Gheorghemas Minor Chords: Random Idiots unleash a sad new single

Feeling pretty good, are you? 

Yeah?

Amid all of this Gheorghemas good cheer -- and we did enjoy Day 5 and its upswing of Tribe-related positivity -- we have a new song to share from the minds that brought you:

• "Dr. Seuss" in 1991
• "Hey Evan" in 2004
• "Dear Ozzy (Thanks for Nothing)" in 2009
• "Where's Johnny?" in 2022

...and many more. 

I highlight those songs beyond the rest of the mess because (a) they're brilliant, but moreso (b) because they are tributes to friends of ours who have tragically fallen by the wayside.

Okay, technically, the third one simply references Ozzy Osbourne in the title, who died this year, and the protagonist in the song is at the end of their life. But it's a fun song and hasn't been dredged up in a while. 

And yes, I know, Dr. Seuss was not technically our "friend," but he shared a birthday with Dave, and Dave celebrates with the good doctor every year, and Theodor Geisel's passing sparked one of the true mountaintops of the Random Idiots range when we musically memorialized him... sort of. 

Anyway, Dave and I, as Random Idiots in name and behavior, have had a habit of writing and recording songs about our actual friends who have died. And goddammit, we really had a bad run of losing friends early on in life. First Evan on a motorcycle in the summer of 2001, then Lud and Scoop two months later in 9/11. Flynn went in '06, and Johnny in 2021. There were others along the way. 

And our tribute tunes, in a way, help keep their spirits alive.

But it does beg the question.

A legitimate question, we feel.

Enjoy, and be safe out there.

House of the You Know What, Part III

Just when you think you've heard every version of this song... you haven't. 

Just when you think we've beaten this to death... we haven't.

Well, maybe we have, but still.

This one hit the streets in 2004. The streets, it seems, are not the same.

Les Coole & The Cukes · House of the Martha Wood - Random Idiots

Where's Johnny?

In honor of our long-lost friend Johnny G, Dave and I dusted off our old band Random Idiots.

Here's what we created before the Fishing Trip.

Dave nitpicks and points out the flaws, but I'd say we did okay for whipping off a quick single from New Jersey and Virginia, respectively.

We performed and recorded a live version whilst on the trip... very Random Idiots. Messy but fun.

Stay tuned for more Idiocy coming your way before long...

The People They Want More of This

If you live long enough, you get to see some cool shit. And you get to see small evolutions. Say, for instance, from a fringe hip-hop album that you and a few buddies used to jam out to in college when the world couldn't care less . . . to a cultural icon regarded as "seminal," "foundational," and even "watershed."

Rock snob glossary entries are fun. But this is more than a label; this is a landmark.

You guessed it, I'm talking about the three bad brothers you know so well (Ad Rock, MCA and Mike D, not rob, Dave, and me). The Beastie Boys have been further cemented into the streets of their beloved hometown, if not history.

According to Time Out: 

“On July 14, the New York City Council approved the co-naming of the intersection of Ludlow and Rivington streets as Beastie Boys Square.”

Why there? Fans of the trio will surely know. Cue Track 14 on Dave's CD that he brought back from summer break before sophomore year...

“The best in men's clothing. Call Paul's Boutique and ask for Janice, and the number is (718) 498-1043. That's Paul's Boutique, and they're in Brooklyn.”

Except they're not. This bogus business, the basis for the name of this album, was just a lark. Whose legendary album-cover street shot has inspired multitudes to track it down and hang, if just for a moment, where it happened. 

I know, I know, but everybody's got their Graceland. And this spot is it for fans of the latter-day Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.

And it's cool. Check this out on Google Maps.

So if you happen to be in Manhattan's Lower East Side, say visiting Katz's Delicatessen, or the club formerly known as CBGB, or maybe you're headed to Little Italy, or maybe, just maybe you were looking for 59 Chrystie Street, the name of a track off Paul's Boutique... and holy crap check this out...

Damn, this town loves the unstoppable three, the B-E-A-S-T-I-E.

Anyway, if you're down that way, say maybe you got drunk at Doc Holliday's and got way lost downtown after that, come on by the corner of Ludlow and Rivington. You won't see a Paul's Boutique sign, but you will see a cool mural:

And who knows? You might see an old-school hip-hop trio on the corner, grooving and riffing on a piece of cardboard like Jay and Silent Bob, but to "Johnny Ryall," and "Eggman," and "Looking Down the Barrel of a Gun," among others. 

No, not the Beasties, not after MCA left us way too early. I'm talking Random Idiots in our rap personae: Honky Dory, D. Pave, and DJ Robbie Robb. Get some.

Les Coole & Professor Truck

Greetings, music people.

Les Coole & The Cukes have spent more time in the studio lately. I also have it on good authority that Greasetruck Studios has seen (heard) some action of late as well.

In late 1973, a pair of former co-writing sensations released songs of their own at the same time.  John Lennon's "Mind Games" and Paul McCartney's (& Wings') "Band on the Run" hit the same airwaves. Different sounding material and yet a common thread.  Both brilliant.

47 years later, another long lost songmaker duo followed suit. Random Idiots founders and farceurs Whitney & Dave (in their assumed personae) have issued a pair of solo singles at the same time. Different sounding material and yet a common thread. Both . . . are songs.

Learn them. Know them. Live them.

Les Coole & The Cukes · The Upside of Lockdown

Professor Truck · When You Left The Room

Professor Truck · When You Left The Room (That's When We Got Started)

Logo-a-Go-Go

Our tiny dictator wants a post up pronto.  What with our doofus overlord vacating the position 36 months ago, you're our only hope, Obi Wan.  Oh, wait, is that me?  Filler ensueth.

Every good rock band needs a logo.  The bigger and better your band gets, the more ubiquitous that logo is, and the more that image -- often without any words to associate it with the band -- stands just fine as a symbol of the group.  There are specific criteria that separates the best logos from the rest, some objective and most subjective.  I won't list them.  You get it.

Instead, I will proceed directly to the List of the Best Musical Act Logos.  A better name for this is Best Rock 'n' Roll Logos, but some might argue about certain acts' inclusion in the "rock" category. Whatever.  You get it.  Here we go.  This is what I came up with...

Top 12 Logos that Include the Band Name:

Top 15 Logos That Don't Include the Band Name:

Sometimes logos are meant to be mashed up.  Check out this T-shirt on local DJ Les Coole:

Feel free to add to this list.  

Oh, and yes, #8 is of course Random Idiots.