Willie Simpson

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  • John Lennon, Mother, Live

    I’m not ready to leave John’s 1972 concert just yet.  Yesterday I posted about “Come Together,” and in the past I posted the live performance of “Cold Turkey.”   Despite the fact that Yoko only released the inferior afternoon version of the show, as opposed to the superior evening version, there are still incredible worthwhile performances…

  • John Lennon, Come Together, Live!

    They say elephants never forget, and they also say fuck Yoko Ono.  When John Lennon played Madison Square Garden Live in 1972, he played an afternoon show and an evening show.  “Elephant’s Memory,” the backup band for John, claimed that the evening show was far superior, but upon releasing this concert  in 1986, long after…

  • The Top 20 George Carlin Moments

    So I was surfing the internet today, and I came across a brilliant little monolog that Louie C.K. did as a tribute to George Carlin.  George Carlin died in 2008, and if you didn’t know, he’s probably the greatest and most influential standup comic next to Richard Pryor.  He had an absolutely relentless ability to…

  • The Strokes, Last Nite

    I had a fun Labor Day weekend.  I crossed the Williamsburg Bridge on foot for the first time, explored Greenpoint, went to a great BBQ in Sheepshead Bay, got free tickets to the Museum of Natural History, hung out in Chinatown eating at the legendary Wo-Hop, and had a Belgium Chocolate milkshake at Haagen Dazs. …

  • Willie Simpson, Funeral Business

    I first wrote this song when I was a senior in college in 2006.  I had it kicking around until this past Spring when I decided to revive it.  I brought in my friend and musical genius Ian Wehrle to help me flesh out the lyrics and the bridge, and then I brought in guitar…

  • The Kinks, Brainwashed

    I promised more Kinks, and by God I’m delivering more Kinks.  For who?  I have no idea.  Who are you people?  Are you even out there?  Is this just a daily exercise in attempting to augment my already distorted sense of self and importance?  If it is, it’s not working, as those last two things…

  • The Kinks, Australia

    I’m moving to Australia!  That’s right, come October, I’m packing my life up, grabbing a friend, and taking a 21 hour flight overseas to the land down under.  Actually, I’m headed to South Korea for a week first, and then off to the land of kangaroos.  Don’t worry, it’s only for a year at most,…

  • The Beatles, Watching Rainbows

    On January 14th, 1969, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, and Ringo Starr were sitting around Twickenham Studios.  George Harrison had temporarily quit the band, so John was on piano, Paul was on electric guitar, and Ringo was behind the drums.  John led the shortened group through a new improvised jam he had been fooling around with…

  • James Paul McCartney, The Wings TV Special

    Paul McCartney fans, do I have a present for you.  Did you know that Paul’s real first name was James?  Did you know that Paul did a music special for ABC and the BBC in 1973 called “James Paul McCartney?”  Did you know the critics hated it?  Did you know critics are mostly idiots?  Well,…

  • The Notorious B.I.G., Hypnotize

    Biggie.  Everybody loves him.  In fact, he’s the most searched artist on my website.  “Hypnotize,” the first single from 1996’s “Life After Death” LP, is perhaps his best pop song.  Now, by pop song, of course I just mean pop smash, not “pop song” in the traditional sense, because obviously its strait hip-hop.  But a…