OK, the new era is underway… I don’t want to say too much about it yet, but you know the donations you guys sent? They’re being put to good use as we speak. By the end of the week I’ll be able to tell you more. But, trust me, it’s going to be a better situation, for a number of reasons. Thanks again for your support!
This is Day 10 of my big 12-day work adventure. I’m cheating a little, though. I decided to take Wednesday off, so it’s only going to be an 11-day adventure. Eleven 10-hour days in a row… Yeah, I know it’s no stay at the Hanoi Hilton. But it takes a goddamn toll, believe me. I feel really weird: exhausted and detached from the real world.
But it’ll be over tomorrow night, and I’ll have four days off in a row. Awesome. I’m going to get some work done on the book, which I’m fired up about. I finally came up with a title. That’s something I was struggling with, but it popped into my head while driving a few days ago, and I pumped a fist in the air like Billy Idol. It’s going to be fun.
There’s so much going on right now. Someday I’ll bring you guys up to date on it, but now is not the time. Stay tuned.
One more inside-baseball note… I’ve put the Monday email on hold for a while. It was an unfocused mess, and I need to come up with a defined concept. I believe I have it now, but I want to let it percolate inside my tiny Duke head for a little while longer. I want the email to have value, and not just be some cobbled-together bullshit. It’ll be back soon, and will hopefully be somewhat interesting this time. That would be a novelty, huh?
I met someone, a few days ago, who has a voice that doesn’t make sense to me. Ya know? You can usually estimate what a person’s voice will sound like, by looking at them. But once in a while you get a shock.
This was a young girl, in her early twenties. A bit of a hipster, with possible hippie leanings… Very small and probably vegetarian… But when she spoke, it sounded like Kitty on Gunsmoke. I think I actually recoiled a bit, in surprise. Her voice is disconcertingly deep, and Tom Waits gravelly. And there was a pronounced honking element to it, as well
I used to work with a guy, at a previous job, who was a bit of a dandy. His tiny shoulders were roughly a foot across, he put a lot of product in his hair, and he always dressed like he stepped off the pages of GQ. He was sexually ambiguous, and loved to dish the dirt with the ladies. But he had a big manly voice, like that Statler Brother way down on the end.
Have you ever met someone who’s voice didn’t match their persona? You know, like Mike Tyson? Tell us about it, won’t you?
Also, what do you think of this new Van Halen song, with David Lee Roth? I’d like to get your thoughts on it.
And I’ll be back tomorrow with a better update. I’m trying to do too many things today…
Have a great day, boys and girls.
Now playing in the bunker
Treat yourself at Amazon: US and Canada
Not a big fan of the new VH song
Hello? Where is everybody?
I think most, or maybe all the songs on the new album are leftovers from the 70s that they worked on back then. Look up She’s The Woman, for example. At least they may very well bring back rock to the masses. There does not seem to be very much of that these days.
That girl may have talked like that due to smoking.
I can tell you are getting frazzled. You did not link to a picture of the tiny Duke head.
Hahahaha. I was thinking the same thing.
Guess we are programmed so well that the extra step is no longer required (:
Duke Tumatoe?
I’d rather be referred to as that Temptation way down on the end.
Wolfgang is getting as fat as Michael Anthony. I guess that’s a requirement of the V.H. bass duties.
Was that really Wolfgang? I thought it was Chaz Bono.
I just finished a week of 14 hour days working at the miss america pageant here in vegas and that was quite the strange job. Baseball player stickygrip spray to prevent puppy sweater escape was my most memorable purchase.
Love VH. David Lee Roth VH, I should say. They were one of my fave’s in my heyday. Hot For Teacher is my favorite. The radio station (DVE) keeps announcing they are going to play they’re new song, but I always manage to miss it.
Was the syncing on that video slightly off, or was it just me?
Nice to see DLR back but I am afraid it’s been too long to recapture the nostalgia. It borders ridiculous.
I agree, it’ll be a nostalgic summer tour and that’s about it. Then, they’ll be headlining on the Styx/REO/Foghat state fair circuit.
Yup. Casinos and state fairs. Me and the Biker call it the ‘Lo, how the mighty have fallen’ circuit.
A lot of the video is playing backwards, making the synching off. (check Alex plaing drums) Though I thing the part where Dave talks may just be bad synching.
There is a fine line between possessing a sultry voice and a frightening one.
Don’t hand me my ass in a handbag, but I was never much of a Van Halen fan. Which is surprising, since I love Classic Rock. Oh well. I never liked Led Zepplin that much either. I know, I know, what kind of a commie am I?
Glad the donations helped, Jeff.
I have just the opposite with the voice to person ratio. We have this big tall strapping girl here who drives one of those huge ass Ford pick up trucks, applies make up like she’s Mimi from The Drew Carey Show, used to wear these boots with chains, was really friggin harsh looking and when she opened her mouth, you’d expect a “3 packs of Luckys unfiltered” bark but instead got this demure little Betty Boop squeak going. Mind boggling!
I never “got” Zepplin either…or The Who….or Pink Floyd. I know, I know. I should be flogged.
I used to have a co-worker who looked like a nancy-boy: short and slight and prone to wearing brooches (!) and other fancy items – but he had a voice like James Earl Jones.
Never was much of a Van Halen fan. I actually find the notion of “classic rock” a little odd… it’s just a shorter name for “the stuff that was on Q104 when I was in high school”.
Jeff, I’m glad to hear that some good will come of the donations. I see it as doing my bit for America. Loose lips sink ships!
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Ha! I listen to Q104 all the time. I love Jim Kerr!
The Q104 I had in mind was WQBK in Albany, and I wasn’t actually in range during high school. I’m shocked – shocked! – that there is more than one radio station in the space-time continuum with the same self-applied moniker.
In my Brooklyn days I mostly listened to WNEW-FM (Scott Muni et al) and WPLJ. On the AM side I listened faithfully to Jean Shepherd on WOR.; There was also old-time radio on, I think, WRVR, and big-band swing (!) on WNEW-AM. This was all during the early 1970s. After we moved to the wilds of Berkshire County, all I could get were WPLR and WDRC (New Haven and Hartford).
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I like the song.
I work with a guy named Wong, who looks like he should be rolling sushi, but speaks with a southern drawl. Drives me nuts.
I was never that much into Van Halen, but this sounded OK, to me – probably a lot better with a good sound system. The strobey stuff in the video was distracting; the director was obviously trying to conceal the aged faces of the band.
Yeah, pretty good song. Silly video.
Them guys can still play and sing just fine. I’m a little surprised DLR hasn’t morphed into an old blues singer or something. He might be good at it.
Sorry, but DLR looks and sounds like a bad actor doing a DLR impersonation……Eddie still sounds good, though.
I like the new VH tune. Would like to hear more.
Years ago I was in a restaurant somewhere in the Midwest when I noticed these two women nearby. They were ordinary chubby Americans but one was speaking in the most bizarre cartoonish little-girl voice. It wasn’t just a kid voice in an adult body, though. There were weird inflections and an odd accent, making her sound like no one I had ever heard before. Soon there came a reply from the other woman, and she sounded just like the first one! I tried to get a good look at them without staring. They looked slightly odd, and their clothes were strange in some way, I forget just how. They were obviously closely related. I sat listening to their conversation thinking I might actually be only a few feet from some space aliens. It was a jarring experience. Their conversation was utterly mundane, but they sounded like some weird characters from one of those kids shows of the sort that makes you wonder how they ever made it on the air.
I used to deal with a guy (on the phone) that sounded like he was 6’7″, 400# of muscle and could beat entire armies down in a flash.
The reality? He was my height (5’4″), pencil thin, and looked like Mr. Peabody. My brain nearly imploded when I met him.
Most days, I sound like I’ve challenged Marge Schott to a contest of Rotgut and filterless smokes. Stupid allergies.
Re: new VH tune – great intro with zero follow up. Huge disappointment.
Nearly shit myself laughing at the Chaz Bono comment. Thanks, Ed.
I met Pete Rose in Vegas on Saturday.
Are you certain it wasn’t Chaz Bono?
Tattoo..horrible song. My mom called me to warn me ahead of time, she somehow stumbled across it first and she was right. Terrible.
I saw Chickenfoot last Saturday at the Brixton Academy in London. Highly recommended and now I can say, having watched the new video, preferred over what Van Hagar^H^H^H^H^H Halen has become. The Foot rocked hard and felt like it should. This new VH video seemed like a hollow shell of what they used to be. And yes, I did see VH live when they headlined Monsters of Rock back in the 90s. Sad times. But check out the Foot.
I always thought Kenny Roger’s voice didn’t match his body…
Got tickets for the upcoming Van Halen tour based on my previous experience of seeing them live in 2008 in Vegas. That was one of my top 5 concerts of all time. They put on a great show and played ALL of the good songs from the Roth-era Van Halen albums. Not the hits but the kick-ass rocking songs that you never hear on the radio. They played for 2-1/2 hours too! With that said, the new song is pretty bad. Sounds more like a Van Halen tribute band than Van Halen. I can only hope that this os the one song that some lame record exec chose to release because it’s “radio friendly” and the rest of the album rocks. The problem is that they will try to inject alot of this new crap into the live setlist when noone wants to hear it. Just play the old songs that made every guy want to pick up a guitar 30 years ago.
I really like some parts of the song but the “Tattoo, Tattoo” chorus is weak. As a whole, the song has grown on me. I will reserve judgement until I hear the entire album…let’s hope this is the mellowest song on there.
Quite frankly, I prefer Van Hagar.
Tickets for the tour stop here in Ottawa went on sale last week. Two tickets came to $336. I did not buy tickets. I want to go, and I probably will, but having Kool and the Gang as an opening act isn’t helping to sell me.
I am going to see Tool next week, Tool show #9 for me. I’m also going to Megadeth with Motörhead, Volbeat, and Lacuna Coil in February.
Stephen Hawking’s voice doesn’t match his body.