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I came across a beautiful version of Unchained Melody earlier today, and it started me down memory lane.

Anyone who's strolled through a record show or taken a cursory glance through eBay knows there's a flourishing, recession-proof market in rock 'n' roll memorabilia out there. Rare vinyl albums and singles, autographs, promotional discs, posters, books, backstage passes, concert programs, you name it. Even if you had the same bank balance as Bill Gates, you could spend eight hours a day collecting it and still not hope to get it all. Sometime soon, it's been reported, there's going to be a piece of rock 'n' roll memorabilia going up for sale on eBay that's certainly unique. No one would...

Vaesteraas, Sweden - Thousands of mint-condition Chevrolets, Cadillacs and Oldsmobiles from the 1950's boulevard-cruise with Brylcreemed greasers draped over the steering wheel and rock 'n roll hits blaring on their radios. You might think you've been transported back a half-century to small-town America but, no, this is a scene found in any number of towns across Sweden where the early days of the US car culture never went out of style.

This weekend over 10,000 classic cars will converge on Västerås at the Power Big Meet as car enthusiasts from Sweden, Europe and as far afield as Russia, Israel and Australia make their annual pilgrimage to the biggest Classic car event in the world. For Sweden’s Raggare, the Power Big Meet is more than just a car show - it’s a celebration of a way of life that is peculiarly Swedish, despite being entrenched in the fashions, music and motor cars of Americana. Since the 1950s, a version of the American Dream has been embraced with an enthusiasm that has endured...

American Decadence—Part 4 of 4 The Characteristics of an Uncivilized People by Reginald Firehammer [American Decadence—Part 3] The Sign of a Child There is another feature of declining cultures, such as ours, which to many is quite bewildering—the sexual exploitation of children which I've documented in this article. The bewildering aspect of this is not just the horrors it inflicts on young boys and girls, which are bad enough, but what kind of people could be part of that horror and what attracts them to it. This, again, is nothing new, because most of the world has never been civilized,...

American Decadence—Part 1 of 4 The Characteristics of an Uncivilized People by Reginald Firehammer In describing the character of the people who dominated the society of the 50s I used words like courtesy, decency, respect, reverence, and dignity. None of these words can be used to describe the last two or three generations except in the negative. Today's society can only be described as discourteous, indecent, disrespectful, irreverent, and; well, there isn't a word that captures what those with no sense of personal dignity truly are, graceless, or despicable, or contemptible, perhaps. I'm not attempting to characterize today's entire population....

Profanity by Reginald Firehammer One reason people of today, who never experienced the fifties, cannot imagine what they were like is because they are immersed in a totally corrupt and uncivilized culture and society. Profanity is one example. It was heard rarely in the fifties, and almost never in polite society or in the presence of women or children. Such profanity as one was likely to hear was the mildest kind, unlike the crudities that fill the mouths of so many people today, including women and children and is heard everywhere, in the 50s were almost never heard. Even those...

Characteristics of Civilized People by Reginald Firehammer While the possiblity of civilization can be curtailed by a political system, it is not ultimately a society's politics, or its economy, or the artifacts of its culture that determines the degree of its civilization. Whether a society is civilized or not is determined by the kind of people that comprise it. American society of the fifties was dominated by young and middle-aged people who were the most civilized of the entire 20th century. The clearest picture of the fifties can be formed by examining the characteristics of the people who dominated it....

The Uncivilizing Revolution of The West by Reginald Firehammer Those living in a society or culture during or after a revolution are often unaware of the nature and extent of that revolution becauase it is nearly impossible to imagine what came before. In his brilliant, "Aliens Cause Global Warming," lecture to the California Institute of Technology, though his purpose was to demonstrate the impossibility of predicting even the near future, Michael Crichton demonstrates the radical changes that have occurred since 1900 that can only be described as a revolution. For example, the main means of transportation in 1900 was horses,...

I found this URL a few weeks ago. It has 50s, 60s and 70s rock 'n roll - The Allman Brothers, Joan Baez, The Band, Big Brother, Elvin Bishop, Mike Bloomfield Booker T. & the MG's, Butterfield Blues Band The Byrds, Joe Cocker, Wayne Cochran, Elvis Costello CSN&Y, King Curtis, Miles Davis, Derek & The Dominos, Doobie Brothers, The Doors, Bob Dylan, Electric Light Orchestra, Everly Brothers, The Grateful Dead, H.P. Lovecraft, Emmylou Harris, George Harrison Jimi Hendrix, Hot Tuna, Jefferson Airplane Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Al Kooper, John Lennon, Little Feat Loggins and Messina, Mahavishnu Orch., Taj Mahal Steve Miller,...

Happy Days

Hello Folks, It is with great sadness today that I report the passing of my good friend Niki Sullivan. He apparently died of natural causes in his sleep. He had been healthy and recently retired so it came as a surprise to all. I was informed today of the sad news by his wife Fran and his son's Erin and Marty. Niki, for those that don't know was an original member of Buddy Holly's band, the Crickets. He was a very modest person, generous, kind, funny and just an all around great guy to hang out with. He enriched my...