MICK KAHLER'S WORLD

This Sunday is Mother’s Day and my nearest and dearest has been gone for almost twelve years.  Dorie Kahler was a wonderful mother and we were very close.  While I always miss my mom, I have a ridiculous amount of great memories of her or as I call them “Momeries” that keep me company. I think of them not just on Mother’s Day but throughout the year.  Here are just a few warm remembrances.

Mom interrupting Wiffle ball games friends and I had in our backyard for good reason.  She’d have us boys sample her latest makings of homemade jelly.  (Plum, Strawberry, Blackberry, you name it, she made it) A large plate would be passed around with the freshly made jelly smeared over hot buttered rolls.  She made plenty and we kept a downstairs pantry well stocked with those sweet eats. I don’t recall eating store bought jelly until I went away to college.

Dorie Kahler also canned peppers, relishes and incredible tomato sauces.  Cooking was mom’s passion and she was great at it. Anytime I went to a ‘bring a dish’ party, mom would whip up some tasty treat for me to take and her food contribution was always the one that party guests would be asking and even begging for the recipe.

In college I hosted Fourth of July parties in our backyard and mom made giant vats of chili that I didn’t think anyone would get that into.  Two years in a row the chili vats along with large side bowls of onions and cheese would be gobbled up til there was nothing left. We also drained a couple kegs of beer.  One of those bashes had mom coming home late from work at Good Samaritan Hospital to find a guest throwing up on our front porch.  I was sent to clean up that mess.

Dorie Kahler was a dedicated Little League baseball and hockey mom decades before those terms became part of our everyday vernacular.  From age 8 to 18 I could count on one hand the number of my games she missed and still have a finger or two left.  

Mine was one of the ‘Cool Moms.’  The parent who took a Chevy Caprice full of neighborhood kids to Honey Hill or Phil’s beach at Bangs Lake in Wauconda, Cub games at Wrigley Field, the batting cages in Maywood and movies at Yorktown Cinemas.  She loved seeing me and my pals having fun at all these places and was always ready for the next adventure. 

In high school, my parents let me host closely monitored beer drinking poker games and a really big yearbook holiday party just before Christmas of senior year.  These days such gatherings would get adults in big trouble but it was a different time and nobody ever got hurt.  Although there WAS the Easter Eve when some unknown poker playing guest stole our holiday ham from the kitchen fridge.  Mom and dad laughed it off the next morning and we celebrated that Easter at Stein’s Deli in Lyons.      

Dorie Kahler was into politics both national and local. In 1973 she ran for Elmhurst City Council and trounced her incumbent opponent by a huge margin.  She was a conscious voice for those with little power or influence but four years of those uphill battles was enough for her.  She turned down the chance to do another term but helped get other good people elected as aldermen.

It wasn’t all fun and games with my mother.  There was her dedicated love and concern for others in bad situations.  When my sister Marianne’s first husband Gary was stricken with terminal brain cancer, mom took weeks off from work to stay with Marianne and her ill mate in Sycamore to support them through such an awful time.

My parents divorced in 1986 and strange as it seems, they became closer with each other after the split.  This was most evident when my father Ken Kahler had his own life ending battle with cancer in 1993.  He stayed with us as our living room (complete with hospital bed and oxygen tank) became a peaceful hospice.  Mom was with dad to the very end, cooking what he could eat, reading Bible verses and doing anything to make his last weeks and days as comfortable as possible. 

Dad’s death early on a Sunday morning in August broke our hearts.  We all knew his passing was inevitable but mom was devastated.  She took comfort in knowing someday in years to come she’d be reunited with dad and reminded us of the same.

I hate to end this blog on such a sad note so I’ll share one more momory.  One summer when I was around ten our family went to a drive-in movie in Addison.  Mom volunteered to get us popcorn and soft drinks. She came back with all that and a large picnic cooler.  How’d that happen? While at the snack stand, Dorie Kahler took part in a contest where you had to roll a frozen hunk of ice up and down your arms and legs and the first person to melt it all the way down would win the cooler.  That was my mom; game for anything and bringing a smile to all who knew her.

Happy Mother’s Day to all!

NEXT BLOG- So who wants to date a celebrity?

Last week a songwriter’s death may have slipped the attention of music fans.  I’m talking about Jim Steinman who died suddenly at age 73.   Right now, you’re probably saying, “Who was Jim Steinman?”

As a writer of lyrics and music, Steinman penned two hits for Bonnie Tyler, “Holding Out for a Hero” and the iconic “Total Eclipse of the Heart.”  This in addition to Celine Dion’s “It’s All Coming Back to Me Now,” Air Supply’s “Making Love out of Nothing at All” and Meatloaf’s “I’ll Do Anything for Love, but I Won’t Do That.”

But before those compositions, Jim Steinman wrote all the songs for Meatloaf’s landmark album “Bat Out of Hell.”  Tracks from that record included “Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad,” the operatic “Paradise by the Dashboard Light” and other great songs that made both sides of the disc fun to listen to.

“Bat out of Hell” came out in late 1977. At that time my stereo’s turntable spun albums by The Who, Elton John, Queen, Eagles and Bob Seger. Meatloaf’s songs were also played loudly and often in my bedroom.

This record had a bold orchestral sound to it.  It was very theatrical, as was 270 pound Meatloaf performing concerts in black slacks and a ruffled tuxedo shirt all breathy and sweaty.  Lots was made of Meatloaf’s heavyset body and long hair but his vocals were equally noteworthy.

 Still, when you take away Meatloaf’s vocals and visuals, there were Steinman’s melodies and lyrics that resonated with me as a sixteen-year-old. I was full of piss and vinegar and of course teen lust.  At that time, I’m not sure any other set of songs were as much in my wheelhouse as what “Bat Out of Hell” brought me.

You had the drama of “Paradise by the Dashboard Light” with the whole idea of ‘going all the way’ that lit fires of passion and wanting. Lyrics like “Well I can remember every little thing as if it happened only yesterday, parking by the lake and there was not another car in sight, and I never had a girl looking any better than you did, and all the kids at school, they were wishing they were me that night.”   How can you listen to that and not think about the night you had that much wanted “hot date”?

There was the angst and frustration of “All Revved Up and No Place to Go.”   “I was nothing but a lonely boy looking for something new, and you were nothing but a lonely girl, but you were something, something like a dream come true.”  And then to go on to the chorus of this guy and girl with “Every Saturday night, I felt the fever grow, do you know what it’s like, all revved up and no place to go.”

Finally, there was my favorite track, “You Took the Words Right Out of My Mouth starting with the boy-girl recitation asking “Would you offer your throat to the wolf with the red roses?” This followed by the sung lines, “It was a hot summer night and the beach was burning, there was fog crawling over the sand, when I listen to your heart, I hear the whole world turning, I see the shooting stars falling through your trembling hands.”  I didn’t have a beach to take girls to but I sure wished one was nearby.    

Then top this off with the killer line “You were licking your lips and your lipstick shining, I was dying just to ask for a taste, we were lying together in a silver lining by the light of the moon, you know there’s another moment to waste.”  Been there, done that. Whew!

Just re-writing these Jim Steinman lines brings me back to cranking those songs every Friday and Saturday night before going out to high school parties to guzzle cans of Old Style & Olympia beer, all charged up and hoping to chat up a girl or two.  After that, who knows what might happen?

Full disclosure- Me and most of my high school buddies were a bit slow to get out of the gate with the opposite sex; like Bob Seger so aptly sang we were ‘Working on mysteries without any clues.’  Eventually, all of us did find our footing with girls and thankfully I had Jim Steinman’s songs there to let me know I wasn’t alone in my wanting. There was someone who knew how I felt, there was hope and yes, maybe even a slight glimpse of paradise by the dashboard light…

NEXT BLOG- Some fun memories of my mom.

Last weekend on my Facebook page I quoted an opening line to an old song.  It’s something I sometimes do when a tune is whirling around my coconut.  This time I posted the line “Well she’s all you’d ever want, she’s the kind I’d like to flaunt and take to dinner.” It’s the opening lyric to the Tom Jones oldie “She’s a Lady.”  Seemed innocent enough and some Facebook pals chimed in on how they like that song and Tom Jones.

However, one person replied to my post by saying, “One of the most sexist songs in history.”  Then this Facebook friend quoted the line ‘Well she’s never in the way, always something nice to say, she’s a lady.’ 

One slight phrase pulled from a song that’s fifty years old and it’s labeled ‘One of the most sexist songs in history.’  (Sigh) While I’m fine with people (myself included) being more ‘woke’ to sensitive issues and situations, this particular ‘sexist’ accusation is broke.  

One thing to note, Tom Jones did not write ‘She’s a Lady’ (it was penned by Paul Anka) but Tom did make it a hit, his highest charted single.

So, let’s check out the rest of the lyrics of “She’s a lady.”

Lines like, ‘She’s got style, she’s got grace, she’s a winner.’  I see nothing wrong here.  And to finish the ‘never in the way’ line, Jones sings “I can leave her on her own knowing she’s O.K. alone and there’s no messing.”  Hmm, sounds to me like this lady is independent, self-assured and totally together.  Nothing sexist there.

Then we move on to the words, “She never asks for very much and I don’t refuse her, always treat her with respect, I never would abuse her, what she’s got is hard to find and I don’t want to lose her, helped me build a mountain from a little pile of clay.”  Yeah, real sexism here, right?  Those lyrics pay tribute to someone who the singer treasures, honors and owes much of his success to.   (Another sigh)

Let’s go further in the song.  “But she knows what I’m about, she can take what I dish out and that’s not easy, but she knows me through and through and she knows just what to do and how to please me.”  Here we have lines with the singer admitting he can be difficult but she can take it “and that’s not easy.’ This lady has relationship skills and strength.  Again, I’m having trouble finding the sexism in words that pay homage to how special this woman is.

So, it is with good humor and a whimsical shake of my head, I reject that “She’s a Lady” is a sexist slur of a song.  Folks, we all need to think things through and take caution in what we label as bad or cancelled or banished as poison. Almost any set of lines can be cherry picked to meet an agenda. Nothing is going to be perfect and just because part of a song or a joke or anything else doesn’t precisely fit into today’s standards and expectations doesn’t mean it’s a total disgrace. So let’s try not to paint everything with such a broad brush.

With all this said, it is not lost on me that Tom Jones, (now 80 years old) has been one of the most prolific womanizers in music history.  The singer was married to his childhood sweetheart Linda for 59 years before she succumbed to a final battle of lung cancer in 2016.  For whatever reasons, Linda Jones tolerated her husband’s mega-infidelity and he loved her for that and more.  Tom’s wife’s death left him devastated and you would think he’s carrying some load of guilt for all his past indiscretions. 

Full disclosure- back in the summer of 1998 I saw Tom Jones in concert at Chicago’s Vic Theater. The guy was incredible, belting out two sets of rock and R&B with his band; he practically blew the roof off the joint. If given the chance to see him again, I would.

So now we separate the blatantly unfaithful singer Tom Jones from a fun tune released in 1971 that is NOT the most sexist song in the world.  And we leave it at that.  Again, my only request is that anyone who wants to express agenda-based ideas to a song, movie, joke or written piece, stay away from cherry picking & nit-picking and relax a little.  As the Eagles once sang, “Take it easy, don’t let the sound of your own wheels drive you crazy.”  (I threw in that line because I know the person who posted Jones’ song was sexist HATES the Eagles.  LOL)

Next blog– Remembering songwriter Jim Steinman.

The other day I was in a store and over the P.A. I heard the old Moody Blues song “Tuesday Afternoon” being played.  Right away it brought back a great memory that made me smile broadly.  Some songs do that you know.

It was the summer of 1988 and The Moody Blues were playing a concert at Poplar Creek Music Theater and  while working at classic rock station 105.9 FM WCKG I was asked to host some listeners in one of the luxury boxes in the pavilion of the concert venue.  I jumped at the chance because not only were these great seats but the fridge in the luxury box was stocked with beer and snacks, plus we had a food and drink tab we could run up as we entertained our six listeners. 

As was custom, I was also given a ticket for a friend or a date and the first person I thought to take was a buddy from my days working for the Elmhurst Park District.  He was a hard-working blue collar family man named Bernie.  Bernie, eight years my senior, was my crew leader during my first summer working for the EPD and we became good friends since.  I even vacationed with him, his wife Jan and their two young sons Chris and Alex one summer as we camped in the Rocky Mountains.

Bernie was a longtime fan of progressive rock groups like Pink Floyd, King Crimson and Emerson Lake and Palmer but the Moody Blues were tops on his list.  He was thrilled at the prospect of this Monday night outing to see his favorite act and a fantastic time was had at an expertly performed concert.  We’d seen several other live shows together including The Who, Doobie Brothers and Men at Work but this concert was a biggie for my friend.

A few songs into their set, the Moody Blues started playing, (you guessed it) “Tuesday Afternoon” and Bernie really got caught up in the moment.  The whole crowd stood cheering, going nuts and my buddy turned to me with tears rolling down his cheeks.   Bernie put his arm around my shoulder and told me how much that song and this concert meant to him.   Outside of the time his mother was stricken with a heart attack, I’d never seen him so overcome with emotion. I too enjoyed the Moody Blues show but seeing my friend become so moved, THAT made the night for me!

Thanks to all my years in radio, I got plenty of friends and dates to join me at other shows and they too got off on such cool events.  I liked these outings a lot but seeing others get so taken up in what was going on was the real juice for me.  I often felt like Willy Wonka (the Gene Wilder version) when he opened his factory to guests so they could take in all of his candy wonders.  Me showing others the wonder of a live concert or other special happening was a total blast. What fun that was!

I’ll get around to writing about other special concert times with my friends, but that night with The Moody Blues deserved a first mention.   Bernie passed away a few years ago and while that’s a sad and serious drag, I’m sure glad we could share such a memorable night at Poplar Creek.  “If you’ll just come with me you’ll see the beauty of Tuesday afternoon.”

My time off from blogging takes a one week break.

Of all the Spring Breaks I’ve had as a teacher THIS one was the most looked forward to. I made the most of my time off which included the following:

Home Repairs– While I handle most basic maintenance jobs in my home, when it comes to real ‘fix-up jobs’, it’s best to turn to the experts. I follow Andy Griffith’s pleas to Aunt Bee when her old freezer went on the blink; “Call the man! Aunt Bee, just call the man!”

I had a plumber come out to clear the drain pipes in my kitchen.  Several decades of gunk and mess were excised.  What a relief! Then I hired a tree trimming service to prune my silver maple tree. That shade bearing behemoth had not been properly shaped in several years and it looks much better now. Finally, I tried lining up a carpenter to re-build my front stairs but the guy who was recommended to me had too much of a workload to take my business.  So, I’m looking for other help on that job.  I also did some major toss-outs of unused junk.  My home possessions are really becoming streamlined and it feels great to do that.

MOVIES- Despite being vaccinated for the COVID virus, I still don’t feel safe going to movie theatres so I caught up on some films via HBO, Netflix and Amazon Prime.

“Tina”– HBO brings us a detailed documentary on the legendary Tina Turner.  While you think you know her story from the biopic “What’s Love Got to Do with It”, there is much more to know in details.  “Tina” was as good as last year’s HBO doc on the Bee Gees.

“One Night in Miami”– On the same night when Cassius Clay (soon to be re-named Muhammad Ali) won the heavyweight title over Sonny Liston, he had a post-fight hang-out with NFL star Jim Brown, singer Sam Cooke & Malcom X.  It’s a fictional account of what COULD have been talked about.  The actors playing Clay (Eli Goree) and Cooke (Leslie Odom Jr.) are especially good in this one.

“Sound of Metal”- A punk rock drummer and recovering drug addict suffers sudden hearing loss and gets help from a special program for the deaf.  Oscar nominations are in for lead actor Riz Ahmed and supporting actor Paul Raci.  It’s a visual and auditory trip.  By the way, if someone ever makes a movie about protesting former NFL QB Colin Kaepernick, Riz Ahmed is dead ringer for Kaepernick and could play the lead.

“Promising Young Woman”- Another Oscar nominated film (for Actress Carey Mulligan along with Best Picture and Director). The trailer for this one makes you think it’s a trashy ‘woman gets revenge on men who take advantage of her when drunk’ story.  “PYW” goes WAY beyond that.  I really enjoyed the ride in this mind-bending film, which is an amalgam of “Fatal Attraction”, “Heathers” and “The Usual Suspects.”  In fact I liked it so much, I watched this film twice!

BOOK CLUB– While off, I read a whole 400 page book cover to cover. “Rock Me on the Water,” written by Ronald Brownstein does a remarkable job covering the cultural aspects and ramifications of movies, music, television and politics in the pivotal year of 1974 in Los Angeles.  One line from the start of the book notes how at that time in L.A. ‘you could throw a rock and easily hit a genius’ on the brink of a social or cultural breakthrough.

Finally, there was time for intermittent naps, some TV channel surfing and catching up with some friends on the phone.  I also worked on a load of half written blogs. Once they’re edited, I’ll get back to weekly postings. No hurry on that task.  

So, it was a good Spring Break but it’s great to be back online with my students.  Oh, and yes, ALL of us are counting down to less than three months before our summer vacation!

One of the stories in pop culture right now is the airing of the New York Times documentary “Framing Britney Spears.”  I have not yet seen this film but apparently Justin Timberlake has caught serious grief as they show his handling of his break-up with Britney some twenty plus years ago.

Timberlake felt such heat that he’s now offered a public apology not just for the way he mistreated Britney Spears but also to singer Janet Jackson after the infamous “wardrobe malfunction” stunt pulled during the 2004 Super Bowl Halftime show.  At the time Janet was the recipient of more scorn than Justin, despite it being he who pulled at her top and exposed the infamous bare nipple.

Here’s part of Justin Timberlake’s public mea culpa.

“I understand that I fell short in these moments and in many others and benefited from a system that condones misogyny and racism,” he wrote on Instagram. “I specifically want to apologize to Britney Spears and Janet Jackson both individually, because I care for and respect these women and I know I failed.”

He went on to say more but the bottom line is all these years later, the former N’Sync star owned up to his poor behavior and actions. 

There’s plenty of apologies to be found in social media among celebrities, politicians and other folks in the public eye.  Most ‘I’m sorrys’ happen within a day after the sin is committed.  Now we’ve got retroactive situations like Timberlake’s that are being talked about. 

Another name to take criticism recently is David Letterman. Dave’s being slammed for a 2013 interview done with Lindsay Lohan as he pressed her about substance abuse issues.  Letterman made Lohan feel uncomfortable as he kept asking about her stints in rehab.  This interview happened eight years ago but now people are coming out and dissecting this tense show segment which at the time was not a buzzed about story.

PERMANENT RECORDS– Remember in grade school when we were told that everything we did would end up on our “permanent record”?  Thanks to video recordings and the 24 hour a day grapevine called social media, past incidents can come back to haunt anyone at any time.

 The “Me Too” movement certainly got many men to re-examine their past actions with women, some of which required retroactive apologies.  Three years ago, I carefully looked at my past. I was and still am confident that I committed no ‘Me Too’ sins.  As women who’ve known me personally and professionally would attest, I’ve been an alright guy.

HOWEVER, THERE IS ONE MISTREATMENT THAT I NEED TO OWN UP TO.  It was in the romance department when I was a senior in high school. The girl was Patty, a year older than me, very cute & sweet and we worked together at White Castle.  We spent the summer of ’78 being flirty with each other and kept in touch through mailed letters when she went away to college late that summer. 

That fall, Patty came home from school a couple of times for the weekend and we went out.  However, my side of letter writing back to her slowed up so she sent me a ‘What’s going on here?’ note.  I was cold and uncaring in my response to her and this boy-girl thing quickly died.  I knew Patty was way into me, more than I was into her, and I was a jerk.  Plain and simple. I’ve always been sorry for that.

 A couple of co-workers who stayed in touch with Patty chided me for leading her on.  They were right.  I last saw Patty in the Spring of ’79 when she stopped by the Castle to visit friends still working there.  She was polite in saying hi to me and I returned that with a sheepish greeting before slinking off to hide in the restroom until she left.

A few days after this meeting, I missed out on dating a girl at my high school who I really, really liked. She knew I wanted to ask her out and was receptive to that. But I waited too long to make my play and another guy moved in and shut me out.  I was disappointed and hurt. I then realized how Patty felt.  Too late Mick, you deserve what you get, paybacks are hell.

Fast forward nine years.  I was producing morning radio at WCKG FM and one of Chicago’s many P.R. reps brought in an on-air guest.  I knew this rep casually and while she and I talked and shared about our backgrounds I learned we both knew Patty from White Castle.  This P.R. rep was pals with Patty in high school and still stayed in touch with her!

I mentioned I wasn’t nice to her longtime friend and felt bad for my actions.  Then this exchange happened.

Me– “So how’s Patty doing these days?”

P.R. Rep– “She’s happily married and has a little boy.”

Me- ”That’s great to hear. (laughing) Apparently she got over me!”

P.R. Rep– “Maybe. Patty named her son ‘Mickey.’

Whoa!  O.K. then.

I have no idea where Patty is today. There’s no need to search her out.  Still, if I ever saw her again, I would state my most sincere apology.  

And if it’s any consolation to her, when it comes to relationships with women, I’ve had more misses than hits.  Sometimes I wonder if I’m still paying penance for being a careless clod to a nice young lady all those years ago.

Permanent record folks.  Always keep that in mind and act accordingly.

Readers, I’ve got about 20 blogs written that aren’t time sensitive, but I’m going to take some time off from editing and posting them.  There’s other writing I want to focus on.   See you on down the line.

Valentine’s Day is this Sunday.  Here’s part 2 of my favorite loved up movie couples.

ALBERT BROOKS & MERYL STREEP IN “DEFENDING YOUR LIFE.”  Brooks meets his potential paramour Streep at a post death weigh station called Judgment City.  They bond, share their pasts and wonder where their eternal lives may be headed.

WILL FERRELL & MAGGIE GYLLENHAAL- “STRANGER THAN FICTION.” Easily my favorite Will Ferrell movie as he plays a straightlaced IRS auditor who has to investigate Gyllenhaal’s past income tax issues.  She hates him until he shows there’s more to him than just a money counting government official.  This is one of those great moments I can’t get enough of.

JIMMY FALLON & DREW BARRYMORE- “FEVER PITCH.”  Fallon’s movie career hasn’t been much to note but his portrayal of Ben the school teacher & Red Sox fanatic who boldly falls for Barrymore’s ‘Lindsey’ a corporate climber is funny and poignant.  This clip is when they take a second stab at a date after a not so good first outing when Lindsey suffered from food poisoning.

TOM HANKS & ROBIN WRIGHT- “FORREST GUMP.”  Forrest always said he and Jenny (Wright) went together “like peas and carrots.”   It just took years for her to understand that.  My favorite scene is when Jenny tells Forrest she wished she could’ve been with him during his many travels and he says she was.  Forrest always thought about his girl.  (Sniff)  Here’s the clip when Forrest makes a first proposal to his girl. 

ROBERT DUVALL & TESS HARPER- “TENDER MERCIES”- If this movie isn’t my favorite of all time, it’s definitely in the top 3.  Duvall is Mac Sledge, a rundown and out alcoholic country singer who finds redemption from the patience and kindness of a widowed single mother, Rosa Lee. (Harper) Unlike many male-female romance movies, Mac’s marriage proposal isn’t the climax of this great film.

Next Sunday is Valentine’s Day. While not paying much attention to that Hallmark holiday I have pondered about couples’ relationships in movies.  Everyone has their favorites; ranging from Bogart and Bacall in “Key Largo” to Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan in “Sleepless in Seattle” to Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal in “Brokeback Mountain” or any other loved up pairs.  

Some of my favorite onscreen romances are a little offbeat, some may be right in your wheelhouse.  No matter, here’s Round One of my picks.

BILL MURRAY & OLIVIA WILLIAMS IN “RUSHMORE.”  Murray plays a soon to be divorced restless millionaire who isn’t the most surefooted Romeo.  Olivia Williams plays a widowed prep school teacher who’s also a little slow on the love uptake.  It’s a shy and awkward pairing as seen in this clip.

KEVIN COSTNER & SUSAN SARANDON IN “BULL DURHAM.”  Well traveled minor league ballplayer goes to bat with baseball fanatic/groupie.  The classic scene is when Costner’s ‘Crash Davis’ states his beliefs to Sarandon’s Annie Wilkes, including appreciation for “Long slow, deep, soft wet kisses that last 3 days.” However, I prefer the cat and mouse play these two characters have a couple of days after that scene.

JON FAVREAU & HEATHER GRAHAM IN “SWINGERS.”  Another awkward relationship picks up a bit after Mike, an aspiring comedian, swing dances in a club with Lorraine then makes a play with self-deprecating style. 

DEMETRI MARTIN & GILLIAN JACOBS IN “DEAN.” Dean is a cartoonist on a trip to L.A.  He’s coping with the passing of his mother, a broken engagement and a strained relationship with his father and Nicky is cute enough to peak Dean’s interest.  The only clip I could land was the movie’s trailer.  Nicky is the blonde who calls Dean out on his awkward fall at a party.  There’s also a slow growing love thing happening between Dean’s widower father played by Kevin Kline and his realtor. (Mary Steenburgen) 

If you haven’t seen this low-key film, check it out on demand, it’s worth your 4 dollars.

SALLY FIELD & JAMES GARNER IN “MURPHY’S ROMANCE.”  James Garner earned an Oscar nomination as the quietly wise widower Murphy who guides Field’s ‘Emma’ through the changes she’s made in her life but doesn’t press harder than he needs to.  Here’s the trailer to the 80’s romantic comedy.

NEXT BLOG– One more round of on screen romances.

It’s all subjective to personal tastes and interpretations but here are some more fine versions of songs first done by other artists.

MARY CHAPIIN CARPENTER- “The Bug”- In 1991 Dire Straits’ leader Mark Knopfler wrote and recorded this song for the band’s last studio effort “On Every Street.”  A year later, Mary Chapin Carpenter covered the track for her fine “Come On, Come On” album as she even scored a top 20 hit on the country charts with it.  Knopfler and his band creep and hop through this one just fine but forgive my sexism here, I think this song sounds better when a woman is telling us “Sometimes you’re the Louisville Slugger sometimes you’re the ball.”  

BRUCE HORNSBY- “Jack Straw”- Grateful Dead members Bob Weir & Robert Hunter put this one to vinyl in 1972, and semi-based it on John Steinbeck’s “Of Mice and Men.”  Bruce Hornsby and his band The Range recorded the adventures of Mr. Straw for a Grateful Dead tribute album titled “Deadicated.  The Dead’s track is so sparse and bleak and that’s why I prefer Hornsby’s rendition which I first heard him play live in the summer of 1991. It takes a minute to chug out of the rail yard and then you’re locked into the story.  Funny enough, for years Bruce was a guest keyboard player at numerous Grateful Dead concerts.  

MARIAH CAREY- “I’ll be There.”   The Jackson Five’s original 1970 recording of this classic is high in tone and sweet in spirit.  Mariah Carey equals Michael Jackson on the lead by adding soul to this love song and Trey Lorenz takes over brother Jermaine’s part in it.  This was from a 1992 MTV Unplugged special.  Just the “woo woos” in Carey’s playing of this gives me chills.

TRAVIS TRITT- “Sometimes She Forgets.”  Originally written and recorded by the great Steve Earle, Travis Tritt does this heart tugging cut supreme justice. Tritt said he put this song to a rhythm similar to the Eagles “Tequila Sunrise.”

I’ve seen him cover this tune and Earle’s “Copperhead Road” in concert.  Back in my country radio days I hung with the Georgia born Tritt a couple of times and got to tell him he’s the only person outside of Steve Earle who should be allowed to sing Steve Earle songs.  Travis laughed and liked that. 

NEXT BLOG- Favorite on screen romances, Part 1.

I’ve always enjoyed listening to singers’ and band recordings of songs that were established hits for other artists.  Known as ‘Cover Songs,’ sometimes they’re awful, sometimes they’re pretty good and every once in awhile a they can be better than the original.  This is all subjective and I know some people feel the ‘original’ is always the best and no other version of a song should be given any credence.  I think that’s closed mind thinking but then again what do I know?

Anyway, here’s a first sampling of cover songs that I appreciate at least as much as the original and maybe even more.  Again, everyone hears things differently but here’s my take.

ROLLING STONES- “Just My Imagination.”  Covering a classic Temptations hit takes some real ‘stones’ and while this may sound blasphemous, I actually like the Stones’ version better.  The Temptations’ recording of it was sad and self-pitying. But Mick Jagger and company sped this one up a bit and put more soul into the song about longing for that special girl. 

MILEY CYRUS- “Jolene.”  So many singers have covered this Dolly Parton written standard both in concert and in recording studios.  Dolly’s version still ranks as the best one but Miley, who is Dolly’s real-life goddaughter, does a damn good stab at this one.  When you take away her goofy ways with the body filled with tattoos, the bawdy talk about sex and drugs and her tongue always hanging out of her mouth like a dog waiting for its supper, Miley Cyrus is a really good singer.  While she may fight it, I think Miley’s true forte is in singing country classics like “Jolene.”

THE SEARCHERS- “Switchboard Susan.”  Pub rocker Mickey Jupp wrote and recorded this as a gritty country roadhouse hop.  It’s not what you’d call a “hit” but the track earned more attention when Nick Lowe recorded a punkier styled take for his “Labor of Lust” album. Yet my favorite version of “Switchboard Susan” was done by The Searchers. They recorded it as a harmonized and folksy unplugged rendition.  I’ve often said some younger artist should take a stab at recording this 70’s tune but in our modern times I’m betting many listeners would ask “What the hell is a switchboard operator?”

TOM PETTY- “Feel a Whole Lot Better”-   Tom Petty grew up idolizing the recordings of The Byrds.  Years later he even went on to produce solo work for Byrd man Roger McGuinn.  However, when Petty released his own solo effort, “Full Moon Fever” he tossed in a great cover of this Byrds song.  Side by side, Tom’s version has a brighter and much fuller sound to it.   And yes, I dare say it’s better than the original record.

NEXT BLOG– Appreciation for an under-appreciated singer.