General meanderings

KEVIN DuBROW, 1955-2007
I'm rather fascinated by the differing opinions being expressed in the wake of the passing Sunday of Quiet Riot lead singer Kevin DuBrow.  In some circles, he's being highly-praised, like on Ken's Blog and by some of his fellow musicians, while in others, he's not so highly thought-of, like with Randy Raley and Dr. Sardonicus.  I tend to agree with the latter two.

I know it’s not nice to speak poorly of the dead, but I think it's rather hypocritical to suddenly heap glowing praise on someone upon their death when I wasn’t all that fond of them when they were alive—witness my reactions to Jerry Falwell’s and Anna Nicole Smith’s passings in previous blog entries.  Pretty much everything I’ve ever heard and read about Kevin DuBrow is that he was your basic David Lee Roth wanna-be, and just like DLR, he could be a real horse’s ass at times.  Sadly, over the years DuBrow more or less became a punch line and caricature for the stereotypical egomaniac has-been Rock star, especially with his ridiculous-looking wigs—these rugs made Mr. Tudball's toupes on the "Carol Burnett Show" look natural by comparison!

I definitely give Quiet Riot their due for their part in helping heavy metal to go mainstream in the ‘80s, but I also credit DuBrow with the band’s quick downfall.  When Quiet Riot’s second album came out in ‘84, DuBrow more or less alienated everyone with all his trash-talking bravado aimed at other up-and-coming bands like Motley Crue and Ratt.  I’ll never forget QR’s appearance on MTV when DuBrow kept jabbering like a banshee on steroids while bassist Rudy Sarzo sat there clearly annoyed with him and didn’t say a word.  Rudy left QR to join Whitesnake some time after that, and by the time QR’s third album came out in 1986, they were already has-beens.  Damn shame, too, because I think Quiet Riot could’ve been every bit as big as Def Leppard, Scorpions and Motley Crue were.  I saw them open for Z.Z. Top in ’83 right when "Metal Health" was really catching fire, and they were a damn good live band.  Hell, they were just here a couple months back opening for Z.Z. again, ironically.  Sarzo and drummer Frankie Banali made up a rock-solid rhythm section, guitarist Carlos Cavazo could be Eddie Van Halen-like at times, and Kevin DuBrow was your classic Heavy Metal screamer.  I’m rather curious what the cause of death is.  For a guy who was so in love with himself, I doubt if Kevin DuBrow would commit suicide, but who knows?

In any event, rest in peace, Kevin…

HURRY!! GET YER TICKETS NOW!
Can someone explain why they’ve already put tickets on sale for Celine Dion at Sprint Center, when the concert isn’t scheduled until November 15, 2008?!?  I’ve never heard of concert tickets being put on sale nearly a year in advance before.  Is this to allow her legion of fans (all 14 of ‘em) to schedule their vacations from work around it or something?  I thought that hack retired anyway.  Celine Dion is one of those singers who technically has a wonderful voice, but whose body of work is a total bore—Whitney Houston and Sarah McLaughlin fall into this category too.  (Sorry, Tom!)

MINI MOVIE REVIEW
I'm currently viewing the new version of Hairspray on DVD.  Nikki Blonsky, the new girl who plays Tracy Turnblad is light years cuter than Ricki Lake was in the original, but overall this is really an unnecessary remake—stick with the original '80s release, it was much better.  And I never imagined saying this, but I actually miss Divine here!  John Travolta in drag playing Mrs. Turnblad is giving me the willies, especially how he sounds like Cher crossed with Mike Myers doing Dr. Evil when he talks!  As for Travolta dancing in drag—I haven't seen hoofing like this since Dancing Bear on "Captain Kangaroo"...

THE DEBATE RAGES ON
Last week, a letter writer to the K.C. Star chimed in with his .02-worth about these moronic Sonic (what a rhyme-smith I am!) TV ads, accurately pointing out how ignorant they are.  In an astounding show of support, numerous other letter writers have staunchly defended these stupid things, accusing those of us who dislike said commercials of not having a sense of humor.  Now, I have a pretty open-minded sense of humor, but I'm having trouble producing even one chuckle out of these two 30-something dorks in a mini-van prattling on about mediocre fast food, okay, kids?  These commercials certainly don't do a very good job of selling the product, either—they sure's hell don't give me the urge to run out and a grab a burger at Sonic anytime soon.  I'm more of a Wendy's guy anyway...

CLASSIC MISHEARD LYRIC #60
"Border Song"--ELTON JOHN (1970)  "...please excuse my frankness, but it's not my cup of tea."  A little obscure here, but I thought EJ sang "please excuse my fracas."

FOOTBALL FOLLIES I
I wasn't originally planning to watch last night's Monday Night Football game between the Steelers and the lowly Miami Dolphins until I saw they were having gawdawful weather in Pittsburgh, and there's nothing I love more sometimes than a mud-bowl football game on the tube.  They had just re-sodded the turf at Heinz Field over the weekend after it had been used for five high school games and one college game during the holiday weekend, and then a Noah's Ark-type rain came just in time to create a nice little quagmire.  This one was reminiscent of the Chiefs' Sunday night game here against Seattle in '97 when it rained so hard they had to stop the game for a while.  In both that game and last night's, a punted ball fell earthward and embedded itself into the turf and didn't move—a self-teeing football, you might say!  Pittsburgh eventually kicked a field goal to win 3-zip last night.

FOOTBALL FOLLIES II
If you ever want to see a microcosm of St. Louis/Arizona Cardinals football, just watch the highlights from their OT loss to the 49ers on Sunday.  This sad-sack franchise constantly endeavors to find new ways to snatch losses from the jaws of victory, and Sunday was a classic.  Arizona lined up to kick a 27-yard field goal in OT, but managed to let the play clock expire before snapping the ball.  The kick was good, but didn't count because of the delay of game penalty, which backed them up five yards, and true-to-form, the kicker whiffed on the ensuing 32-yard attempt.  A little while later, quarterback Kurt Warner coughed up the ball in his own end zone and a 49er defender scooped it up for the game-winning TD.  While the Chiefs are a frustrating lot to watch this season, I'll gladly take them over the ineptitude in the Desert.