Overnight Open Thread › 2.0: The Blogmocracy

Posts Tagged ‘Overnight Open Thread’

RIP Johnny Winter (1944-2014)

by Bunk Five Hawks X ( 102 Comments › )
Filed under Music, OOT at July 19th, 2014 - 8:00 pm

Johnny Winter, legendary guitarist and one of the most recognizable icons of Texas blues and rock passed away at the age of 70 earlier this week after a long career.

In a documentary released this year entitled “Johnny Winter Down and Dirty,” he laughed, “Made my first record when I was 15, started playing clubs when I was 15. Started drinking and smoking when I was 15. Sex when I was 15. Fifteen was a big year for me.”

According to Wiki, at age 10 he and his 8 year old brother Edgar played on local TV in his hometown of Beaumont Texas. Johnny Winter performed for an astounding 60 years, and he died while on still on tour.

httpv://youtu.be/–Asd6Pq5gk

Watch this video on YouTube.

RIP, Johnny. You made our roadtrips hellalotta fun.

Let’s turn up the volume and put the pedal to the metal for this Saturday Night Edition of The Overnight Open Thread.

[Update: After scheduling this I see that Coldwarrior beat me to it, so consider this a continuation.]

Tags: Blues, Johnny Winter, Music, Overnight Open Thread, Retro, rock and roll, Texas, Video
Posted in Music, OOT | 102 Comments »

R.I.P. Erdélyi Tamás, aka Tommy Ramone

by Bunk Five Hawks X ( 112 Comments › )
Filed under History, Music, OOT, Open thread at July 13th, 2014 - 10:00 pm

Another punk bit the big one.

Erdélyi Tamás, aka Tom Erdelyi, aka Tommy Ramone, assembled and helped create one of the most influential bands ever. The Ramones never had a hit single, despite hiring the legendary (and mentally disturbed) Phil Spector.

Tommy Ramone was not new to the recording industry when he and other Brooklyn friends decided to form a band to provide an alternative to the pre-packaged marketing-department formulaic garbage that infested the airwaves in the mid to late 1970s. The Ramones went back to rock and roll garage-band basics, with a twist – they played louder and faster.

That The Ramones rose to popularity by playing 3-chord rock in an obscure venue in the New York City Bowery district says a lot. Punk was born at CBGB’s, and although The Ramones’ garage-band style never garnered them a hit, their influence was huge.

Their message was, “Screw Emerson Lake and Palmer, Yes, Kansas, Foreigner and ELO! Screw CSN&Y and Boston! Listen to C, F & G!”

And The Ramones were spot on. R.I.P. Erdélyi Tamás, and thanks.

Watch this video on YouTube.

And yes, this is The Overnight Open Thread.

Tags: Music, Overnight Open Thread, Ramones, Retro, Tommy Ramone
Posted in History, Music, OOT, Open thread | 112 Comments »

Compare & Contrast – Photo Trickery

by Bunk Five Hawks X ( 9 Comments › )
Filed under Barack Obama, Media, OOT at March 18th, 2014 - 11:00 pm

We may have posted this previously but so what. We’re making a point here.

All About The Angle

Recently Barack Obama was photographed in preparation to awarding medals to some overlooked heroes of WWII. All well and good in principle, but let’s compare reality vs. propaganda. Here’s a posed photo of the POTUS in the Oval Office:

Obama Awards 24 Medals Of Honor For Valor During WWII, Korean And Vietnam Wars
Note the slightly skewed angle and the higher than average camera elevation. Note the wide-angle lens distortion. Mr. Obama looks tall and imposing, almost Putin-like, да? Once we remove the distortion of the propagandacam, the reality is much different: Oval Office 2
Note that in the 2nd image Obama isn’t nearly as tall, nor is he as wide as the Getty Image above would have you believe. The only difference between the two is that we squared up the door and wallpaper. (We can’t adjust for the height of the camera. It happens to be at Obama’s eyeline, and makes him appear to tower over the others in the picture.)