#92 – FINS – Jimmy Buffett – 6/20/2020

Still one of my top 5 favorite films, “Jaws” opened 45 years
ago today to mass hysteria  and enormous
lines becoming the highest grossing film of all time until it was usurped by
“Star Wars: A New Hope” in 1977. I still get chills when Robert Shaw performs
his U.S.S. Indianapolis soliloquy.

I am proud to say I saw Buffett 6 times before his drunken
middle aged bourgeoisie fans turned his concerts into slobbering pukefests. In
those earlier days (‘75 – ’85) Jimmy’s shows were wild, spontaneous and a joy
in every way to attend. With each successive years’ tours the crowds got less
spontaneous and more self—obsessed, wanting to be “part” of the concert
experience instead of simply experiencing it.

This song is also a shout out to our feline mascot of 26 Dove Lane, Finns
T. Catt.

1979 

#496 – TAKE ANOTHER ROAD – Jimmy Buffett - 2/18/2020

On this day in 1885 Mark Twain’s “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” was published. No less a judge than Ernest Hemingway famously declared that the book marked the beginning of American literature: “There was nothing before. There has been nothing as good since.”

Buffett has often cited Twain as a major influence. This song references Twain’s travelogue “Following the Equator”. I guess the acorn didn’t fall too far from the tree.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iuefvvbjHtk

1989 

#595 – THEY DON’T DANCE LIKE CARMEN NO MORE – Jimmy Buffett – 2/10/2020

Let’s take a trip down South America way with Jimmy Buffett as he recalls the 40’s heyday of the Brazilian Bombshell, Carmen Miranda.

Normally I would try to find a live version of a song rather than the studio version. Not with this song however. Buffett’s concerts have become (for better or worse) vehicles for Parrotheads’ enthusiastic partying excesses. His performances mirror that inebriated enthusiasm and his ballads can suffer at the rowdier tempo & delivery. The charm of this song lies in the wistful delivery Jimmy uses in the song’s original appearance on his major label debut, “A White Sport Coat and a Pink Crustacean” 

FULL DISCLOSURE - I was originally going to post this on Miranda’s actual birthday yesterday, but bumped her for a brief nod to Robert Conrad.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b7DUmQmHiXE

1973

#1241 – TALK BACKWARDS – 12/13/2019

It seems fitting that this being a Friday the 13^th we should showcase one of America’s true lost legends, Mr. Steve Goodman, at his most twisted. Goodman is best known as the writer of “the best damned train song ever written”: CITY OF NEW ORLEANS. He came up with the great songwriters of the late 60’s and early 70’s like John Prine, Jimmy Buffett, Jackson Browne, Jim Croce, Jimmy Webb, et al. Not only was he capable of writing serious songs (BANANA REPUBLICS, THE BALLAD OF PENNY EVANS), he wrote some of the most cleaver and hilarious songs I have ever heard (WATCHING JOEY GLOW, AIN’T NEVER HEARD YOU PLAY NO BLUES, YOU NEVER EVEN CALL ME BY MY NAME) including this one, from his 1980 LP “Hot Spot”. As you can tell from this clip, he’s a pretty fair picker, too. We lost Goodman after a long battle with cancer in 1984.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P0niyTcxeqs

1980

LOVELY CRUISE – Jimmy Buffett

#1487 – LOVELY CRUISE – 11/14/2019 (For Jill)

“We'll bid our farewells much too soon.”

Four years ago I lost a dear friend. I’d known her since she was a teenager. I have thought about what song to I wanted play to commemorate this day for a while now. At first I searched for a song that was somber and sentimental, but every time I thought I found one it rang false somehow. I thought about her underlying traits that I remember most: her laugh and her relentless love of life. She lit up the room when she walked in. She was always there for everyone who needed her. She loved to laugh and party with her family and friends. She had one of the best damn smiles ever. I chose this song for its mellow vibe and positive sentiment. So if her family will allow, I would like to dedicate this song to my Li’l Sis, .

“So drink it up, this one's for you. Honey, it's been a lovely cruise….”  Jimmy Buffett

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=386a0K1CrII

1976