OK, so it’s been a full 25 days since I started this blog and I’ve only posted 3 times and two of those don’t count because they’re devoid of original content. So 25 days and one post to my credit and I should probably make me re-think the whole endeavor. Believe me, I’ve thought about posting many times. You know, those instances of indignation one experiences and then, if only for a moment, the brain locks onto a thought and tricks itself into thinking, “Ah, if I post my opinion and insight about this then, even if the wrong is not righted, I will have done my part for justice.” Which is, of course, complete bullshit.

The root of the problem, though, is that the indignation passes pretty quickly and then I’m bored with the whole idea of posting about whatever it was I was going to write about. Or, rather, if not bored just in possession of some gut feeling that a more important topic will present itself soon enough and that my energies should be saved for that one. But why, to belabor the point, does the feeling of disgust in my gut pass soon after I’ve gotten it. I think I know: because the bullshit in rock and roll is piled so sky-high right now that to focus on an individual instance with the mindset of righting some percieved wrong is a fool’s errand.

But, even given this, I should attribute some of the emptiness of this space to my own laziness. More specifically, the lack of desire to string words together in a coherent way that both communicate and, hopefully, lack condescension. Well, the desire is there but the drive hasn’t been.
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But, one thing I DO want to post about is this: back in the early 1980’s the then-nascent Nickelodeon had a great show for kids called Livewire. Hosted by an enthusiastic guy named Fred Newman (born in LaGrange, GA no less) this was a show that I loved. It showcased lots of bands and was the first place I ever saw R.E.M. and Marshall Crenshaw. I was a kid living in Miami, FL at the time and cable TV only had about 25 stations but Nickelodeon was one of them. Manowar also played at one point but I never saw them.

Anyway, the point is, the show was for kids from about 11-15 and it talked with them and not down to them. Especially when talking about cultural things like music the kids always had their say. The only clip I could find from the old show was an interview with Rudolph (yes, just Rudolph) who ran Danceteria in NY (he’s still involved with Danceteria design and other club operations). But the whole point of this is that this is the only “teen oriented” culture show I’ve ever seen where a guest could use the terms “alternate reality” and “transvestite” when talking to kids. He also mentions R.E.M. which is cool because Pete Buck makes mention of Danceteria in the film Athens, GA: Inside Out.

So, here’s a clip from the television show that probably had more than a slight hand in nudging me toward Athens, Ga many years ago.