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Now in our sixth calendar year!
PCR #287. (Vol. 6, No. 38) This edition is for the week of September 19--25, 2005.
Mike's RantMike's Bust
Hello, gang! A couple legal battles brewing and a new crop of nominees for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Plus it's the 30th Anniversary of a special day for me. Shall we begin?

LA FLORIDIANA
Labor Day Weekend Magic  by William Moriaty
THIS WEEK'S MOVIE REVIEW
"Tim Burton's Corpse Bride"  by Mike Smith
MATT'S RAIL
Answering The Creach....The Hammer Horror Series....The Bucs  by Matt Drinnenberg
MIKE'S RANT
What Is Rock And Roll?...Sure I'm Sore, But....Legal Wrangling....Jaws: The Story, Part 34  by Mike Smith
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WHAT IS ROCK AND ROLL?
That is my questions when I look over this year's list of nominees for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. This nominees (with my thoughts) are:

  • U2 - A sure thing if there ever was one.
  • Lynyrd Skynyrd - Lost out last year. They need to be in.
  • Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five - What the hell? I said ROCK AND ROLL Hall of Fame!
  • Conway Twitty - had early hit (It's Only Make Believe) but gained his fame in country music.
  • Gram Parsons - the father of "Country/Rock," the inspiration for the Rolling Stones' "Wild Horses" and briefly a member of the Byrds, I would have no problem with the hall honoring him.
  • Randy Newman - great songwriter, but again, the key words are ROCK and ROLL.
  • The O'jays - Yes.
  • Percy Sledge - very big early in his career but there are a lot of great voices that need to be inducted first.
  • Wanda Jackson - see Percy Sledge.
  • The Sex Pistols - the Clash and the Ramones are already in - why not induct the band that started it all?
  • John Mellencamp - even when he was Johnny Cougar the guy could write. See U2.
  • Cat Stevens - Like Randy Newman, a great songwriter and a much better performer. I'd vote for him. Not sure how the hall will deal with Mr. Yusuf Islam.
  • Miles Davis - a great inspiration but isn't there a Jazz Hall of Fame somewhere?
  • Blondie - a big yes.
  • The Dave Clark 5 - even though their pianist was named Michael Smith I'm afraid I'm not going to make them feel "Glad all Over" with my no vote!
  • Black Sabbath - yes.
  • Chic - still trying to figure out how the scored the Best New Artist Grammy against both Prince and The Cars. At least Nile Rodgers turned out to be a hell of a producer. No.
  • Joe Tex - remember "Skinny Legs and All," "I Gotcha" and "Ain't Gonna Bump No More (With No Big Fat Woman")? I do and he's a maybe. Not sure how his conversion to Islam more then 30 years ago will effect the vote.

    Golf tourney chart SURE I'M SORE, BUT
    Thank you to everyone that offered to sponsor me at the golf marathon this week. I ended up playing a total of 62 holes. It's not to late to send in a couple of bucks. Remember, my company is matching every dollar I raise.

    LEGAL WRANGLING
    Remember Stella Liebeck? Sure you do. She's the woman who put a cup of McDonald's coffee between her legs while she drove and then sued the restaurant when the coffee spilled and burned her. Well, she must really like Mickey D's money because this week she filed a lawsuit on behalf of her granddaughter against them after the child was burned at a local restaurant. Apparently the girl, while running in the restaurant, ran into an elderly person carrying a tray with a cup of coffee on it causing the man to drop the tray, thereby causing the coffee to spill on her. Grandma must think Ronald McDonald is made of money.

    Also, a woman who didn't get the Extreme Makeover she wanted is suing ABC, saying that the network's decision to not put her on the show not only caused her to feel embarrassment but caused her sister to commit suicide. Even show she admits that she was told she might not be picked for the show, Deleese Williams filed suit against the network after a dental surgeon ruled that it would not be feasible to do the work necessary for her make over as she would not have healed in the allotted time for the show to air. She also says that her sister killed herself after hearing the news, claiming that she was coerced into saying unflattering things about Williams. William's sister, Kellie McGee, who had been diagnosed as bi-polar, committed suicide four months after learning her sister would not be on the show. ABC has maintained that all contestants for the show are told that they may not be picked to appear on the show and even William's attorney says, "She knew that they could drop her at anytime, but she didn't believe they would." Wow. Sounds like case closed to me.

    THE STORY OF JAWS - PART 34
    On September 23, 1975, at the University 6 theatre in Tampa, Florida, I see "JAWS" for the first time. And so it begins...

    Well, that's all for now. Have a great week. See ya!

    "Mike's Rant" is ©2005 by Michael A. Smith.  Webpage design and all graphics herein are creations of Nolan B. Canova. All contents of Nolan's Pop Culture Review are ©2005 by Nolan B. Canova.