Rave On

Følgende kunne have været fire selvstændige indlæg. Det ville ligeledes have sparet denne blogger for at tage stilling til, hvad der skal på bloggen de kommende dage. På den anden side, så hører indholdet for mit vedkommende til i ugen, der er på vej væk. Aktualiteten kan man diskutere, og så måske alligevel ikke. Det begynder med noget spæd rock’n’roll-historie fortsætter med dansk syrepop og folk anno 2011 og ender med gimmick-softpop fra 1976. Håber ingenlunde, at det bliver for forvirrende. Allerførst får Dion DiMucci ordet. Han vil gerne rette op på nogle forvildelser fra en nat i 1959:

”When I was 19 years old, I lost three friends in a plane crash: Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and the Big Bopper. For me, grieving was a very private and personal matter. That's the way we did it in my family. We'd never consider capitalizing on a death, exploiting it, or promoting it. So I didn't make a public show of the story in 1959.

I told the Story at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame because they asked me to, for historical and archival reasons. I want to set the record straight because the truth of the matter has gotten entirely obscured in the urban legends and cinematic re-tellings. That's not history. That's not the story. And so it's an injustice -- unfaithful to the memory of my friends.

You know how I feel. I believe the truth is important, even in Rock and Roll. This is OUR music, OUR culture, OUR lives, and "The Winter Dance Party" and its tragic conclusion are gigantic events in OUR world. So I think it's crucial for me to get out there and tell the real story. FIVE FACTS ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED THAT NIGHT IN 1959

1. Buddy Holly chartered the plane just for the headliners. We were the ones making the most money and, therefore, the only ones who could afford the flight.

2. Buddy was able to charter a plane with only four seats including the pilot's seat. Because there was not enough room for all four of us to fly, someone would have to ride the bus.

3. In a closed dressing room (while the opening act was playing), we flipped a coin to see who was going to fly. The Big Bopper and I won the toss. I then discovered that the flight would cost $36. I remember the figure because it was the exact amount of rent my parents paid monthly. I couldn't bring myself to pay a month's rent on a short flight. I said to Ritchie, "You go." He accepted and took my seat.

4. Only the four of us knew who was getting on that plane when we left the dressing room that night. Of those four, I am the only one who survived beyond February 3, 1959.

5. Ritchie Valens had a deep fear of flying. A plane had crashed in his school playground when he was younger, killing some students. His manager had to convince him to start flying.

I went over these events in conversation for two whole weeks after the crash, because the tour continued until February 18, 1959. Everybody on the tour bus heard exactly what happened.

Over time, however, everyone wanted a piece of the history. So many people claimed to be in that dressing room. If all the people who said they flipped a coin with Buddy Holly that night had actually been there, we would have needed a 747 for the flight.”

I den forløbne uge, havde Emma Acs & The Inbred Family premiere på videoen til singlen ’Fever’, hvori Emmas onkel Per Buhl Acs optræder som den lovgivende, udøvende og dømmende magt.

De Efterladte kommer tættere og tættere på en udgivelsesdato. Den seneste bulletin lyder på slutningen af maj. Her et par råmix.

De efterladte: Sang i klar frost (pre-mix) by Melodika
De efterladte: Ord i det hele taget by Melodika
Softpop skratter grimt. Hvis man så tilsætter komisk duo, hvad får man så? Flo & Eddie, muligvis? Indtil fornyelig vidste jeg intet om d’herrer. Nej om igen, jeg kendte popgruppen The Turtles, som de var med til at danne. Flo’s & Eddie’s eksistens opdagede jeg med sangen ’Keep It Warm’ fra ’Moving Targets’. The Golden State i midten af halvfjerdserne. Ronald Reagan er guvernør, den transcendentale meditation har taget overhånd, hvalerne er truet af udrydning og de tidligere medlemmer af The Beatles sagsøger hinanden på kryds og tværs.

Flo & Eddie var endvidere glimrende backingvokalister. Det kan man bl.a. høre på ’Get It On (Bang A Gong)’ med T.Rex eller ’Hungry Heart’ med Springsteen, hele Keith Moon pladen ’Two Sides Of The Moon’. Ramones, Steely Dan, Jefferson Airplane, The Psychedelic Furs og Duran Duran m.fl., har også brugt dem.