Random Thoughts, Notes, & Incidents

It's 1980 all over again. Yesterday I bought a new CD - I don't buy nearly as much new music as I used to, something that Leslie was commenting on recently. She was regretting the fact that we didn't have any new music.

So, what new CD did I get? "Don't Worry About Me" - The new, posthumous release by Joey Ramone. I heard a cut on the radio and I just couldn't resist. Joey, lead singer of the great original American Punk band the Ramones, died of cancer a few months ago, but was just about done with this disk when he left.

I think it's pretty good, too. Much of it is reminiscent of classic Ramones, but with an updated (or retro?) adult touch too. The cut I heard on the radio, which inspired my purchase, was a remake of "What a Wonderful World" ("I see trees of green, red roses to, I see them bloom for me and you, And I say to myself, what a wonderful world..."). Okay, Joey ain't no Louis Armstrong, but this is pretty friggen' cool. It makes me smile, at least.

The Olympics has also put me in a kind-of retro late-70's, early-80's mood, as well. I was recalling how the U.S. boycotted the 1980 summer games in Moscow. Remember why? It was to protest the Soviet Army's presence in Afghanistan...

And have you seen this U.S. speed skater, Apollo Ohno? I swear he looks just like Leif Garret - and if that doesn't bring you back to 1980, I don't know what will.