One of the most addictive things I've come across this year is Amazon's MP3 Store. Not only are their individual MP3s and full albums usually less than iTunes' versions, they're also DRM-free so there's none of the hoop-jumping to use them wherever. They've also started the addiction-inducing practice of offering a different full album every day for $1-$3 and 5 different albums for $5 every Friday. It's the electronic equivalent of my own personal crack pipe, the used-CD racks. I've expanded my library with stuff from Desmond Dekker, Jay-Z, Bob Marley, Broken Social Scene, & BB King all for the cost of 1-2 CDs.
And it was a selection earlier this week that inspired the vids accompanying these picks.
The Rolling Stones Rock & Roll Circus
I had no idea this bit of late-60s madness existed. For good reason, as the Stones withheld the footage they filmed for a BBC special for over 30 years because they didn't like their performance. There's a lot more explication at the Wiki link above, but part of the reason they may have shelved it was that the Who's performance made theirs look less than top notch.
It's a fascinating collection of musicians (Jethro Tull, The Who, John Lennon, George Harrison, Taj Mahal, etc.) and both ends of the rock star girlfriend singer talent scale (Marianne Faithfull and Yoko).
It's a loose affair as the Stones do look exhausted, but the crowd still eats it up. For some reason the crowd (and later the musicians) are all dressed in red, yellow, and orange parkas. Why? Well, after you answer the question of why the Stones felt the need to use a circus motif as the framing device, then we can move on to the parka issue.
If you want to watch the whole special, split up into 10-minute chunks, here's the MixTube playlist.
Now onto Week 15 in the league where they play... FOR PAY!
Week 14 Records:
Cline -- 9-7 (+$40) (LOTW=L -- BDCS=W)
Goose -- 6-10 (-$560)
Overall Records:
Cline -- 103-72-2 (.589) +$1330 (LOTW=6-5 -- BDCS=6-5)
Goose -- 91-84-2 (.520) -$1070
Schedule/Lines:
New Orleans at CHICAGO (-3)
A push. Wow. Exciting.
I'm not wasting a video on this game. The fact that there are <16 videos from the Circus is largely irrelevant.
Tampa Bay at ATLANTA (-3)
The NFC South confuses and annoys me. Gotta go with Falcons at home, though. Also confusing and annoying? Our first video. There's a weird intro, followed by 4+ minute of You Can't Always Get What You Want. Then some classical music playing over pictures of cats. And an outro of a dubbed 70s movie where the voiceover talks about doing it sideways. The rest of these clips are much more straightforward, trust me.
SEATTLE at St. Louis (-3)
I'm not crazy that they're even playing this game, much less that I have to pick it. I guess I'll go with the team that played the Pats tough last week.
This game doesn't deserve a Circus vid, so instead I'm including The Who (with Keith Moon on vocals) doing "Barbara Ann". Why? Because I can.
Buffalo at N.Y. JETS (-8)
Buffalo seems to have hit the skids, and while I don't entirely trust the Jets, I think they take care of business at home. I'd feel a lot better if the spread was 7, though.
Here's a rare clip of Jethro Tull's "Song for Jeffrey" Jethro Tull with Black Sabbath's Tony Iommi on guitar. He was only with the band for a few weeks and this is the only known clip of this incarnation
Ian Anderson's knee thing still freaks me out.
San Francisco at MIAMI (-6.5)
Please, don't think too much about this game. Focus more on this incredible clip.
John Lennon (aka "Winston Legthigh") intros his new band "The Dirty Mac" with some nonsensical banter with Jagger. His new band? Just some session musicians with decent chops.
Eric Clapton.
Keith Richards
Mitch Mitchell from the Jimi Hendrix Experience.
Un-fucking-believable. "Yer Blues".
Pittsburgh at BALTIMORE (-2)
In what should be the most slobberknockingest game of the week, I have to go with some straight-up blues. Taj Mahal (dressed up like Cowboy Curtis) doing "Ain't That a Lot of Love".
Denver at CAROLINA (-7.5)
Denver's got a pretty offense, but not much substance on defense, kinda like Marianne Faithfull doing "Something Better". Introduced by a still creepy, but young Charlie Watts.
WASHINGTON (-7) at Cincinnati
This is the game Washington uses to halt their skid. Speaking of skids, here's the Who doing "A Quick One While He's Away", intro'ed by Keith Richards in an eye patch with a cigar.
As a bonus, the song as used during Rushmore. And what little dialogue there is, is dubbed in Italian. Enjoy.
TENNESSEE (-3) at Houston
I know the Titans are on the road and they're playing a team that put up a bunch of points last week, but this is still 12-1 vs. 6-7.
Here's the Stones doing "Salt of the Earth" to close the show.
DETROIT at Indianapolis (-17)
This may be a stupid pick, but there has to be some Lions who don't want to go 0-16. I don't think they can beat the Colts, but I think they can keep it close, or possibly back-door cover with some garbage points in the 4th.
Speaking of garbage, here's Yoko Ono being backed by The Dirty Mac. Reminds me of when the early 90s' Eagles with that incredible defense were quarterbacked by Ken Ryan and other assorted stiffs. God, she just kills a great groove they have going with her caterwauling. She must have had the best vagina in history. It swallowed a Beatle, whole.
GREEN BAY (-1.5) at Jacksonville
I'm not picking Jacksonville the rest of the year, unless they somehow play themselves.
Stones doing "Jumping Jack Flash":
San Diego (-5.5) at KANSAS CITY
I'm down on the Chargers, and the Thigpen-led Chiefs have been the definition of "frisky".
The best Stones song from this special is "Sympathy for the Devil". It's the only one where they really let it all hang out. Plus Jagger loses his shirt and Carl Weathers on the bongos does some of his best work.
Minnesota at ARIZONA (-3)
Arizona has treated me well, and they're going against Tarvaris Jackson. That's enough for me.
For some reason I was able to find 3 different Taj Mahal clips, even though they only list 1 on the special's set list. I'm digging it. I need to check out some of his early Cowboy Curtis albums.
NEW ENGLAND (-7.5) at Oakland
I think I've figured out Oakland, unlike Goose. Don't pick them. They may cover once in a while, but more often than not,they won't.
"You Can't Always Get What You Want":
N.Y. GIANTS at Dallas (-3)
Wait, the Giants are getting three?!? Yes, they're missing Plaxico and Jacobs, and they looked beatable against the Eagles, but this Dallas team is in disarray. Maybe they get their shit together in time for this game, but I've got 1 pick that says otherwise.
Unfortunately, I couldn't find an individual clip of "No Expectations", one of my favorite Stones songs. But here's the last one, the bluesy "Parachute Woman":
Cleveland at PHILADELPHIA (-14)
It's a lot of points, but it's the Browns. I'm sticking with the Eagles until they get eliminated from the playoffs in Week 17 on a tie-breaker.
I'm gonna leave you with a third Taj Mahal tune, "Leaving Trunk":
No comments:
Post a Comment