Madonna, Music icon Gone Bad

Like A Virgin My Ass

As the Grassy Knoll Institute was researching a conspiracy lead, one of the operatives came across this recent photograph of the “Material Girl,” Madonna rushing in to a Paris, France fashion show. Several minutes later, after smelling salts were administered to the fainted employee, it dawned on us that the Bugs Bunny hormone shots has taken over her grill.
Be very, very quiet…..I’m hunting rabbits…..

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LURKING, VOGUE, ON THE GRASSY KNOLL

Jethro Tull – Aqualung 1971

Aqualung My Friend

Jethro Tull released their fourth album in 1971 titled Aqualung. The title song was Aqualung, a song about a dirty old man, or perhaps, about god. Either way, the sound was hard hitting, and the flute haunting. It took some time to follow along with the lyrics as Ian Anderson, lead singer and songwriter of the band, (No, there is no one named Jethro Tull in the band) bridged choppy lyrics changing tempo mid sentence. This is best on Aqualung and Locomotive Breath.

The lyrics of Aqualung, title song from the album.

Sitting on a park bench
Eyeing little girls with bad intent.
Snot running down his nose
Greasy fingers smearing shabby clothes.
Hey, Aqualung

Drying in the cold sun
Watching as the frilly panties run.
Hey, Aqualung

Feeling like a dead duck
Spitting out pieces of his broken luck.
Oh/Hey, Aqualung

Sun streaking cold
An old man wandering lonely.
Taking time
The only way he knows.
Leg hurting bad,
As he bends to pick a dog end
He goes down to the bog
and warms his feet.
Feeling alone
The army’s up the rode
Salvation a la mode and
A cup of tea.

Aqualung my friend
Don’t you start away uneasy
You poor old sod, you see, it’s only me.

Do you still remember
December’s foggy freeze
When the ice that
Clings on to your beard is
Screaming agony.
And you snatch your rattling last breaths
With deep-sea-diver sounds,
And the flowers bloom like
Madness in the spring.
Ohhh, Aqualung

The album inside covers had no information about the band or the album itself. The artwork depicted five men, seemingly from old London, in a meeting, one holding a lamp, one a cross, one crouched and looking leftward, one sitting playing a piano, and one drinking wine.

The back ground looks like a cathedral, or large church. Perhaps a monastery.

The backcover has a picture of an old vagrant, sitting almost in the gutter, beard and clothes ragged, with his faithful dog with him.
At the top left, the song titles:
Side One
Aqualung
Cross Eyed Mary
Cheap Day Return
Mother Goose
Wond’ring Aloud
Up To Me

Side Two
My God
Hymn 43
Slipstream
Locomotive Breath
Wind Up

At the top right, Ian Anderson wrote a little verse, a sort of spin off from bibles book of Genesis. He is comparing Aqualung to God. I happen to notice that the CD version does not have this on the back cover. Nor do the releases in the 80′s or the 25th anniversary edition. Perhaps the words were to powerful. Here are the verses.

1. In the beginning Man created god:
and in the image of Man created he him.

2. And Man gave unto god a multitude of names.
That he might be lord over all the earth when it was suited to Man.

3. And on the seventh millionth day Man rested and did
lean heavily on his god and saw that it was good.

4. And Man formed Aqualung of the dust of the ground.
And a host of others likened unto his kind.

5. And these lesser men Man did cast into the void.
And some were burned,
And some were put apart from their kind.

6. And Man became the god that he had created
and with his miracles did rule over all the earth.

7. But as all these things did come to pass,
the spirit that did cause man to create his god,
lived on within all men,
even within Aqualung.

8. And man saw it not.

9. But for Christ’s sake he’d better start looking.

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LURKING, SITTING ON A PARK BENCH, ON THE GRASSY KNOLL

I Want My MTV

The Grassy Knoll Institute remembers…..

We all know that “Video Killed The Radio Star” was the first video played on the new cable network MTV August 1st, 1981. And some of us know that the second video aired was “You Better Run” by Pat Benetar, which was a remake of the Young Rascals hit song of the 1960′s. We also know the original Vee Jays who were, Mark Goodman, Nina Blackwood, J.J. Jackson, Alan Hunter and Martha Quinn. (Remember Nina’s slight tick of a head bob) when announcing the next video?Anyway, I seem to remember MTV being on before 1981. In fact, I believe it was on in 1978, the year I graduated high school. I remember everyone talking about MTV and the hit music videos they played.

Now, here’s the rub. It wasn’t on it’s own network, but I believe it was on HBO as a filler show between movies. HBO doesn’t show commercials and if a movie ended at, say, 8:15 pm, the next feature movie would begin at 9:00pm. HBO would then have to put in filler programming to fill the void. I believe MTV was one of these programs.

I remember MTV before 1981. Call me crazy, call me insane, but MTV was on the air before 1981.

Does anyone else remember watching MTV in the 1970′s? If so, leave your comment.
Just like the criminal in the Dirty Harry movie, “I gots to know man”!

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LURKING ON THE GRASSY KNOLL

Elvis Presley – Love me Tender – 1956

The King, Elvis Presley

Elvis Presley, the undisputed king of rock and roll, has had more hit records than any other artist. I found this one, the 1956 release of his number one single, Love Me Tender, piled in a stack of records I inherited from my aunt Libbs and Mary.

Love Me Tender, also the title of Presley’s first motion picture, was originally sung on the Ed Sullivan show September 9th, that at the time had a record viewing audience of 54 million people.

This record is not a 33 1/3, or LP, nor is it a 45 RPM, but a 7 inch vinyl single. The flip side song is, Anyway You Want Me.

RCA Victor is the brand label, the one with the little dog looking into the victrolo.

The record touts “New Orthophonic” high fidelity.

I wish I had a record player capable of playing it. Its in OK to good condition. No gouges, a few smudges, but if cleaned, should look and play pretty good.

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LURKING, AND ROCKING, ON THE GRASSY KNOLL