That’s Why We Can’t Have Nice Things: I’ve had a CAPTCHA on the post comments for awhile now to prevent spam. That’s the thing that makes you type a combination of letters and numbers in a box to prove that you’re human before you can post a comment. In the last week I’ve gotten a bunch of spam comments. Either somebody’s found a way to defeat the spam protection or somebody’s been chained to a keyboard to type in the required text and post the spam. Either way, I’m not going to spend much more of my time policing this. I’ve installed some new software to keep the spammers at bay, but if comments get turned off in the near future you’ll know why.
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I’ve made my decision and I’m taking a day job with another consulting company. It’s a fantastic opportunity and it’s the right thing to do for myself and my family. But it means that I’ll be shutting down my business after seventeen years. That’s a long time to do anything and as I’ve spent this week contacting clients and business partners and lining up people to take care of my clients I’ve been looking back nostalgically at my career as a small businessman.
Lizzy Parks “It Was A Very Good Year” (Frank Sinatra)
The mighty Hammond B3 organ sounds great on this tune. It’s way groovier than Sinatra. I also like the way that Ms. Parks sings this song in an age-appropriate way. She tells us that when she’s thirty-five she will have “a gas of a year.” You’ve gotta admire her confidence.
Me First And The Gimme Gimmes “Seasons In The Sun” (Terry Jacks)
It’s good that there are so many covers of this song that give the maudlin original a righteous kick in the ass. This one’s a happy romp by the always chipper Gimme Gimmes.
Ray Charles “Yesterday” (The Beatles)
I’m not a big Beatles fan and this may well be the Beatles song I hate more than any other. Maybe because it’s every bit as self-pitying as “Seasons In The Sun” and even more musically boring. Maybe because it was the theme song of a Hallmark Channel-type TV movie about alcoholism starring Dick Van Dyke that I remember from my childhood. Whenever I hear this song I have mental images of Rob Petrie having the DTs.
Anyway, Brother Ray almost redeems this song for me and for that I’m grateful.
Dolly Parton “Those Were The Days” (Mary Hopkins)
Normally this song is sung as a somber look back by a bitter old drunk as he contemplates his wasted life. Dolly, God bless her, makes it a celebration of a life fully lived.
Marc Almond “Yesterday When I Was Young” (Charles Azvenour)
Marc Almond is without doubt my favorite over-emoting gay torch singer. And here he pours his entire skinny little heart into each and every word of this great French song of regret. This comes from an album Mr. Almond did called Absinthe, which is all French songs. I had some problems finding it but it’s well worth the effort if you’re into this sort of thing.