Jim Flanigan Looks at the World
Turning the Mundane into Fundane Since 2015
I’m doing some repairs and painting an old decrepit shed in the back of our property. I anticipate the neighborhood newsletter will feature this headline.
Old Decrepit Man Paints Old Decrepit Shed
Anyway, I needed some help choosing a primer, so took this brochure from the local home improvement store.
I think they missed a great opportunity when designing that piece.
Continue reading “A Prime Post”
Today is the day of the big solar eclipse crossing the USA close to me in Chicagoland.
I started to prepare for the eclipse today, but I wondered if I should even bother for a couple reasons. First …
Continue reading “My Eclipse Day is Looking Up Musically”
It’s not often that you can see a classic band from the 60s or 70s with more than one original member. A notable exception are The Rolling Stones with original members Keith Richards, Mick Jagger, and Charlie Watts lasting from 1963 through 2021 until Charlie passed away. Add Ronnie Wood in 1975 until now, and that’s a group with history, legacy, legitimacy, and longevity.
So, it was with some excitement that I saw The Tubes from the mid-70s coming to my little hometown theater advertised with 3 original members including wacky frontman Fee Waybill, known for his many wild costume changes during a concert. That’s how their extended tour that appears to have started in 2022 was touted. Sadly, along the way, one of the three original members passed away. Down to 2, but quite a duo, Fee Waybill and Roger Steen, writer of their cheeky song “White Punks on Dope.”
I was all in to see The Tubes. Please note that I didn’t say I bought a ticket. Not many others did either. I was convinced the theater had done a ticket giveaway as they sometimes do to at least get sales of their concessions, and that I had missed the email for the free tix. I went to the box office and mentioned that I heard (from me talking to myself) that they were giving away free tickets to fill seats. Uh, no. But as long as I was there, they gave me a free ticket. I was encouraged to sit anywhere I wanted. Open seats were plentiful.
I arrived just in time to hear “Sushi Girl,” a very 80ish tune and favorite of mine. That was kind of the highlight of the show. For me, it was downhill from there. I don’t want to disparage Fee, Roger, and the other new Tubes band members. They are still out on the road touring and living the rock & roll dream. Good for them. But Fee as the frontman is 73, looks 83, and moves around like he’s 93. It was hard to watch at times. At least he brought his “nurse” to assist him with his costume changes.
Can someone please help The Tubes change the digital graphic projected onto the screen to reflect a 2023 tour rather than 2022. Aren’t digital graphics free?
And about those costumes? At the end of “Wild Women of Wongo,” Fee had stripped down to this.
Continue reading “A Musical Tale of Stones, Tubes, & More Stones”
The year is 1968. The hot rock & roll bands are the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, and the Monkees, although I distinctly recall girls in my grade school class talking about how much they loved the Turtles. Why can I remember that bit of minutiae and not that garbage day is Tueday?
Anyway, I go back and forth. The Beatles are the greatest rock and roll band ever, right? Sure, we all have our favorite other non-Beatle bands. Mine include XTC, Squeeze, Cage the Elephant, Springsteen & the E Street Band, Wilco, Tame Impala, The Clash, Crowded House, and many others. And I’ll choose to listen to those bands over the Beatles more times than not. But still, the Beatles are tops, right? Right? Well, maybe not.
I’ve been thinking a whole lot about the Rolling Stones recently. They released this song earlier in 2020 around the start of the COVID quarantine.
It’s not a great song, but it’s certainly a good tune that sounds exactly like a Rolling Stones song should sound. They are still producing good new music after more than 50 years! And they’re not half dead like the Beatles. Sure, the Stones lost Brian Jones early on, and Bill Wyman has retired, but Mick & Keith are still going strong with Charlie Watts on drums and Ron Wood on guitar. I’m starting to give the nod to the Stones over the Beatles simply due to longevity.
So, what does this have to do with my book of short stories titled BEYOND: Tales of the Afterlife, available on Amazon? Well, Tale #2 is titled “A Monkee to Die For,” and revolves around a Davy Jones promotional visit to a California record store. In the story, not only is Jones featured in an indirect way, but the Rolling Stones and Beatles also get mentions. My video excerpt in this post from Tale #2 involves a demonic being explaining to a 12 year old girl smitten by Davy Jones that the Rolling Stones may not be as icky as she thinks. Take a look and listen.
Continue reading “BEYOND: Tales of the Afterlife – A Look Inside Tale #2”
If you are any sort of a rock music fan, you will recognize this blog post title as lyrics from Sympathy for the Devil by the Rolling Stones. It’s a really good song, although it did not get tagged as my favorite Stones song in this My Fave Faves post from a couple weeks ago. Yep, still trying to cross-promote posts with little success. But this is not a music blog post. It’s about one of my family members alleging that I worship Lucifer. Huh? I think we’re hosting Easter this year for the family. Could be more interesting now that that’s on the table. I’m thinking of decorating all the Easter eggs with pentagrams.
Continue reading “Pleased to meet you. Hope you guess my name.”
Well, here we go with a new weekly feature nobody requested, my favorite song from favorite musical artists. I’m eager to get started, but wonder if I will make it all the way through this year with a weekly post. I’m almost through a full year doing weekly mite-based cartoons, so I guess anything is possible. So without further ado, I offer you my favorite Rolling Stones song …
Continue reading “My Fave Faves #1 – Rolling Stones Edition”
Welcome to a new feature this year on Jim Flanigan Looks at the World. I love music, so I asked myself why I wasn’t writing more about music. I didn’t get a reply since I wasn’t speaking to myself at the time, but I didn’t wait until I was speaking to myself again after having make-up sex with myself. I moved forward with this bold concept. Each week I plan to reveal my favorite song from my favorite musical artists, and along the way provide some insight as to why that song is my favorite. It may not be the best song ever done by the artist profiled according to critics, or the best-selling song, but the song I like the best. You are welcome to disagree and offer your own fave song. There is no wrong answer (is what I always wanted to hear my teachers say, but never did).
Some weeks this may be easy. For example …
Jim Flanigan Looks at the World 