The SFB

Random musings from a Gen X life lived on the edge… of nothing except Lake Erie. 70s and 80s pop culture and music.

history

  • I’M ALIVE- Garage Psych Ecstasy!

    The Perfect Song by Tommy James and the Shondells and covered by Johnny Thunder Next up for the PERFECT song-  perfect cover songs!  Are you familiar with Tommy James and the Shondells I’m Alive?  Perusing social media a while back I somehow found this absolute banger!  But I actually stumbled upon the cover of this… Read more

  • A Little Something I Wrote for 716 Day

    Superfest, Summer of ’76, and Peter Frampton Happy 716 day to all who celebrate! In the summer of 1976 the biggest rock star in the world was Peter Frampton. He released his double live album, Frampton Comes Alive in January and it spawned three huge hits, Show Me the Way, Baby I Love Your Way and Do You Feel Like We… Read more

  • The Boys Are Back in Town

    BICENTENNIAL SUMMER PERFECTION Here’s another perfect song from that Bicentennial Summer.  Thin Lizzy’s The Boys Are Back in Town.  It’s probably their most well-known song, and for a reason.  It’s a great fucking song. As I said before, I was ten that summer and just becoming aware of rock music, music other than the weird… Read more

  • BICENTENNIAL SUMMER MEMORIES-LOVE IS ALIVE by GARY WRIGHT

    Another perfect song from the summer of ’76. July 1976 and the hits just keep on coming! Gary Wright’s perfect song Live is Alive is another perfect song from the summer of 76!  It still thrills me to hear it.  How can you not move when you hear it?  I have to get funky with… Read more

  • REO Speedwagon

    And the end of freshman year, 1981. REO Speedwagon The Gen X soundtrack was dominated by REO Speedwagon in the late 70s and early 80s. They. Were. Everywhere. Older brothers and sisters listened to You Can Tune a Piano But You Can’t Tune a Fish, and we listened to High Infidelity. I personally can’t say I loved REO Speedwagon but… Read more

  • PANTS!

    Sort of a companion piece to an earlier post about rock star style. More About Pants!  Denim and Leather!  I wrote a little bit about jeans- and denim wearing stars, and how denim used to be an anti-authoritarian statement.  Think James Dean and Marlon Brando. But now everyone wears jeans and so they really are… Read more

  • Jessie’s girl by Rick Springfield

    Always reminds me of the anticipation of summer vacation 45 years ago. June.  The promise of summer.  The anticipation.  The sun.  The warmth.  Surging teenage hormones. Would you go back?  I might.   If you attended school in New York State then you know how ridiculously late the school year ends.  Having spent most of my… Read more

  • STYX

    A staple of 70s and 80s airwaves and a huge part of the Gen X soundtrack! If you grew up in the ‘70s and ‘80s then Styx was most definitely part of the soundtrack for your life. My love of Styx will always and forever be tied to a group of older kids who were… Read more

  • HAIR and turning 60 and HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMY!!!!!

    Give me a head with hair, long beautiful hairShining, gleaming, streaming, flaxen, waxenGive me down to there, hair, shoulder length or longerHere baby, there, momma, everywhere, daddy, daddy Hair, flow it, show itLong as God can grow, my hair I want to wish a very happy birthday to one of the most special humans I… Read more

  • The Outfield and Your Love

    Another perfect song from the spring of ’86. Was there a bigger song in the spring of ‘86 than The Outfield’s Your Love? Well, probably but that’s the one up for discussion next while I’m reliving the spring of ‘86. Here’s a funny coincidence. A former student of mine, I taught middle school English, posted that… Read more