Maudlin grandiosity!

November 17, 2011

I'm sure it's happened to many of us. You hear a faint melody in the back of your mind. You start humming along with the melody. Then you realize that it is the melody to Joan Baez's "Diamonds and Rust." Here's a Judas Priest version if you are so inclined. It's rather maudlin, but (sigh) I suppose I am too....

Here's a question for you.
Q: What are 2 things about Judas Priest that are derived from Bob Dylan?
Now there may be more than 2 things, but here are the 2 that I am aware of.

1. Their name is derived from the title of a Dylan song, "The Ballad of Frankie Lee and Judas Priest." 2. They consistently perform "Diamonds and Rust," which was written about Joan's romantic relationship with Bob.

So there, nothing like a little trivia to brighten things up. Another thing I like to do to combat the maudlin is to get grandiose! Here are some grandiosities that are as grand as they are inaccurate.

1. "Diamonds and Rust" is the "Greensleeves" of our time and here's why- they are both about romantic relationships that are over. Both are kind of bitter, both have been covered by many artists and both melodies are liable to get stuck in your head at any time, with no prior notice.
2. Bob and Joan were the less dramatic version of Sid and Nancy or the more dramatic version of Brad and Jenn, and don't ask me why because I am clueless about celebrity relationships. In fact, better yet, you tell me who they are analogous to.

Bob's had quite a few songs written about him, and at least one very popular one in which he plays a moderate role. Here's more o' that -
　
Alright, enough sourpussing around. I've gotta get my Jackie Chan on. That means pep. And lots of it. And longer sentences that aren't choppy half sentences. Well I am sure that you have wondered about Jackie Chan's ambivalent relationship with bicycles. After all, in Tuxedo he doors a 'roided up mountain biker and later beats him up (in self defense, of course). Yet he has also appeared in some crazy bicycle chases in at least one film, and was involved in a slow speed bicycle race on Japanese television. So here's Jackie and his brief fling with a kid's bike. 

Now that's some grandiose pep, eh bike lovers?