Today's CoronaVinyl category is CBGB. If you are unfamiliar with music history, CBGB was one of (if not) the most important live music venues in punk, art rock, and new wave history. Located in the Bowery in New York, it opened in 1973, standing for Country, Blue Grass, and Blues. However, it soon became the epicenter for the nascent punk rock movement, as The Ramones got their start there. Throughout the mid to late '70s, in addition to The Ramones, bands like Blondie, Talking Heads, Television, The Patti Smith Group, The Dictators, The Misfits, The Cramps, The Heartbreakers (Johnny Thunders's group, not Tom Petty's group), Richard Hell & The Voidoids, and Joan Jett & The Blackhearts regularly played there, among many others. CBGB was also the venue where the first British punk band ever played in America, as The Damned played there in April 1977. It was also a proving ground for other up-and-coming punk and new wave acts from outside the U.S., as The Police played some of their first American gigs there, as did Elvis Costello. In the '80s, CBGB moved towards hardcore punk. Sadly, after a rent dispute in the mid 2000s, CBGB's landlord refused to renew the venue's lease, and CBGB closed in October 2006, with Patti Smith playing the last show. Since 2008, it has been a John Varvatos store, but it serves as an homage to its past, with the rock and roll stickers and playbills papering the walls, and the graffiti from the infamous toilets preserved. While I have a bunch of music from the artists listed above and many others who played at CBGB on other media, I don't have a lot of vinyl from these bands. Thankfully, I have one of Blondie's great albums, 1979's Eat to the Beat. Their fourth studio album, Eat to the Beat built off the success of 1978's Parallel Lines (which featured two of their most popular and enduring songs, "Heart of Glass" and "One Way or Another"). The band was never afraid to stray from its punk and new wave roots to explore other genres of music (see "Heart of Glass," 1980's "The Tide Is High," and 1981's "Rapture"), and Eat to the Beat is no exception. While most of the songs are squarely within the new wave genre, there is also pop, art rock, reggae, and even a lullaby. But it's the new wave songs that make this album great. The band was hitting on all cylinders on tracks like "Dreaming," "Union City Blue," the title track, "Accidents Never Happen," "Atomic," "Victor," and "Living in the Real World." Even more impressive is that most of the tracks were recorded live in the studio. Blondie also made a video album for the album, with a video for each track -- the first time a rock band did something like that. While the album only peaked at #17 on the Billboard album chart, it ended up as the #8 album on the Billboard end-of-the-year chart for 1980. It was also a big success internationally, hitting #1 on the UK album chart and reaching the Top 10 on the album charts in Australia, Canada, Finland, New Zealand, Norway, and Sweden. The album also produced two Top 40 hits on the Billboard Hot 100, "Dreaming" (#27) and "Atomic" (#39). In addition, "Atomic" became the group's fourth #1 on the UK pop chart, and "Dreaming" and "Union City Blue" were also big hits in the UK, reaching #2 and #13, respectively. The making of Eat to the Beat was full of drugs and in-fighting, and the band would make two more albums, 1980's Autoamerican and 1982's The Hunter, before breaking up until 1999. Favorite song from Side 1: "Dreaming" This isn't necessarily the first song that comes to mind when you think of Blondie, but maybe it should be. It's a new wave pop gem, and it's pretty much a direct line to The Go Go's. What particularly stands out is Clem Burke's drumming. There are delicious fills all over the place. Like most of the album, this was recorded live in the studio, and Burke explained that he was just bashing away, almost purposely overplaying, and he didn't expect the producer to use this take because he thought it was a run-through. Favorite song from Side 2: "Living in the Real World" The last track on the album is a frenetic new wave rocker. Debbie Harry kills her vocals, essentially providing the blueprint for every new wave frontwoman who followed. There's also a short but sweet guitar solo with about a minute left in the song.
Unfortunately, I had to return from vacation, but it's not all seven rooms of gloom, though, because my return means I get to continue with our (now not so) little record-a-day experiment. Today's CoronaVinyl category is "band with number in the name." When taken literally, it could be read to mean only bands that have the word "number" in their name, but I assure you, that was not my intent and would produce absurd results. Over the years, many bands have had numbers in their name, but few of those numbered groups have had the success that the Four Tops had. I have their 1967 Greatest Hits album, which featured twelve of the group's hits up to that point. It's kind of crazy that they put out a greatest hits album after essentially only putting out music for less than three years, but that speaks to the level of their and Motown's success in the mid '60s. The legendary Motown songwriting team of Holland-Dozier-Holland wrote ten of the twelve songs on the album, and you'll recognize just about every song on the album. The songs are fantastic, and like pretty much all Motown songs from the '60s, just so easy to listen to. It was pop music at its finest, written by some of the best who ever put pen to music. The twelve songs were the group's first twelve singles released in the U.S., and the lowest-charting of the twelve still reached #45 on the Billboard Hot 100. Ten songs reached the Top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100, including five Top 10s and two #1s. Nine of the songs also reached the Top 10 of the Billboard R&B singles chart, including two #1s. The Four Tops continued their success throughout the late '60s and early '70s, even after leaving Motown in 1972, but then kind of faded away as the '70s went on, though they did have two Top 40 hits in the '80s -- "When She Was My Girl," which hit #11 in 1981, and "Indestructible," a collaboration with Smokey Robinson that hit #35 in 1988. Favorite song from Side 1: "Reach Out I'll Be There" The group's second #1 hit in the U.S., "Reach Out I'll Be There" also hit #1 on the UK pop chart, becoming the second Motown song to do that. It's a rollercoaster of emotion, going from a brooding minor key in the verses to a major key in the choruses. The song was purposely written at the outskirts of lead singer Levi Stubbs's range, so that he sounded more pained when he sang it. It worked, and the song became the group's second #1 hit in the U.S., and it also hit #1 on the UK pop chart, becoming the second Motown song to do go to #1 in Great Britain. Favorite song from Side 2: "Bernadette" I think "Bernadette" is my favorite song by The Four Tops. It's another impassioned vocal performance by Stubbs, as he sings about outkicking his coverage. He sings to Bernadette, explaining his undying love for her, even as she is coveted by every other man who sets eyes on her. It straddles the line between a love song and begging a woman to stay with you. About 20 seconds before the end of the song, there is a false ending, as the music fades, before Stubbs screams "Bernadette!" and then reiterates to her how much she means to him. If she didn't stay with him, it's probably because he came on a little strong.
Before we get to the music, I just wanted to let you know that I'm going on vacation next week, so this will the last post until a week from Monday. If you are looking for things to read on this blog in my absence, feel free to check out the prior 94 CoronaVinyl posts. Today's CoronaVinyl category is a 10-inch record that does not play at 78 rpm. The reason for the latter qualification is that, while I have a handful of 10-inch 78s, my record player only plays at 33 1/3 and 45 rpm. After the 78 went out of fashion in the late '40s, 10-inch records have generally been used for EPs and singles, albeit 45s are more often used for singles. I'm going with the 1981 St. Valentine's Day EP collaboration between Motörhead and Girlschool -- who recorded the EP under the moniker Motör Headgirl School. It is a 3-song EP on which the bands played one song together (a cover of Johnny Kidd & The Pirates' "Please Don't Touch"), Girlschool covered a Motörhead song ("Bomber"), and Motörhead covered a Girlschool song ("Emergency"), with guitarist "Fast" Eddie Clark on lead vocals instead of Lemmy. Girlschool drummer Denise Dufort plays drums on all three tracks, as Motörhead drummer Phil "Philthy Animal" Taylor was recovering from a neck injury when the EP was recorded. That EP hit #5 on the UK singles chart. All three songs are great, and "Please Don't Touch" is my personal favorite of the bunch. Since there are only three songs, I'll just embed all three for you. The version of "Please Don't Touch" in the video below is one they filmed on German TV -- though I believe they are all just lip synching to the recorded version. Taylor -- who was still recovering from his neck injury -- is just kind of hanging out on the side, singing backing vocals, and dancing like a weirdo on painkillers.
Today's CoronaVinyl category is rock opera -- a version of the concept album that takes it to another level by conceivably having a plot that goes from beginning to end over the course of the album. It's not something bands generally gravitate towards, so there aren't a ton of rock operas out there, but some famous ones are The Pretty Things' S.F. Sorrow (which is considered the first rock opera), Green Day's American Idiot, The Fat Boys' On and On (a rap opera), Jesus Christ Superstar, and, of course, the album that most people think of when they hear the term "rock opera": The Who's 1969 masterpiece, Tommy. The story laid out in Tommy is pretty fucked up and weird. It would be hard for me to explain the plot of Tommy any better than someone else already did on Wikipedia, so here's what that says:
British Army Captain Walker goes missing during an expedition and is believed dead ("Overture"). His wife, Mrs. Walker, gives birth to their son, Tommy ("It's a Boy"). Years later, Captain Walker returns home and discovers that his wife has found a new lover. The Captain kills this man in an altercation. Tommy's mother brainwashes him into believing he didn't see or hear anything, shutting down his senses and making him deaf, dumb and blind to the outside world ("1921"). Tommy now relies on his sense of touch and imagination, developing a fascinating inner psyche ("Amazing Journey/Sparks").
A quack claims his wife can cure Tommy ("The Hawker"), while Tommy's parents are increasingly frustrated that he will never find religion in the midst of his isolation ("Christmas"). They begin to neglect him, leaving him to be tortured by his sadistic "Cousin Kevin" and molested by his uncle Ernie ("Fiddle About"). The Hawker's drug addicted wife, "The Acid Queen", gives Tommy a dose of LSD, causing a hallucinogenic experience that is expressed musically ("Underture").
As Tommy grows older, he discovers that he can feel vibrations sufficiently well to become an expert pinball player ("Pinball Wizard"). His parents take him to a respected doctor ("There's a Doctor"), who determines that the boy's disabilities are psychosomatic rather than physical. Tommy is told by the Doctor to "Go to the Mirror!", and his parents notice he can stare at his reflection. After seeing Tommy spend extended periods staring at a mirror in the house, his mother smashes it out of frustration ("Smash the Mirror"). This removes Tommy's mental block, and he recovers his senses, realizing he can become a powerful leader ("Sensation"). He starts a religious movement ("I'm Free"), which generates fervor among its adherents ("Sally Simpson") and expands into a holiday camp ("Welcome" / "Tommy's Holiday Camp"). However, Tommy's followers ultimately reject his teachings and leave the camp ("We're Not Gonna Take It"). Tommy retreats inward again ("See Me, Feel Me") with his "continuing statement of wonder at that which encompasses him."
Tommy was the first Who album I ever bought (on tape, of course, which was the style in the late '80s), and I remember watching the star-studded 1989 live stage performance of the album that my friend Jeremy convinced his parents to get on pay-per-view. It featured Phil Collins as Uncle Ernie, Patti LaBelle as the Acid Queen, Steve Winwood as the Hawker, Elton John as the Pinball Wizard, and Billy Idol as Evil Cousin Kevin. For a long time I didn't trust Billy Idol as a result.
Favorite song from Side 1: "1921" Side 1 is pretty serene, setting the stage for the madness to come. "1921" seems like a hopeful song, until you realize it's Tommy's mom singing to him in an effort to brainwash him, causing him to go deaf and blind. Favorite song from Side 2: "Christmas" This one has worked its way onto my holiday playlist mix, and it's a solid song with impassioned vocals from Roger Daltrey. Favorite song from Side 3: "Pinball Wizard" This was my favorite Who song for many years, and it's a classic, detailing Tommy's prowess at playing pinball despite not being able to hear or see. "That deaf dumb blind kid sure plays a mean pinball." Favorite song from Side 4: "We're Not Gonna Take It / See Me Feel Me" The last track on the album is another good one, though I would consider it the second best song of all-time with this title. You can imagine my chagrin when I once attempted to sing the Twisted Sister song of the same name at karaoke while on vacation in Mexico, and then this song came on.
Last week, I featured John Waite's original band, The Babys, in the power pop edition of CoronaVinyl, and today Waite gets the spotlight to himself, as we continue the COVID-19-themed Retro Videos of the Week. Waite's biggest solo hit was 1984's "Missing You," an '80s classic that reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #9 on the UK pop chart. The crux of the song is that the narrator is saying to an ex-lover "I ain't missin' you at all," but at the end of the song, we learn that he is lying to himself. While staying at home for months on end, maybe you're thinking you don't really miss going to bars, restaurants, concerts, and sporting events, or hanging out with more than ten people at a time, but you're lying to yourself.
Today's CoronaVinyl category is "food name," and there are plenty of great bands and artists over the years with a type of food or things to eat in their names, like Strawberry Alarm Clock, Nenah Cherry, Eagle Eye Cherry, Peaches and Herb, and Alabama Thunder Pussy. But I'm going with the underrated British blues rock and boogie rock band Humble Pie. Formed in 1969, Humblie Pie was a supergroup of sorts, with lead vocalist and guitarist Steve Marriott coming from Small Faces, guitarist Peter Frampton coming from The Herd, bassist Greg Ridley from Spooky Tooth, and drummer Jerry Shirley from The Apostolic Intervention (who would later play in the early '80s metal band Fastway with future Flogging Molly frontman Dave King). Humble Pie kind of picked up where Small Faces left off. They played straightforward blues based rock and roll with some R&B mixed in, putting out eight studio albums between 1969 and 1975, and then reforming (in name at least) for two albums in the early '80s and an album in 2002 (though Marriott died in 1991). And, of course, in Almost Famous, notorious "Band Aid" groupie Penny Lane was sold by Stillwater's Russell Hammond to Humble Pie for $50 and a case of Heineken (and Humble Pie's manager was played by Frampton himself). In 1972, the band released their fifth and most successful studio album, Smokin', which was their highest-charting album both in the U.S. (where it reached #6 on the Billboard album chart) and in their native UK (where it reached #20 on the UK album chart). It was the band's first album after Frampton left, to be replaced by Clem Clempson, formerly of Colosseum. You can definitely see the direct line of rock descendency from this album to some of those fantastic early Black Crowes albums. It's a combination of blues-based rock, jams, soul, and R&B. Also, I swear when I first heard the beginning of "You're No Good to Me," I thought it was Pearl Jam's "Black."
Favorite song from Side 1: "The Fixer" "The Fixer" is a ballsy, bluesy song with some cowbell to complement some nice guitar licks and a great solo. Favorite song from Side 2: "30 Days in the Hole" Back when we only thought quarantining and working from home was going to last 30 days, I thought this was a perfect COVID-19-related song. Turns out, "Over 93 Days in the Hole" would have been more apt. Anyway, if you know any Humble Pie song, it's probably this one. It's a classic about getting busted for drug possession that was later covered by the likes of Mr. Big and Gov't Mule.
Prior decades: -Top Ten Pre-1960s Social Distancing Songs -Top Ten '60s Social Distancing Songs -Top Ten '70s Social Distancing Songs -Top Ten '80s Social Distancing Songs -Top Ten '90s Social Distancing Songs -Top Ten '00s Social Distancing Songs Well folks, we've reached the most recent decade in our look at COVID-19-related songs from the pre-rock and roll era to the present day. When I started this seven-week-long experiment, I wasn't sure if I would have (or know) enough songs from the teens to make a top ten list, but alas, it turned out not to be an issue at all. The teens were a weird decade, and an up-and-down decade as well. When we started, we were in the process of recovering from the Great Recession, under our nation's first African-American president. When we ended, we had an orange-faced former reality TV star who is more authoritarian dictator than democratically elected president. In between, we had, not necessarily in chronological order, the "Tea Party Revolution" (which has scarred political discourse to this day), the Blackhawks won three Stanley Cups, same-sex marriage legalization in the U.S., Sandy Hook and too many other horrible mass shootings to count, iPads, Arab Spring, fucking selfie sticks, the rise and dominance of social media, 5000-1 shot Leicester City wins the English Premier League, various high-profile murders of African-Americans by white cops, Edward Snowden, memes, the fucking Cubs won a World Series, the death of Osama bin Laden by U.S. troops, viable electric cars, cryptocurrency, WikiLeaks, Australian wildfires, California wildfires, Michael Phelps becomes the most decorated Olympian ever, fidget spinners, Hurricanes Matthew, Harvey, Irma, and Maria, the city of Cleveland won a major sports championship, fucking millennials, 3D printing, e-cigarettes, a new Pope, the increased legalization of marijuana in various states, FIFA's bribery scandal, the fire that ravaged Notre Dame Cathedral, the deaths of Prince, David Bowie, Lemmy, and Tom Petty, and, of course, the birth of COVID-19. Personally, I went from being a condo-owning father of one to a home-owning father of three, and I went to ten Lollapaloozas, four Oktoberfests, and one Saved By The Bell pop-up restaurant. I think it's still too early to know what we'll think of last decade in terms of music. There was some good music and some not so good music, as is the case with any decade. Personally, I enjoyed a lot of what I suppose would be classified as indie rock, but there was music released in the 2010s from nearly all genres that I like. But enough about me, here are my top ten '10s songs that relate to social distancing, COVID-19, and what we are all going through, in alphabetical order by artist. As always, I tried to go with songs that best fit the theme, and not necessarily my favorite songs or the "best" songs. And as always, only one song per artist. If you don't like it, feel free to move on me like a bitch. 1. "Hospital!" by Art Brut In 2018, art rockers Art Brut released their first album in seven years, Wham! Bang! Pow! Let's Rock Out! To be clear, that's the name of the album, not just exclamatory phrases I'm using to show my excitement. Anyway, "Hospital!" is one of the tracks from that album. The first line of this song is "When I get out of the hospital / I'm gonna be unstoppable." If you've had COVID-19 and you get out of the hospital, that's pretty much true. Yay immunity!
2. "Sit Around And Miss You" by The Black Keys The Black Keys released their "Let's Rock" album last year, which was their first album in five years. "Sit Around And Miss You" was one of the tracks from the album, and over the past three months, we have had plenty of time to sit around and miss pretty much everyone, including you.
3. "Not Alone" by JC Brooks & The Uptown Sound It was a toss-up between this and Andrew W.K.'s "You're Not Alone," since the message is basically the same. Though I love both Andrew W.K. and JC Brooks & The Uptown Sound, I decided to go with this one, since they're a local Chicago band. This song, off of 2013's Howl, exclaims that "you're not alone," and with the rise of Zoom, Google Hangouts, FaceTime, and Microsoft Teams over the last few months, no one should be alone, even in a global pandemic.
4. "Work from Home" by Fifth Harmony (feat. Ty Dolla $ign) Though it was released in 2016, this is essentially the theme song of 2020.
5. "Wait A While" by The Hold Steady You know I love The Hold Steady, and "Wait A While" is a great song off of their 2014 Teeth Dreams album. What I have found so mindnumbingly frustrating throughout this whole COVID-19 and stay-at-home thing is how impatient people are -- as if this infectious disease has the capacity to say, "Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry. I didn't realize I was inconveniencing you. You know what, if you want to go to gyms, bars, casinos, churches, and Chuck E. Cheese, then I will just have to stop jumping from person to person with exceptional precision. My word, how persnickety have I been?!" Yes, it sucks, but it turns out, if you wear a mask, wash your hands, and practice social distancing, COVID rates will decrease. And until there is a vaccine or a treatment, that is the new norm. So, in the words of The Hold Steady, why don't you wait a while?
6. "S.O.B." by Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats This 2015 footstomper about dealing with DTs put Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats on the map. I don't know about you, but I've yelled out "son of a bitch, gimme a drink!" approximately once every 42 minutes over the past three months.
7. "Brave Man's Death" by J. Roddy Walston & The Business One of my favorite bands from the last decade was J. Roddy Walston & The Business. Other than The Hold Steady, I saw them the most in concert between 2010 and 2019 (8 times). They were fantastic live. One of my favorite songs is "Brave Man's Death," off of their eponymous 2010 album. It's the tale of a man who doesn't want to die a coward -- or even in the middle of the night -- but rather, he wants a brave man's death. Much like the idiots who have said they will sacrifice themselves to the risks of COVID if it means reopening the economy sooner. That's fucking stupid, not brave, but nonetheless, it reminds me of this song.
8. "Dancing On My Own" by Robyn I had no idea Swedish pop star Robyn continued to make music after 1995, but it turns out she did! 2010's electropop hit "Dancing On My Own" is perfect for those of us (well, not me) who have found themselves sitting at home alone over the last three months and just getting that irresistible urge to dance. So you blare some Jamiroquai and fucking go to town in your living room, kitchen, bedroom, or all three at the same time if you have a studio.
9. "Only Just A Call Away" by The Struts The Struts are another of my favorite bands to emerge in the last decade. "Only Just A Call Away" is a track off of the U.S. release of their debut album, Everybody Wants. Whether it's only being able to talk to friends and family by phone (or Zoom), ordering food from a local restaurant (which you should do directly from the restaurant, rather than through Grub Hub, Door Dash, or another similar service, if possible, so the restaurant doesn't get charged a fee), or calling the local party line to see what cool singles in your area are up to tonight, what is clear from having to stay at home for months at a time is that everything is only just a call away.
10. "Alone In My Home" by Jack White If "Work From Home" (see above) is the official theme song of 2020, Jack White's "Alone In My Home" has to be a close second. If you're not sure why, perhaps you live in one of those states where COVID-19 cases and deaths are spiking.
Honorable mention:"Separations" by Diarrhea Planet; "I Need A Doctor" by Dr. Dre (feat. Eminem and Skylar Grey); "No Place Left to Hide" by Jessica Hernandez & The Deltas; "Barely Breathing" by The Hold Steady; "Die Young" by Kesha; "Distance" by Emily King; "Sleeping By Myself" by Pearl Jam; "Blue And Lonesome" by The Rolling Stones; "I Don't Need No Doctor" by The Sonics; "Go Away" by Weezer; "You're Not Alone" by Andrew W.K.; "Cough Syrup" by Young the Giant
Today's CoronaVinyl category is Florida, and the late great Ray Charles was raised in northern Florida, attended the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind in St. Augustine, and got his start in music in Jacksonville and Tampa. Charles's 1961 album Dedicated to You was his second album after he switched record labels from Atlantic to ABC. The album is comprised of twelve songs, generally ballads, that are essentially love letters to women of various names. Charles is backed by an orchestra, which often gives the songs a jazzy or big band feel. The album reached #11 on the Billboard album chart, and two songs on the album charted on the Billboard Hot 100, with "Ruby" going to #28 (as well as #10 on the Billboard R&B chart -- his 20th Top 10 hit on that chart) and "Hardhearted Hannah" going to #55. Of course, Charles would go on to continue to make music pretty regularly until his death in 2004, releasing dozens of albums. He had albums hit #1 on both the regular Billboard album chart and the Billboard Country album chart. He had #1 songs on the Billboard Hot 100, the Billboard R&B chart, the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart, the Billboard Country singles chart, the Canadian pop chart, and the UK pop chart. He had 33 Top 40 songs on the Billboard Hot 100 (or its predecessors), including 11 that reached the Top 10 and 3 #1s. Over 50 of his songs reached the Top 10 of the Billboard R&B charts, including 12 #1s. Finally, on the Billboard Country singles chart, he had 8 Top 40 hits, including 2 in the Top 10 and one #1.
Favorite song from Side 1: "Margie" While most of the songs are kind of slow and serene, this one is more uptempo, and Charles sings with a little more enthusiasm on this song than on some of the others. Favorite song from Side 2: "Josephine" Josephine is the name of one of my long-dead great aunts. Sorry, great aunts Cherry, Candy, Marie, Diane, and Georgia!
Today's CoronaVinyl category is comedy. Back before he was being accused of multiple sexual assaults by dozens of women, Bill Cosby was one of the funniest men on the planet and one of the greatest stand-up comedians of all-time. In May 1983, he released the seminal stand-up film Himself. The December before, he released the soundtrack, which is kind of strange, since the film wasn't out yet. But the soundtrack gave listeners and viewers a taste of what was to come in the film, not to mention The Cosby Show, which would debut in 1984 and remains one of my favorite TV shows ever. There are things that Cliff and Claire did to their kids in that show that I have been waiting to do to my kids for over 30 years. For instance, I can't wait until the first time one of my kids gets caught drinking and I can make them play a hungover drinking game with shots of what they think is whiskey but is actually iced tea. But back to the album. The Himself "soundtrack" features seven tracks -- about 45 minutes, which is about an hour less than the film -- that are all now iconic stand-up routines about family, marriage, parenthood, and other normal everyday life type things, and all without any swearing! I have loved Himself for decades, and every time I listen to it or watch it, it gets funnier and funnier as more and more of it becomes relevant while I am hurtled through fatherhood and marriage. If you are married and/or have kids and/or plan on getting married and/or plan on having kids and/or know anyone who is married and/or know any kids, then you should listen to this or, better yet, watch the actual stand-up film. Set aside any cognitive dissonance you might have based on Cosby's actions since then, and enjoy one of the best at his best.
Favorite song from Side 1: "Brain Damage" This is a hilarious routine about parenting and how children don't listen to a damn thing their parents tell them. I can't tell you how many times I have said "Come here. Come here. Here. Here. Here. Here!" to my kids. Favorite song from Side 2: "Chocolate Cake for Breakfast" As a father of three, I can relate to this one, which is about when dad has to make breakfast for the kids when mom gets to sleep in. When his four-year-old asks for chocolate cake, he decides that it has good breakfast ingredients like eggs, milk, and wheat, so he says okay. And then the other kids come down, and they get to have it too. "Dad is great. Give us the chocolate cake." Then mom comes downstairs.
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