Randy's Rants

Going Forward to the Past...
By Randy Gage
Aug 16, 2008, 11:50

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First you hear the funky, wailing guitar, then the distinctive vocal hits:

"I remember finding out about you
Everyday my mind is all around you
Looking out from my lonely room, day after day Bring it home baby make it soon I give my love to you."

Has there ever been a better year for music than 1972?

You had Harry Nilson singing "Without You" (another Badfinger song), that has to be the most definitive song unrequited love ever performed. And if you were still lovesick, there was "Precious and Few" from Climax, and the good reverend Al Green was crooning instant classics such as "I'm Still in Love with You," "Love and Happiness," and "Look What You Done for Me." Who didn't have a relationship breakup and sit crying in your room, listening to "Let's Stay Together?" (Back then you could even call up the disc jockey and dedicate on the air to whoever left you at the alter. Not that it got me any response from Becky Clausen.)

The Supremes, Four Tops, and Temps were keeping the Motown sound alive, Black Sabbath was still Black Sabbath, and ZZ Top was just getting into their groove, rocking the blues.

Robert John remade "The Lion Sleeps Tonight," we had "Doctor my Eyes" by Jackson Browne, and Dr. John did the amazing "Right Place, Wrong Time," slipping, sliding, creeping down the street. And of course the seminal hit of the year, Don McLean's "American Pie."

Leon Russell gave us "Carney," Santana gave us "Caravanserai," and Cat Stevens was still the Cat. Live albums were the rage with concert efforts from Cream, Joplin, The Guess Who, and of course the Deep Purple tour de force, "Made in Japan."

Jethro Tull offered us "Thick as a Brick," and Rick Wakeman joined Yes to create "Fragile," one of the greatest albums of all time. The J. Geils Band turned out "Full House," Elton John checked in with "Honky Chateau" and Neil Young offered "Harvest." Other notable albums that year were the Allman Brothers' "Eat a Peach," "They Only Come Out at Night" from the Edgar Winter Group, and Aretha did "Amazing Grace."

In January of '72 the Floyd boys debuted "Dark Side of the Moon" during a performance at The Dome, in Brighton, but due to technical difficulties, had to stop during the song "Money." It would be played in its entirety the next night, but it was a full year before the album came out.

In February Frank Zappa's concert at London's Royal Albert Hall was canceled because of his obscene lyrics, and Led Zeppelin's concert in Singapore was called off when government officials wouldn't let them off the plane because of their long hair.

Also in 1972, Billy Preston became the first rock performer to headline at Radio City Music Hall, Lou Reed took us for a walk on the wild side, and Simon & Garfunkel reunited briefly for a campaign benefit for George McGovern. I wish I still had my "We Love McGov" button!

Back then radio stations played the Billboard Top 40, so you got to hear a mix of everything. We saw the debut of America, the Eagles, the Scorps, and the Divine Miss M.

When you bought a record, the cool ones came with a poster you could put up in your room. You would spend hours just reading the liner notes.

It was a simpler time, but not just teenage angst, puppy love, and head-banging bad behavior. The music also reflected the causes of the day. George Harrison appealed to our altruism with the concert for Bangladesh, and Joan Baez called us to higher things. McCartney's single "Give Ireland Back to the Irish," was banned by the BBC, helping it reach an even wider audience. Long before Obama, this was the year that Shirley Chisholm, the first African American Congresswoman in the US, ran for President.

The Godfather hit cinemas, Apollo 16 was launched, and the Watergate break-in occurred. The year closed out in tragedy, on December 31st when baseball great Roberto Clemente died in a plane crash, while en route to deliver aid to Nicaraguan earthquake victims. On the other side, '72 was the year that Rob Thomas from Matchbox Twenty, Wyclef Jean, and Eminem were born. God I feel old. But I feel good.

I'm not sure what has me in such a nostalgic mood right now. It could be the Michael Phelps quest for breaking Mark Spitz's 1972 Olympic Gold medal haul, or the fact that I just got delivery of my new Dodge Challenger SRT. Probably both.

The Olympics have been spellbinding. And those opening ceremonies were simply sublime. Has to be the greatest spectacle ever done for the opening of a live event since the Big Bang.

Meanwhile I'm having the time of my life with the Challenger. The lines are absolutely stunning. My condo parking garage is filled with Ferrari's, Lambo's, Bentley's, and lots of other gorgeous rides, but the Challenger is the coolest car in the building right now.

Dodge went completely retro with it, so it has the exact feel of the 70's version, when it was the meanest muscle car on the street. Only now it has more horsepower than the original did back in the day - and things like a Nav system, AC, voice recognition commands, built in phone, power everything, and an actual hard drive. You can actually copy CDs or DVDs to the built in juke box. This technology stuff is getting simply stupid cool. (So what if I've had the car for five days and still haven't figured out how to pre-set the God damned radio buttons! At least with the voice recognition I can say "next station" and it switches.)

Speaking of the techno-geeks, you should know about something Derek Gehl is doing. It can help you make thousands of dollars a year online without even having a website. So if you've been crying about the price of gas, groceries and living, here's your chance to break out of that drama.

Derek and his in-house team of crack e-commerce commandos have been spending the past few months analyzing all of the latest developments and changes at eBay, the world's biggest online marketplace. Now they've applied what they've learned to create a simple, three-step system you can follow to rake in some serious dosh on the site. And if you have any doubt of the potential, do you realize that $60 BILLION changes hands on that site every year? The best part is that Derek's laid out the entire profitable system in a set of training videos that you can watch now for free.

First, he's going to reveal the number one mistake that nearly every new "eBayer" makes when they're getting started. This one is huge, and it can stop you cold from ever making a penny if you aren't aware of this.

After that, he'll explain his secret three-step formula for evaluating items to determine if they will be a hot seller or not. He will teach you how to find hungry markets that are looking to buy what you've got.

He ends the series by looking at what's new and different at eBay, and explaining exactly how to take advantage of the recent changes to start profiting now, while everyone else is scrambling to figure it out.

You know he knows his stuff, so if you ever wanted to make some money on eBay, watch these free videos right away. You'll find them at:
http://www.auctiontips.com/ebay_videos/free-system/t/803011

I know I still owe you an update on the end of my around the world trip. But I got sidetracked rhapsodizing about the summer of '72 and my new baby. Next time!

-RG

P.S. The sooner you watch these eBay videos, the sooner you can get into profit. Do it now while all the other people are still struggling to figure out what changed. http://www.auctiontips.com/ebay_videos/free-system/t/803011

© MMXI Randy Gage. All Rights Reserved.

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