Monday, April 7, 2025

"Tell Me Why" from AFTER THE GOLD RUSH (1970)

This album has haunted me since my freshman year, when I played the crap out of this album in my dorm room. 

It was recorded in the artist's home studio, and was the prequel to his biggest commercial success "Harvest." which had "Old Man," the song I covered here.

"After The Gold Rush" has a strong country influence, and one of the tracks,"Southern Man," was the basis for the line from the Lynyrd Skynyrd song, "Well I hope Neil Young will remember, a Southern Man don't need him around, anyhow."

 SPOILER ALERT:

I've always thought this song needed another verse, so I added one, with a resolution in the final chorus.

Hope you like it.

© 2025 Roy Santonil

Friday, March 28, 2025

"Overkill" from CARGO (1983)

Next up on the Boomer Hit Parade comes from the land down under.

"Cargo" was the 1983 release from the Australian band "Men at Work."

There are some nice cover versions on You Tube. I think the best is this one by Lazlo Bean, in which the song's writer, Colin Hay, makes a cameo appearance.  The song gained a new generation of fans when Colin appeared on the hit TV comedy "Scrubs," playing this song over several scenes.

This was a second upload because I had to fix the lyrics as follows: 

  • I worry "over" situations I know will be alright, not "about" those situations.
  • Ghosts appear "and" fade away, not "then" fade away.

Insomnia sucks, but sometimes, it just makes you work harder.

This one is dedicated to all my jamming buddies through the years: Ann and Andy, Max, Mark, Mike, Chris, Pam, Blake, Rocco, Ross, and Virgil. I will never forget you guys.

I did what I could with what I had.

 

© 2025 Roy Santonil

Sunday, March 16, 2025

"Just Remember I Love You" from LUNA SEA (1977)

This one was harder to produce than the previous three music videos, and in my opinion, it sucks. The video editor kept crashing, and just like the previous video, "Old Man," I had to restart after losing hours of work.

It's also cringey. But I'm trying.

Funny thing is, I'm nowhere near the boss battle in my music journey.

Anyway, this song is dedicated to all the girls I've loved and will love ...

Can't you kids see us boomers also want to stop hate ... except for evil. 

It's OK to hate what is evil.

In the end, True Love conquers all.

© 2025 Roy Santonil

Thursday, February 27, 2025

"Aspen + These Days" from CAPTURED ANGEL (1975)

So I did it.

Here's the full cover version of the song, with both parts.

[These Days] includes me trying to sing, as well as the lyrics

Also, the YouTube channel will be under a pseudonym >>> Clarence Quemuel -- long story.

Don't be cruel.

 

YouTube is hassling me about copyrights and whatnot.

We'll see how long this lasts.

 © 2025 by Roy Santonil

Friday, February 14, 2025

"Aspen" from CAPTURED ANGEL (1975)

The subject is angels.

This is one you can approach from different --- angles.

I do not want to be obtuse, so let me say: "It's Time."

My musical journey has arrived at 2025 with a 50-year backlog of lyrical stress relief, and finally, I'm happy to share it with you, reader, in this stream of consciousness social medium. 

I picked this as a first foray into YouTubery because, well, it's fairly simple to play, and more importantly there are no words! It may get worse if I start to sing, but it also might get better.

It took a couple dozen takes, and there's still a minor flaw at the end of the piece, but that's not important. Basically, I needed to learn how to properly edit videos. I used OpenShot software, and recorded on my Samsung Note 23 Phone. It's only a first effort and we'll see how this journey evolves.

Thanks in advance for (ahem) Liking, Sharing, and Subscribing. 

Oh, and also, NEVER GIVE UP. Happy Birthday and Happy Valentines Day to the love of my life.

© 2025 by Roy Santonil

 

Saturday, February 8, 2025

Tails from the Crypto



I like words.

But words don't like me.

The more I try and use them, the more they stick around, and the more they haunt me for using them. Using the wrong words can get you in trouble.

Sometimes, words make ME laugh.

Sometimes, words make OTHER PEOPLE laugh.

And sometimes, words make other people BIG MAD.

The internet is a big place.

It is bigger than I imagined when I first connected to it with an IBM clone, running MS-DOS on a x286 CPU through a 14.4K baud dail-up modem in 1994. Back then, we lived out of a two-bedroom apartment, and I worked graveyard shifts to help raise our newborn baby girl.

My my, hey hey.

It is the best of times.

It is the wierdest of times.

It is time to communicate on another level because words to not do justice to explain reality.

Justice seeks 

--- its own resolution.

Justice pays 

--- no heed to the foibles of human desire. 

What is the point? 

I haven't posted since before what's-his-name was inaugurated to preside over the dissolution of the bankrupt corporation of 1871 (look it up) because we ALL needed a brief pause.  Well, that pause is DONE, and it looks like the 60,000 soldiers of the digital army (look it up) are in full operational mode, and the restoration of the American Republic is underway.

I have put 5K into $BTC $ETH $ETC $XRP and $SOL. 

Crypto currency comes from the crypt.

Look, all you young geniuses, I have been advocating in the Spirit of my Father's oath, and now, I can't quit.  I care about our constitution. You will have to kill me if you think I'm giving up on you.

It's time to start makiing videos. Stay tuned. 

The hunters are now the hunted. 

A LAKE OF FIRE awaits you murdering monsters. Notice given.  It is TIME for the musical part of this jurist to break the false and evil curse that you placed on my Father's legacy.

 In the words of Kanye West, "FUCK YOU."

 

 

 

 

 

 

© 2025 by Roy Santonil

Monday, September 30, 2024

House Philosophy

OPENING SCENE: A patient is lying unconscious in a hospital ICU. The camera pans down to follow the plastic tubing from his catheter, flowing and bubbling bodiliy fluids into a plastic tank.

DR.HOUSE: "The drug addict . . . is peeing blood."

CUT SCENE: A med school class where Dr. House is lecturing. He looks at a handful of yellow crayons, chooses one and begins coloring in a coloring book.

DR.HOUSE: "How do they teach you to tell someone that they're dying?"

(Blank looks from students wearing white coats.)

 DR.HOUSE: "It's kinda like teaching architects how to explain why their building fell down."

(Continues coloring book)

"Do you role play at stuff?"

STUDENT: "Yeah. One of us gives the bad news, and one of us gets the bad news."

DR.HOUSE: "What do you have to do to get an A in - You're Dying 101? Do they grade you on gentleness and supportiveness? Is there a scale for measuring compassion?"

(Changes crayons)

" This buddy of mine . . . I gotta give him ten bucks every time someone says thank you. Imagine that. This guy's so good, people thank him for telling them they're dying. 

(Looks at crayon, exchanges it for another)

"It's brown . . . I don't get thanked that often."

CUT SCENE: House is standing at the patient's bedside.

DR.HOUSE: "You're dying."

(Patient shows concerned look)

DR.HOUSE: "In a few hours. There's nothing we can do except deal with the pain."

PATIENT: "Well, I need to go home."

DR.HOUSE: "You're not going home."

PATIENT: "But my dog . . . what will happen to my dog?"

CUT SCENE: Two Drs. Wilson and Cameron are doing an MRI.

DR.CAMERON: "Her neck looks clean . . . no adenoma."

CUT SCENE: Back to the classroom.

STUDENT: "Wait, wait, wait . . . the guy's dying and all he cares about is his dog?"

DR.HOUSE: "Any of you guys go the dog route in your . . . improv sessions?"

(Another student gives a quizzical look)

DR.HOUSE: "It's a basic truth of the human condition . . . that everybody lies. The only variable is about what. The hard thing about telling someone they're dying is that . . . it tends to focus their prioritites. You find out what matters to them. What they're willing to die for. WHAT THEY'RE WILLING TO LIE FOR. 

 

Three years of law school, five years of government work, five years of corporate work, twenty years of self-employment, and the good doctor summarized it all in a YT video. You do know the character is based on detective Sherlock Holmes, don't you?

YOU'RE WELCOME.

I'd love to elaborate, but I have a lot of catching up to do, and a BIG trip to take this November. We're out of the golf headcovers game, so it's an economic reboot.

Also, I have a new handle on X : @Musical_Jurist ... 

[**NOTE** -- as of 4/1/2025 my X handle is : @Popeyes_Tattoo]

Stay tuned, fellow boomers, millenials, and genners X-Y-Z.

No joke. We've only just begun.