Classic Rant #83 (September 10, 2009): Nosedive On the Dave Clark Five

Now that the Beatles have received a higher profile through the release of digitally remastered albums and the video game Beatles Rock Band, I turn my attention to a story that has gripped at least a portion of rock fandom for a number of years, although it is probably not that well known outside of that specific fan base.

The Dave Clark Five were the Beatles’ prime competitors during the early days of the British Invasion. From 1964 to 1966 or so, they had a bushelful of hits that put them right up there with the Beatles among the most popular acts of the day. “Glad All Over,” “Everybody Knows (I Still Love You)” and “Catch Us If You Can” were among these hits, and their hard-driving, stomping Tottenham sound—mixed with their clean appearance and overall good looks—enabled them to be mainstays on The Ed Sullivan Show and countless other TV programs during this period when they were all over the radio.

The hits continued into 1967, but with changing musical tastes, the DC5 as they were known, began to fade. They hung on for a few more years, but by 1970, they had disbanded.

Band leader, drummer, writer, producer and overall jack of all trades Dave Clark was one of the most astute businessman in show business, and he was able to retain the rights to just about everything that the DC5 produced during the band’s tenure.

In fact, the other members of the band—Mike Smith, Dennis Payton, Lenny Davidson and Rick Huxley—were paid employees of Clark, which was an oddity back then and remains an oddity to this day.

Anyway, after the band disbanded, through the emergence of the CD as the dominant music format in the late 1980s, the band members pretty much stayed away from any type of spotlight that could have been shown upon them. There were no reunion tours, and the individual members basically did other things that did not garner them much publicity. Clark continued his astute business operations, and added to his fortune.

Record-wise, a few compilations on vinyl emerged during this period, but that was pretty much about it.

In the mid-1990s, there was a glimmer of hope. There was an agreement with Disney’s Hollywood Records which saw one compilation released, but nothing else came from this brief union, and it was allowed to lapse.

Since that time, although the band was voted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, very little, if anything, has been forthcoming from the band on CD. A digital album of their greatest hits was released to coincide with their Hall of Fame entrance, but that was it.

In the meantime, two band members—Dennis Payton and Mike Smith—passed away.

In a market where you can get countless greatest hits albums and re-released LPs on CD from everybody from Abba to ZZ Top, there is nothing available from the DC5. No actual CDs, no re-released albums, no unreleased material, nothing.

Grey-market releases—less than legitimate offerings—are available, but since Clark owns just about everything having to do with the DC5, the question keeps on getting asked—“Why is there nothing out there on the DC5?”

Clark reportedly is not a person who likes to look back, but ahead, and he considers his musical legacy old hat.

Collectors have been clamoring for re-releases since the early 1990s at least, but even though some positive words by Clark on this front have been uttered from time to time, nothing is imminent.

Various groups on the Internet—made up of members who either chastise Clark or deify him—have kept the flame going, but the fact of the matter is that it is easier to find a “Best Of” of an act like one-hit wonder Keith (remember “98.6”?) than it is to find a similar package for the DC5.

Thus, Clark has been cast as a source of mystery in collectors’ circles, and I don’t think anybody can figure this guy out.

Again, I am not comparing the Beatles and the DC5, but you can readily get any Beatles release that you want ad infinitum, but nothing from the DC5.

I seem to think a good record label could do something nice with their catalog, a la what Rhino Records did with the Monkees catalog or what Sundazed did with its Paul Revere and the Raiders re-releases. These releases would bring the music of the DC5 to the next generation, a generation which, right now, doesn’t know that a Dave Clark Five ever existed.

Clark, ever the businessman, is probably looking at the bottom line here. He doesn’t think he will make much money off of this project, and thus, has balked.

Art be damned! Money isn’t everything, it’s the only thing!

I am glad I still have my vinyl records of this band, an act that I have enjoyed since 1964. But the time has come for my CD player to be used to play the band’s LPs.

Here is my open letter to Dave Clark:

Mr. Clark, if you are reading this, the time is now to release something. No, you won’t make gobs of money, but you will please fans of your old group, many of whom have been with you since 1964 and still keep the flame burning.

The DC5 has already taken a nosedive, we don’t need a full crash at this stage of the game. Mr. Clark, put something out … if not to please yourself, then to please the fans that helped you reach the level you are at today.

“Any Way You Want It,” just do it. And do it now.

(For further information on the DC5, check out http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/DC5/.)

Rant #1,432: Topsy Turvy

I do believe that the world is currently topsy turvy.

I have seen things happen recently that lead me to believe that this is not the world I was born into, grew up in, lived in.

We are in a period where the good guys are the bad guys and the bad guys are the good guys.

We celebrate thugs, yet knock our police.

We make people like Freddy Gray heroes, and make police that are here to protect us into villains.

We hold massive demonstrations against the police for people like Gray, and Eric Garner and Michael Brown, yet nary a whimper is heard when a young New York City Police Department policeman, Brian Moore, is gunned down in cold blood by a thug who has a rap sheet longer than your arm.

We riot when we don't like how things turn out, but we keep quiet when a cop perishes, taking a bullet in the head for all of us.

This country is crazy, this world is crazy, and the PC police don't want us to use the word "thug"--which I have used several times in this article--because they say it is racist.

Some people say that what is happening in Baltimore is part of a master plan by whites to take back their cities, making it impossible for minorities to live there anymore, and then when the sites become abandoned, have millennial whites with education come in and take back their cities, pushing out others.

We have others who believe that those rioting were simply "standing their ground" in Baltimore, and that the police were at fault for making this more than it really was.

And we have people likening the situation in Baltimore to the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising.

Yes, I know a lot of this is hard to believe, but in the world of social networking, a lot of stuff is coming out that really needs to be deep-sixed.

I mourn for the young cop who was gunned down. He lived in my community on Long Island, and his senseless murder is just that, senseless.

Cops have a dangerous job, nobody is going to deny that. But to say, as I have read, that the possibility of death basically goes with the job is an incredibly stupid thing to say, almost justifying the young policeman's death.

Some say that cops should "expect" to die on the job. I don't think that is so in any way, shape or form.

But this situation is being warmed by politicians who are saying and doing things that they would never have gotten away with years ago, and a media that has made "race" the new go-to word.

Certain politicians are telling us that they are warning their children to be careful, because police will pick you up because of your color. They are telling their constituents to "give rioters room" when they destroy and pillage.

Any sensible person can see that this is wrong, that many of those protesting simply have a gang mentality, and were looking for the perfect opening to carry out their pursuits.

This is all wrong, but when people of supposed authority let this go, then what is the general population supposed to think?

When groups destroy their own neighborhoods, and pillage businesses and homes of people of their own background, what are people supposed to think?

Some say despair drives these people to do what they are doing, but that is making those who do not accept this situation look like fools.

They see the things around them, and they do not accept them. They work to change things, and they do it the right way: through education, through not accepting the despair.

Not through destruction.

It seems open season has been declared against all law enforcement, and in tandem, all good people, people who know what is right and what is wrong.

These are lessons learned, but unfortunately, we have people in power now who seemingly want this situation to fester for their own agendas.

We, as a country, must take back normalcy again. Right is right, wrong is wrong, good is not bad and bad is not good.

It sounds so simple, so elementary, but evidently, it is a difficult thing to do.

But good people of all backgrounds MUST do this.

We cannot have thugs ruining our way of life ... and those thugs can be wearing suits and ties too.

We must get back to being on the right plane again, because if we fail to do this, our children and our children's children will suffer.

So if for nothing else, let's do it for them.

We owe it to them, don't you think?

Classic Rant #82 (September 8, 2009): Educating the Doubters

President Obama will be giving a speech today which is directed at students in our country's schools. He will stress education, staying with your studies even when times are tough, and he is describing staying with your education as a duty as an American.

That should be it on this story, but of course, naysayers feel the need to add in their own two cents to this speech.

They claim that the President will be pushing a socialist agenda with the speech, and also pushing his health care plan. He has steadfastly said that this speech is directed at students, and will not contain anything having to do with subjects not having to do with education.

The White House even posted the text of the speech online so that everyone can get a clear view of what he is going to say.

Why do people look for things when they aren't there? Other Presidents have given speeches like this, including most recently the original President Bush. There was nary a word on agendas when Bush made his speech. Why are so many people up in arms on the Obama speech?

Obviously, the honeymoon is over for Obama and many Americans.

However, what they should be up in arms about is the "Get Schooled: You Have the Right" television special that will be broadcast tonight on a number of cable networks, including Nickelodeon and TV Land. Its airing is timed to coincide with the speech, and will air when kids are home from their studies.

The guests on the show talk about the role education has played in their lives. This is a good concept, but the guest list ... well, I think they could have picked better people.

Did you see who will be on the show? Among the guests are Kelly Clarkson, LeBron James, and Bill Gates.

Each one of them circumvented the normal credo of "the more education you have, the more chances you will have in life" to achieve lasting fame in their chosen fields.

I had no idea about Kelly Clarkson's background, so I had to go on Wikipedia to find out about this, I learned that her mother was a first grade teacher. So far, so good ... but then I read on ...

"Upon high school graduation, Clarkson was offered full scholarships to The University of Texas at Austin, University of North Texas, and Berklee, but decided against college because she had "already written so much music and wanted to try it on her own," and she figured "you're never too old to go to college."

Now, let's follow the bouncing ball ... LeBron James is a spectacular basketball player, perhaps the NBA's best overall player. However, educationally, he has just a high school education. If he went through normal channels, he would have gone to college after high school, played for a major school, and then get drafted by an NBA team. No, he didn't go this route. He was so good as a high school player that he was drafted by the Cleveland Cavaliers as a teenager. As it is, since he had such a high profile in high school, I wonder how much education he actually received during those years.

And as for Bill Gates ... he is the perfect example how oftentimes education can stand in the way of success. I don't believe he has a college degree--although he did go to Harvard for a while but did little more than work on their computers and did not regularly attending classes--but he went on to great success in the computer field as the founder of Microsoft. If he would have gone for a college degree, who knows what might have happened? You might not even have the ability to read this.

Thus, I think that in these cases, the wrong people are on this show. Should we just settle for high school educations? Is that what it has come to? And the high school education that Clarkson, James and Gates received ... how much did all the studying, test taking, and learning really add to their success?

Yes, people should be up in arms, but not about what the President is doing today.

Rant #1,431: All-Day Sit-In

As a writer, probably the part of my body that gets the biggest workout during the week are my fingers.

Right now, as I type this, I am giving them a bit of a workout.

But the rest of my body ... forget about it.

I sit all day, and I do mean all day.

I sit at the kitchen table to eat my breakfast in the morning, and during the week, I then go and sit by my computer to type these Rants out.

Than I sit in the living room watching the TV and reading the morning paper.

I then drive to work, and sit in the driver's seat of course.

The worst thing is that I sit all day at work, and I do mean all day.

I get into work slightly past 6:30 in the morning, and pretty much except for a few instances--bathroom breaks, going to the printer to retrieve my work, etc.--I sit until 5:30 p.m., when I leave work, and get in my car to drive home.

Yes, I sit all day.

The following study was done for people like me.

More than 3,000 adults took part in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, and wore accelerometers that tracked their levels of physical activity.

Those running the survey wanted to see whether longer durations of low-intensity activities, such as standing or making a bed, and light-intensity activities, such as slow walking and light cleaning of a home, can extend the life span of people who are sedentary for more than half of their waking hours.

What they found is that for those that sit all day, a walk for maybe few minutes during the day will prolong their lives, and hold off on diseases that curtail life, including diabetes.

I pretty much thought that this was a no brainer. Some type of exercise is better than none, even if you aren't thinking of it as exercise.

For example, on the weekend, in particular on Saturday, I am far from sedentary. I do the shopping for my family, and in particular, when my wife can't help me because she is at work, I have to do it alone, and I get my walking in at the supermarket.

Then I come home, and bring all the groceries up a flight of stairs to our living quarters.

Let me tell you, you go up and down those stairs several times with heavy bags, and you do get a workout.

But admittedly, the rest of the day, even on Saturday, I do sit around.

And if we have nothing doing on Sunday--like this past Sunday, when my wife was working, and she also worked on Saturday, too--all I do is sit around.

And when I sit around, I eat, nosh, munch, whatever you want to call it, on everything including cookies and chips.

I have to move around a bit more, I know I do, but when it comes to exercise, yes, I am lazy.

I admit it.

Months ago, when I was diagnosed with a pinched nerve in my neck, I did everything I could to alleviate the pain, short of taking any type of medication. I went for physical therapy two or three times a week, and I did my exercises at home.

When the pain was alleviated, I didn't have to go to physical therapy anymore, but I continued doing my exercises at home for at least the next year.

Then, I simply dropped doing the exercises, wanting to see if my body could withstand not working out anymore.

It did, so I haven't done any exercises in probably a year and a half.

The pain--or at least what I felt initially--has pretty much gone, but not entirely.

I do feel some pain, or at least discomfort, every once in a while.

I did think about doing my exercises again, but no, I have not started them up at any time.

But the more I sit, the more I become a lump, and I know that.

I am not going to tell you that I am going to start exercising again, because that would be a lie.

But at least it has gotten my mind going again on this topic, and maybe, just maybe, I will try to move around at work a little more.

I don't know how I am going to do this--the bathroom is like 20 steps away from my desk, maximum--but I will try. There really is nowhere to walk here, other than to my car, but let me see if I can come up with something.

But again, I am lazy when it comes to this, and I would not be surprised if this lump just gets lumpier.

Just call me "Lumpy Larry."

It fits.

Classic Rant #81 (September 4, 2009): TNA Pinning WWE To the Mat

Well, this reminds me of the days when the National Basketball Association was looking over its shoulder at the upstart American Basketball Association. Although the upstart never could really challenge the more established league, it could send shivers up the older league's spine.

The same thing is happening today between World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and Total Nonstop Action (TNA). The WWE will never be upended, but you have to give TNA credit for trying.

TNA was started just a few years ago as a pay-per-view entity, but became so popular that it morphed into a weekly show, which expanded from one hour to two hours a little more than a year ago.

It features the same crazy story lines as WWE does--all taking place in a six-sided ring--but it is much more violent. And it has recently expanded its group of female wrestlers--and I must say, not only are they pretty good looking, but unlike many of their WWE counterparts, they can actually wrestle.

TNA has dug into the talent goldmine created by WWE and picked up such popular grapplers as Olympic gold medalist Kurt Angle, Bobby Lashley and Kevin Nash.

And it has also created its own talent roster, with such popular wrestlers as A.J. Styles and Traci Brooks leading the way.

WWE has to be somewhat concerned, because a lot of TNA's popularity has come through word of mouth. Their weekly show is on Spike TV, not exactly what you would call a household name in television. They continue to have pay per views, but they are not that popular viewer-wise, from what I hear.

What they have done is build their fan network through their Web site and through YouTube, where their videos get among the most hits registered by that service.

They also go out in the boondocks to do live shows. Although most shows take place at their home base in Orlando, many take place in third and fourth-tier cites, although that is also starting to change.

They also are linked to international wrestling alliances, and import talent from England, Asia, and elsewhere.

So, if you are looking for something different in pro wrestling, I would recommend TNA. I don't think you will be disappointed. The product is not up to what WWE puts out, but their attractive roster more than compensates for this.

One, two, three--the winner is TNA.

Rant #1,430: Pix Picks

Today, I have decided not to talk too much. Or really, not to write as much as I usually do.

Even with what is going on in the world, I have decided to let my pictures do the talking today.

Yes, today is pretty much a column about nothing much, and I admit to that.

You can't have gems every day, and today might not be a gem, but I feel that after more than 1,400 columns, I deserve a break today, like they used to say in those old McDonald's commercials where people would get change back for their dollar spent.

Anyway, here are some nice photos and scans that I either did myself or revolve around myself and/or my family.

There is nothing novel here--most of the stuff has been put up in prior Rants, at the original Ranting and Raving site (don't go there--if you don't know already, hackers got to it, and I don't want anyone else even remotely impacted by what is there now).

Pictures ARE worth a thousand words, maybe even more, and I think that these photos do too, at least to me.

Look, I could have written another column about what is going on in Baltimore, I could have written something about another former child star passing away, I could have written something about the weather, or maybe even expanded on my birthday Rant a bit.

But I chose to take the easy way out.

And why not?

I admit it--there is nothing that fills up a page like photos.

Do not look for a theme here, other than these are photos that I really like, for one reason or another, nothing more, nothing less. No, maybe not the first one, but at least I had a chance to say goodbye to that car by taking some pictures of it before it was carted off to the junkyard.

And on this Friday, the first day of May, the formerly celebrated in the U.S. holiday of May Day (I could have written about that too), here are some nice scans and photos that I like for one reason or another.

Look at them, maybe some of these are important to you, too, maybe not.

Whatever, the case, have a great weekend.

I am beat from a busy week, and I will speak to you again on Monday ...

... with less photos and more talk.

I promise.

Classic Rant #80 (September 3, 2009): Phil Spector's Pleasant Valley Jail Day

I don't know if you heard about this, but when I did, I had to laugh.

Music legend and convicted murderer Phil Spector, who complained recently about his prison quarters but later said he wanted to stay where he was, is not getting his wish. He is being moved to make room for inmates requiring outpatient mental health treatment. Spector and other prisoners will be going to Pleasant Valley State Prison in Coalinga, Calif., where the other most notorious prisoner is Erik Menendez, convicted with his brother Lyle of murdering their millionaire parents in 1993.

No, I am not laughing about what Spector did, as he was recently convicted of murdering a woman he had a relationship with. That is certainly not a laughing matter.

What I am laughing about is the name of his new prison address: Pleasant Valley State Prison--is that a hoot or what? I didn't know the word "pleasant" and "prison" could be used in the same sentence.

Also, the name "Pleasant Valley Prison" brings to mind a hit song from Spector's era. In 1967, the Monkees had a huge hit with "Pleasant Valley Sunday," and although Spector had absolutely nothing to do with this tune — it was written by Carole King and Gerry Goffin--that tune could become a hit all over again if the lyrics were changed to reflect Spector's current situation.

So, aspiring singers take note--I want a cut of the profits you make off of this re-worded tune (and don't forget King and Goffin either):

Pleasant Valley Jail Day

The local chain gang down the street

Is trying hard to right their wrongs,

They serenade the prison guard

Who supervises them as they mow the lawn.

Another Pleasant Valley jail day,

Fires burning everywhere,

Rows of cells that are all the same,

And no one seems to care.

See Warden Gray, he's proud today

Because his prisoners are so doomed

And as for Phil, he's so serene,

He's got a toilet right in his room.

Another Pleasant Valley jail day,

Here in Status Symbol Land,

Prisoners complain about how hard life is,

And society just doesn't understand.

Creature comfort goals, they only numb their souls,

And make it hard for them to see.

Ahhh...thoughts all seem to stray

To places far away,

Phil says he needs a change of scenery.

Ta ta ta ta, ta ta ta ta... (etc.)

Another Pleasant Valley jail day,

Fires burning everywhere.

Another Pleasant Valley jail day,

Here in Status Symbol Land.

Another Pleasant Valley jail day,

(A Pleasant Valley jail day)

Another Pleasant Valley jail day,

(A Pleasant Valley jail day)

(fade out)