anyways, Harold and Maude is about a young teenage boy named Harold who is obsessed with death, and even fakes his own suicide multiple times throughout the movie (to which his mother gives almost no reaction). He also spends his free time attending funerals, where he meets Maude, and almost-eighty-year-old woman, and the two fall in love. However, Maude is more eccentric than Harold and brightens up his life with her energy. Of course, the film is a wild black comedy and every minute is filled with both laughs and horror.
  The thing I think completes this film is the soundtrack. It is entirely by one of my all-time favorite artists, Cat Stevens. Now, Cat Stevens writes and sings the most lovely 1970's folk music and his lyrics are enchanting. This got me thinking: That's probably my favorite style of 1970's music: The slow, calming acoustic guitar songs sung out by such brilliant artists like Cat Stevens. So here is a playlist dedicated to some of my favorite 70's songs that give me 'that calming mood.'

Bell Bottom Blues from itsamodmodworld on 8tracks Radio.

1. "If You Want to Sing Out" - Cat Stevens
2. "Sister Golden Hair" - America
3. "My Sweet Lord" - George Harrison
4. "Everything I Own" - Bread
5. "Day After Day" - Badfinger
6. "Wild World" - Cat Stevens
7. "Aubrey" - Bread
8. "Baby Blue" - Badfinger
9. "Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes)" - Edison Lighthouse