Lemmy is Dead

That's a hard line to write.

Lemmy passed away on December 28th, 2015, after being diagnosed with an "aggressive" cancer on December 26th. Two days after his 70th birthday.

There's that old joke that Keith Richards is immortal, that when the Earth is a barren wasteland, it'll just be Keef and some cockroaches. That Richards somehow embodies rock n' roll...

But I'm here to tell you, Lemmy Kilmister was more rock n' roll than Keith Richards will ever be. Lemmy had a small apartment in LA a few blocks from the Rainbow Bar & Grill, where he could regularly be found sipping drinks and playing video poker (a video poker game that was actually moved to his apartment for the last few days of his life). Lemmy played his final show just 20 days before his death. Keith, for all his awesome qualities (and there are many), lives on an estate in Jamaica, ensconced from the world between Stones tours. Motorhead toured hard, and was never so popular as to have the comforts of massive success. They played - worked - because they had to.

Motorhead released 21 albums in 28 years, and still had to push themselves on the road constantly. This year, they played 54 shows, all while Lemmy was suffering with multiple medical problems. Lest I ignore facts, it's clear that Lemmy LOVED touring, and mentioned several times that he'd be happy to die on stage. I'm sure there would've been lots of shows either way, but perhaps Lemmy could've traveled in a bit more comfort. I won't even go into the weird merchandising choices the band has made in recent years.

A few years ago I found myself listening to a lot of Motorhead, right about the time AC/DC was issuing another cookie cutter album and launching a world tour. It struck me very strongly that AC/DC and Motorhead were very much in the same business, but Motorhead was simply miles better at it. There is a certain cynical, distanced quality I always detect in AC/DC, they have an understood, practiced formula, whereas Motorhead felt honestly raw. They weren't the best players, their songs tended to be blunt-force instruments, and Lemmy's influences, in many ways, began and ended in the 1950's with Buddy Holly and Eddie Cochran. Their catalog is filled with riffs that are lifted from the earliest days of rock n' roll, but played with the attitude (and volume) of a man who'd lived though the eras of Hendrix and Zeppelin.

I may be kidding myself about that, but I can only go by what I know of the man who simply was Motorhead, Lemmy Kilmister. There is a palpable sense in everything about Lemmy that the man simply didn't care to play by your, or anyone else's, rules, because his rules were working fine for him. His interviews ring unflinchingly honest, and the man clearly had no interest in insulting anyone, yet also had no time for PC self-censorship. He spoke the truth, as he saw it, and didn't expect his truth to be universal.

If you want a really good look at who he was, I'll recommend the documentary Lemmy: 49% Motherf**ker, 51% Son Of A Bitch

Lemmy was singular, he was an original, he was an icon, warts and all (no pun intended). I'm very aware that we shall not see his like again. RIP, good man...you deserve it.

Lemmy Kilmister
1945- 2015

Stuck in My Head: The Chase is Better Than the Catch

I have the documentary Lemmy: 49% Motherf**ker, 51% Son of a Bitch at home from Netflix, and it's really, really great. You just can't argue with Lemmy Kilmister as a true rock god, and an indisputable icon. The film is a ton of fun, and present Lemmy as the no frills, no nonsense, no bullshit person he is. If you have any interest, it's well worth a look.

It's also inspired a lot of listening to Motorhead. Motorhead, much like Lemmy, himself, is no-frills hard rock. You really just can't argue with what they do. I've said in the past, and stand by it, Motorhead does everything AC/DC does, but better.

And I love this track. Not the most politically correct thing in the world, but is rock and roll supposed to be?


The Chase is Better Than the Catch
by Motorhead

You know I'm bad, the times I've had,
I've got a bad reputation,
I don't care, I get my share,
Don't feel no deprivation,
The more I get the better it is,
I like it fine, I like a little whizz,
Treat 'em like ladies, that's a fact,
You know The Chase Is Better Than The Catch

The silver tongued devil, demon lynch,
I know just what I'm doing,
I like a little innocent bitch,
You know I ain't just screwing,
I ain't.

I love you baby, know you're too much,
I like it fine, I feel your touch,
But your appearance don't hold no class,
You know The Chase Is Better Than The Catch

A little beauty, I love you madly,
Come on home with me,
I know you're hot, I know what you've got,
You know I want to shake your tree,
Come on honey, touch me right there,
Come on honey, don't you get scared,
Come on honey, let me get you in the sack,
You know The Chase Is Better Than The Catch

All right! Let me hear ya!
I can't hear ya!

The Trap of an Amazon Wish List

Like almost everyone in the world, I have an Amazon wish list.

Yeah, I know..."his birthday's next week, so he's drawing attention to the wish list." That, my friends, is really not the case.  I was just looking over my wish list, and thinking about the way I use it, and how vaguely insidious it is.

Most of the time, I use it to remind myself about things to buy for myself. I see a game, or a movie, or whatever, that's coming out in a few months, and I slap it in there, so I can always find it. Yeah, occasionally, I'll pre-order things a week or two before, but never 9 or 12 months in advance...Well, Ok, some things.

Yet, I also have a bad habit of just shoving things in there. Yeah, it's all stuff I'd like to have, but any time the list gets over 2 pages, I start to feel antsy. Yes, antsy...the reality that I'll never actually buy all this stuff starts to get to me. Which, I suppose, is better than actually buying it, and living in poverty. Yet, then there's the stuff that I can't bear to take off, because I know I want it...eventually, yet I never get around to buying...

Freaks and Geeks, anyone?

God, being a mass media/pop culture whore is difficult.

Still the good, let's be honest, outweighs the bad.  I mean, before Amazon I'd have had to WRITE DOWN LISTS...and REMEMBER WHERE THEY WERE. Surely, this alone is proof of the advance of our civilization. Let alone...how would I know that there's a Lemmy autobiography available without Amazon and it's wonderful suggestions?

Seriously, the thing is a millstone at times. Add things, then, crap, I'm over two pages. Yet, I keep dropping crap in there. Maybe someday I'll be independently wealthy, and it'll be a useless thing...I'll just buy what I want, right then and there.

Woah! I need this!