“The Bear Missed the Train” - Jean Shepherd on a Hot August Night

By the 70’s, Shepherd had lost much of the attention he first received when he broke onto the talk radio scene, yet to me, the things he said that day in 1972 seem eternal.

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Birthday Blips: Lou Reed

Courtesy of SkrammelPost-Velvet Underground, Reed continued producing music of varying styles, from the accessible and popular to the challenging and obtuse.

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How Many More Songs About Jersey Do We Need?

Baby Boomers in general (and in the media especially) treat Springsteen as if Jesus Christ appeared in 1974, rocked a pimp outfit and sang the anthem of their youth ushering in Rock and Roll. Rock did not begin with him, peak with him, nor did it end with him. (With me it is Zepplin, Metallica, Nirvana. My Father's would be Mamas and Papas, CCR and 3 Dog Night...to each his own) Yet, throw "Rosalita" on any radio and you can see the migration of gray hairs flocking like the undead to the sounds of their youth. While I do understand his impact on the Rock scene and his (ugh) legacy, I (and everyone under the age of 35) can do without the Boss in Blue Jeans adoration.

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"Hey, yo" Should Have Been "C'mon now!"

Now, while his backstory was never really fleshed out, you have to assume Rocky Balboa was born, raised and lived his entire life in the heart of Philly. Any person who was born and raised in a city that has a regional dialect like Boston, NY, Dallas, Chicago CANNOT avoid acquiring some sort of accent. So how is it that the character who has come to be identified so strongly with Philadelphia has an accent like he just stepped off the set of "The Lords of Flatbush"?

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