DIG THIS WITH BILL MESNIK AND RICH BUCKLAND- THE SPLENDID BOHEMIANS
My Fellow Americans, Life is actually just a microscopic, deluded moment in time, so let's cut to the freakin' chase. One look at our impending election debacle can solidify my case. It has been my contention since birth, that the answer to every difficulty we encounter on this sacred yet demented Stone, can be revealed with ultimate clarity through the ultra neurotic engagements of Music, Art, Literature, Film, Poetry and a good Pastrami sandwich. Why would any sane human spend so must time on a film set (Do you know how long you gotta wait until your 8 second deliverance of an edited beyond repair line gets a chance to become a professional embarrassment etched in time forever? ) or expend so much energy in a recording studio, piecing together another ode to a man or woman who could not care less how much love existed within your digestive tract? It's all about hymns and prayers and a quest for mercy and forgiveness and silence and faith. We were blessed with Charles Bukowski, Gene Chandler, Lenny Bruce, Mitch Ryder and a legion of creative explorers whose influences provided the air we breathe. So Let's Dance! This site shall explore the reaper, find a way to disarm the stench of injustice, discover some true loves and talk it all over before it's all over. So what's the worst that our desires could produce? Failure? So sue me. I'm going to require your assistance in making as much trouble for the grown-ups as possible. Let the record show that my childish heart yearns to disrupt the madness. Join me Ladies and Germs!
With Gratitude For Gena Rowlands, Nancy Sinatra, Jerry Quarry, Leo Gorcey, Arthur Alexander and Joey Heatherton, Your Splendid Bohemian, Rich Buckland.
DIG THIS WITH BILL MESNIK AND RICH BUCKLAND- THE SPLENDID BOHEMIANS
BILL MESNIK OF THE SPLENDID BOHEMIANS PRESENTS: THE SUNNY SIDE OF MY STREET - SONGS TO MAKE YOU FEEL GOOD - EPISODE #62: WELCOME BACK by John Sebastian (Reprise, 1976)
In my opinion, the song was better than the sit-com that spawned it. And, it had staying power, making it to the top of the pop charts. There is something transcendent being expressed here. As Thomas Wolfe said: “you can’t go home again,” Maybe not, but it’s something we all long for, and in this joyful three minute tune John Sebastian ties a ribbon around that sentiment. You left home with a desire to see the world and make your fortune; you’ve been beaten down and turned around, and find yourself back where you started from. But, son, we never left, and we’ll welcome you with open arms (and, some gentle teasing). It’s so good to have you back.
My first ever concert, at age 13, ten years earlier, was the Lovin’ Spoonful at Princeton New Jersey. The good-time jug band music of John Sebastian has always been a warming presence in my life. His inclusion at Woodstock was no accident; he is one of the all-time greats. What a coup it was for Hollywood to get him to compose a jaunty theme song for a goofy, yet heart warming show about “sweat-hogs” - those ne’er do well high school students that had to be quarantined in their own remedial class. When approach by the producer to consider the assignment, he composed it in one night, and when asked how he did it so fast, he owned up to the fact that he had been a sweat hog himself. I believe that it was that identification which inspired John Sebastian to go beyond “jaunty” to an honest evocation of romantic universality. I’m not crying; you’re crying.
