MTV Rockumentary: Van Halen
Saturday, March 21, 2020 at 10:24AM Sitting around with nothing to do but cleaning and laundry? Of course you are! Why not watch a classic MTV Rockumentary? BBG! friend Kari sent along a good one last night. The focus on Van Halen is from 1989 and is all good. See below.
I also wanted to pass along that Audible just made a ton of titles free for enjoyment during this unique time of home isolation. A lot of titles are aimed at kids but there are many literary classics and other titles for adults too. NPR has a nice list of things that are free right now during the Covid-19 pandemic including concerts, exercise and (classic) sports subscriptions.
Last night was a little chaotic for me. I've long been told I would not be a work-from-home employee because 1) I work in an industry that does not shutdown ever and 2) I'm a critical employee. Which is fine because I (usually) like going to the office. By 3 p.m. the decision changed and office workers were being told to plan on working from home, for at least awhile. Eric is already working from home and has completely taken over my office. Thus I had no office furniture. Considering everyone else is working from home - or suddenly doing so - it was incredibly difficult to source furniture quickly. It took me more than two hours to find a small desk and chair within a 60 mile radius of my house. So I ordered online and went this morning to retrieve before there were any crowds. I was lucky to get my items - the store was picked clean and I got the last small desk available apparently. I also realize how blessed I am that I could just buy these items without really worrying about the cost.
Later today, we plan on getting takeout from my favorite local Mexican place. This has to be killing them - and all the mom & pop eateries - across the country. Most will not survive this. Horrific.
Be kind to each other and try to look for the positives. We will get through this together but it won't be easy or fun. But we still have our music!
The coming surge in unemployment claims is literally off the charts https://t.co/ZVRBwpuTDt
— Matthew Yglesias (@mattyglesias) March 21, 2020
Reader Comments (19)
A 20 year old dude from Phoenixville Pa was the one in a million winner. He wisely took a bud instead of his girlfriend. This was a world before lawyers infested everything. Rock stars were larger than life (there just not anymore). Sex drugs and rock n roll were a thing.
The band truly treated this guy like a winner. They literally took him into the VH world. They didn’t move around like it was an obligation. They gave this guy 36 amazing hours. Little people for security, Singing Happy Trails with the band in halls of arena. Doing coke out of DLR’s pinky nail. The backstage party loaded with people and Autograph (openers) waiting for the band to come in. Champagne shower onstage. I could not believe how happy VH were. It was a peek into a time we will never see again. I was only fourteen in 1984. But I knew rock n roll was another world. This documentary and extra footage give you the best peek into the debauchery.
As Allyson notes, some companies are doing good by their customers (of course, there is a reason for that which is more calculated, but still . . .). Some carriers (phones, that is) offering unlimited date. DISH, which rarely does anything for its customers, offering up some good and so-so stations for free. Some corp. restaurant chains providing free delivery (small print: still a fee for the order, but still . .). None of this is Kumbaya, Hand-Sanitizer-Across-America. But it helps. At a time like this, people appreciate small gestures, even if they come from big companies.
But Allyson is also right: small businesses, and god forbid, new small businesses that just opened, are going to be hurting. If there is a way to support them, please do. I still frequent my favorite local Mexican place once a week on principle . . . drive-through only, sanitizer at the ready. And you know what? They are wearing gloves and doing the best they can do to project a proactive image. The local liquor store (I go there for the articles) has even put up this hilarious sneeze guard. I am sure it helps. Again, proactive in uncertain times.
I just wish some people weren't tone deaf. I live close to a coastal area, popular with tourists. Guess what? Packed highways and people all over the beach?!?! Thankfully, the local mayors are sending out a clear message: we want your money . . . just not now. A chance to fly a kite or light off a bottle rocket or dip your toes in the surf isn't worth giving this to your grandmother.
I count myself lucky, right now, that I am single (yes, I will wait for the snickers from the gallery to subside). Self isolate? That is called going home. Do I miss guests and parties on the porch? Sure do. Would I like to venture out with friends? You bet.
But I have an office. Glad to hear you were able to secure some furniture, Allyson. And lucky that both you and I have work to do. The monotony of the work week now seems like a way to put on noise-canceling headphones. Not a getaway, but a way to get away from some of the noise, static, and fear (reasoned and not) that COVID-19 is feeding us right now.
Seriously though, my wife and I are turning 50yo this year, Her, in a few days, me in May. We were planning on having a dual 50th birthday celebration at a local Mexican restaurant. We rented out the entire restaurant for a Sunday in April. Invitations have already gone out, deposits been made (we were also having a fortune teller, caricature artist. and other surprise entertainment for the adults and children alike). Here's the kicker...the restaurant is BYO. Since it's a Mexican restaurant, we are providing the Mexican alcohol. We planned this way before the Coronavirus even came onto our radar and I have been stocking up on Corona beer and Cabo Wabo tequila each time I went to the beer/liquor store. My garage is filled with it. Now, it seems kind of ironic each time I go into my garage and see cases of Corona beer stock-plied. Who knew?
We haven't cancelled the party yet, but I'm sure it's just a matter of time. My wife came home early from work on Friday. Local Council had an emergency meeting and decided to close the offices. They never close. This sh*t is real!
Gary: I soooo wanted to be that that concert, Van Halen, 1984, at the Spectrum. I've told this story before, but f*ck it, I'll tell it again...
I wasn't at the concert, but my older brother and all of his friends were. It was 1984 (obviously) and I was 14 years old. My mother, in her infinite wisdom, decided that i was too young to see a Van Halen concert. Now, let me put this into perspective a bit. My siblings and I didn't attend concerts like any other average kid on the block...we attended a lot (I mean lots) of concerts growing up. My parents had a family friend who co-owned a lot of business ventures, a construcvtion company, a local philly radio station and yes, even a concert promotion company called strangely enough, The Concert Company. Ultimately, he sold/merged the company to Electric Factory Concerts, which remains a Philadelphia staple to this day.
Anyway, growing up, we often got free tickets to concerts. We lived on the suburbs of Philadelphia and could jump on I-95 and get to one of the concert venues in about 30-40 minutes. My personal best was 22 minutes. My mom would have taken away my car had she know that. But, I digress.
Anyway, tickets to Van Halen came knocking at our door. They were (are) my favorite band. I begged, pleaded, cajoled, charmed, threatened, stomped, promised, etc...I did whatever trick I knew to get me one of those tickets. My grades would improve. They'll never catch me smoking again. I'll be on kitchen duty for a month (an Italian mom thing). F*ck it, I'll do kitchen duty for 6 months!!! Without complaining, to boot!!! But, no, rifiuto, negazione.
Mom said, "You're not going, you're not old enough...you'll see them next year when they come around". Ah, famous last words, because after the 1984 tour, I was waiting/anticipating their next album and tour, but nyet! April 1, 1985 an April Fool's day that will live in infamy. David Lee Roth parts ways with Van Halen.
However, in 1986 when Van Hagar and David Roth brought their respective shows to the Philadelphia Spectrum, I did see Van Hagar's three (3) sold out shows and Dave's solo show. I believe it was my mom's way of making it up to me knowing that Van Halen broke up after the 1984 tour, ad my bedroom was plastered with their posters. I also saw 3 of 4 Bon Jovi shows that year and countless other shows. If the band, any band, came to Philly, I probably saw 'em. But hey mom, remember the time you wouldn't let me see 1984 Van Halen...if I get the Coronavirus, I'm coughing on your grave! I jest. I had great parents who treated us well.
Stay safe and healthy everyone.
Oh, one more thing. The concert video footage for Panama was recorded at that Philadelphia show. Do you know how many people (in the hundreds) who I've met throughout the years while tailgating who claim to not only have been at that show, but swear that they can be seen in the video, too. I often grin and simply say, "That's cool".
Great Story Fletch Thanks for Sharing.-- Hey Fletch you know what goes great with Corona -----wait for it -------- Lyme Disease ......wonk wonk wonk ,,,, Sorry to hear about the birthday party I bet it was going to be a good one.
Holy cow Him single I would have never guessed :) I was actually thinking about going to the office since I knew no one was there just to break up the isolation but my wife would kill me - If I mention going anywhere she goes into a panic but she has a bunch of the underlying conditions (bad genes).
Stay safe everyone
Fletch, thing is, the place where I live has next to zero in the way of 'great' Mexican food. I save most of that for when I visit California. But, in a pinch and a pandemic, I have a place I like. So, yeah, I am probably craving the food I want while enjoying the drive-through food I have! But Messa Del Pants (my name for Taco Bell, Del Taco, etc.)?!?! NEVER!!!
Shawn, I was going to give you some pointed barbs for shaming my single-ness! But then I would have had to put you in the same category as Bkallday! I can't do it. I just can't. I guess that is my form of social distancing. And, to be fair, I knew the jokes might be coming. A wordy fellow, who can't edit his own copy, who lives in a tent? Ladies? No, crickets. Helping Bkallday to write the text he wishes he could . . . Comic Book Guy: "Best. Tent. Ever." Funny thing is, truth is better, not stranger, than that sort of fiction.
Owning being single isn't a bad thing. And I thank you for all the details about your life that you provided (some of which you have provided before). They certainly add nuance.
Me? Smart? No. I would never claim that. And that's the dangerous thing about bravado. When you have to tell people you are such-and-such, you usually aren't.
See? Did all of that in three succinct bursts (well, four, if you count this). I can be a paragon of precision when I want to be. Sometimes, though, I like to lean into things. It helps pass the time while I sit in my tent, dorky bruh that I am, waiting for some broads (?!?!) to wander by.
I think I saw 'em in the 80's opening for "Saying it Succinctly".
He's only 17. Daddy says he's too young, but Bkallday is old enough for me! That machismo is mucho-strength!!! Keep on adding to the comments. You inspire me, and all of us, to do better and be better. It might not be irony that you are peddling. But I view it that way and that makes all the difference.
And, point in fact, I have a rather broad toolbag. I carry all my personal possessions in it. I have a tire kit (though no bike, as someone cribbed it while I was sleeping in my tent), some thread (and yarn that I found in a dumpster behind the local Food Lion), a Blackberry to write these retorts (it takes forever to get these things written), and a picture of my family (well, it is actually just a stock photo that comes with the picture frame, but still . . . I think my wife in the picture is at least 10 years younger than me, I look amazing, and my kids are really cute).
Shine again little bkallday, and don't let 'em end the things you do. You provide a public service on BBG! Thanks again. Stay healthy and happy.
So let me circle back and ask you something: do you ever apologize for being wrong, or at least admit it? Are you that big, or that small? I recall asking you this months ago and you dared me to point out when you had ever been wrong. I did. Crickets, after I pointed out that you had dodged the issue.
So here are your mighty words: "A female that is suddenly starting to panic & go into overreaction mode??? You cant be serious??? This has never happened before in the history of time. Lol."
Any regret? Come on now, no one else is reading this. Anything? Or how about I end with my final word, yours again (with one word changed), actually. Then you can drop your mic like a pro and move on to flicking at flies like me:
"A bkallday that is suddenly starting to panic & go into overreaction mode??? You cant be serious??? This has never happened before in the history of time. Lol."
See what I did there? Can't you admit that you sometimes make a bad call?
Done now. You can finish. Please turn the lights off (or on, not sure how you roll) when you are finally master the anonymity on BBG! Oh, and just so you know: you won. Really. You totally won. Hands down.