VOL. IV Issue 8O
Gas Prices on the Rise
Janis Joplin once asked for a Mercedes Benz. Here we are, 35 years later, and some of us wonder if she'd be praying for the Lord to buy her a full tank of gas to go with it. With gasoline edging ever closer to the $3/gallon mark in some places, a lot of folks are getting tense. Harold Hinkle siphoned 80 gallons of gas out of his motorhome, which not only lowered it's value by half, but ruined a pretty good selling point besides. Jerry Hinkle doesn't even drive anymore unless he absolutely has to. He picked as good time to take up walking, too.
Ethanol is nearly as expensive. One point in it's favor is that we don't have to send troops overseas to defend it's supply. There may be other advantages, too. We ask ourselves, "When will it end?". The answer is, "Not soon enough!".
Reality Bytes Again
by Buster Brock
Managing Editor
Holabird Advocate
Well, America! Get your Dancing Shoes on! ABC is bringing back "Dancing with the Stars". This is for two nights only (we can hope). Seems that some were upset when scantily clad, but gorgeous soap actress, Kelly Monaco won the original competition. She and John O' Hurley will be doing a dancing "Do Over". This time it's "For Real". Will the Dancing Queen's crown slip from her head? Can the poor man's Bill Cullen take the throne. Well, we'll have to watch an see.
When I saw the final dance-off, I must say that I was underwhelmed by Ms. Monaco's dancing. It was good, but lacked a certain something. The word clothing comes to mind. She sure gets points for originality.
The same judges will be present, but will not vote. Only the audience will chime in. Let's hope that no matter who wins that this pair of shows resolve the matter and we can all go on to worrying about more important matters like the price of gas, the anthrax epidemic, and the most delicious animal in the world.
Hip As The Wanna Be
by Amber Ray, NY Metro
"I don't think I could be hip if I tried," the Ditty Bops' Abby DeWald says. Still, the eclectic cabaret-style music created by the soft-spoken guitarist/vocalist and band mate Amanda Barrett (vocals, mandolin and dulcimer) draws scenesters out of the retro rock garage for their down home fusion of ragtime, hot jazz and Western swing. Like fellow purveyors of our nation's lost sounds of the last century, namely the faddy Sufjan Stevens, Dresden Dolls, Joanna Newsom and Devendra Banhart, the Ditty Bops may have inadvertently involved themselves in a bizarre genre of seemingly genre-less music."That's not what we set out to do, we weren't trying to come up with something indescribable," DeWald says when presented with that label-defying concept. "We set out to play what we were writing."In that venture the Los Angeles-based duo has proved immensely successful. After only eight performances the band was signed to Warner Bros., with a debut album released last October. In the year since that freshman outing, DeWald and Barrett have continued to write songs prolifically while taking their theatrical live show on the road."We like to constantly play fresh material, DeWald says. "I've been told we have something like 30-35 songs that we perform live that aren't on the record. Fans actually have an archive site where they put up our live performances because it's been so long since we've recorded."If DeWald has her way, work on documenting those songs for a follow-up release will begin shortly after the duo returns home from touring. The two also hope to expand their sideshow of a stage-act. "We have a friend who is a puppeteer, but we can't take her on the road," DeWald explains. "I'm hoping she'll work with us in L.A." How enigmatically hip.
South Dakota Songbook
"Mercedes Benz"
By Janis Joplin
Oh Lord, won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz ?
My friends all drive Porsches, I must make amends.
Worked hard all my lifetime, no help from my friends,
So Lord, won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz ?
Oh Lord, won't you buy me a color TV ?
Dialing For Dollars is trying to find me.
I wait for delivery each day until three,
So oh Lord, won't you buy me a color TV ?
Oh Lord, won't you buy me a night on the town ?
I'm counting on you, Lord, please don't let me down.
Prove that you love me and buy the next round,
Oh Lord, won't you buy me a night on the town ?
Everybody!Oh Lord, won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz ?
My friends all drive Porsches, I must make amends,
Worked hard all my lifetime, no help from my friends,
So oh Lord, won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz ?That's it!