Drawn from previous posts, this is not part of my book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1).
An infinite number of tracks can each be the greatest record ever made. Today, this is THE GREATEST RECORD EVER MADE!
Our passions help (or try to help) sustain us in troubled times. Our hobbies and interests can provide the distraction or involvement we need to function when we might feel tempted to just shut down. Music, movies, books, gaming, competitive napping, writin' a blog, your et, your al., and your what-have-you all fall within the broad category of things that ease our efforts to get through the all-of-this of all of this. In the words of a former Beatle: Whatever gets you through the night.
For me, my night- and day-clearing activities include listening to music, reading comic books and pulp fiction, watching TV, and following a few sports teams. One of those sports teams is the Buffalo Bills.
Confession time: If sports things ever wind up playing out the way I wish, I will have unabashed divided loyalties on some future Super Bowl Sunday. I will, of course, be tuned into This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio as always. But I'm a former resident of Buffalo, and if the Buffalo Bills make it to the Super Bowl in, say, 2027 or 2028 or please, God, EVENTUALLY!!, I'm gonna watch, and I'm gonna be shoutin' at the screen the whole time. The Bills make me wanna SHOUT!
Not...always for the right reasons.
The Bills had a pretty good season this year, albeit a season that once again ended in disappointment. Ugh--crushing disappointment. Early on, this looked like it could be the Bills' year. It was not to be. But let's go, Buffalo--we'll get 'em next year.
(And I say we start by tackling the razzafrazzin' refs.)
The Bills back in the Super Bowl. That would be cool. It won't take away any of the tsuris and misery of the real world, it won't heal the sick, feed the hungry, or end the wars. A victory for Buffalo won't rid us of ICE, nor prevent the ongoing national tragedy that is this Presidential administration. In schemes that are grand, the meaning of a sports competition is smaller than small.
But it's something to cheer for. Those inconsequential somethings, however ephemeral, do have meaning in the moment. We take the win or endure the loss, and try to fight on through another day.
When the Buffalo Bills score a touchdown, fans sing along to a variation of the Isley Brothers' R & B touchstone "Shout," reworded The Bills make me wanna SHOUT! We can use some shoutin'. Primal scream! Big, BIG primal scream. Catharsis and comfort serve a purpose. Let's go, Buffalo. Survive and advance.
Just like the rest of us.
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I compiled a various-artists tribute album called Make Something Happen! A Tribute To The Flashcubes, and it's pretty damned good; you can read about it here and order it here. My new book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1) is now available, and you can order an autographed copy here. You can still get my previous book Gabba Gabba Hey! A Conversation With The Ramones from publisher Rare Bird Books, OR an autographed copy here. If you like the books, please consider leaving a rating and/or review at the usual online resources.
This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio with Dana & Carl airs Sunday nights from 9 to Midnight Eastern, on the air in Syracuse at SPARK! WSPJ 103.3 and 93.7 FM, streaming at SPARK stream and on the Radio Garden app as WESTCOTT RADIO. You can read about our history here.
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