The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day!

The Aquabats!, "Whatever Forever!" from Finally! (Captain Thumbs Up!)

Commentary!:

"You know I'm down for you and you for me,
I want to thank you, friend, for every single memory,
The highs and lows with you, the joy in this journey,
And if you need me, if you ever need me, I'll be here.
Right over here…

"You know I'm down for you and you for me,
I want to thank you, friend, for every single memory,
The highs and lows with you, this joy in this journey,
And if you need me, if you ever need me,
Well, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah yeah, I'm down for whatever!
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah yeah, whatever forever!…"

Bonus! Christmas Song o' the Day

Vigil of the Baptism of the Lord
Real Can of Yams, "Christmas Should Be Lasting All Year Long" (live) from Real Can of Yams Live 12/30/04 (Saint Mike Papa Whiskey)

Commentary: It was such a blessing, seeing far-flung kith & kin this Christmas. Damn the culture that encourages us to leave our loved ones behind in pursuit of professional success instead of recognizing those loved ones as our second-greatest treasure!

Bonus! Christmas Song o' Yesterday

Christmastide
Reel Big Fish, "Carol of the Beers" from the Happy Skalidays E.P. (Mike Papa Whiskey)

Commentary: We ordered pizza last night, the last night all the out-of-town kin would be in town. RECADTED & I went to pick it up. Before we left, knowing we only had a couple beers in the fridge, I asked how many wanted a beer with the pizza. Based on those replies, we stopped on the way to the pizza place for a six-pack of bottles. I went into the green grocer for the beer, REDACTED stayed in the Shuttlecraft Odysseus. As I left the van, he sang, "Carol of the Beers." Back home with the pizza & beer, the whole family sat down to enjoy Uncle Buck, followed by all seven mini-episodes of Two Loser Cops.

The Explorers' Club, № MLXXVII

Operation AXIOM: The Space Age—The 40th Anniversary of the Space Shuttle Atlantis
6 March 1985: The Space Shuttle Atlantis OV-104 rolled out of the North American Rockwell factory in Palmdale, California; she flew thirty-three missions from 1985-2011, launching the Magellan (to Venus) & Galileo (to Jupiter) interplanetary probes, launching the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory & servicing the Hubble Space Telescope, & flying the final flight of the Space Shuttle, S.T.S.-135.

Commentary: The Atlantis was the last Orbiter of the original Space Shuttle fleet; the sixth & final Orbiter, the Endeavour, was not commissioned until 1991, six years later. The Atlantis has been on display at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex since the retirement of the fleet in 2011.

Bonus! Space Age Song o' the Day: The Space Shuttle Atlantis
Super Boat Warp, "Farewell Atlantis" from the Fire All Weapons! E.P. (Space Cadet Mike Papa Whiskey)

Semper exploro.

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day: Go Blue!

Team 145, Game 12: Michigan @ Ohio State
Real Can of Yams featuring J. Coliadis, "We Had a Chance" from the Nothing Can Kill the Grimace E.P. (Mike Papa Wolverine)

Commentary: This has been a season to forget, a severe disappointment after Team 144's National Championship, but if these valiant Wolverines can pull off the impossible this afternoon, can pull off the upset, they will write their names into Michigan Football history.

"When all is said and done,
What will we be remembered for?
When all is said and done,
Is this what we'll be remembered for?

"This is not what we planned,
This ship is lost and unmanned,
When will we take a stand?
Just you, just me, while we still can…"

Go Blue!

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' Yesterday

Montag, 23. September
Real Can of Yams featuring J. Coliadis, "We Had a Chance" from the Nothing Can Kill the Grimace E.P. (The Last Angry Man)

Autobahn

This afternoon, while motoring through Grand Blanc, I espied a remarkable sight: A Pepto-Bismol-pink Maserati Quattroporte sporting the vanity license plate EATCAKE. Whether this is an exhortation to eat cake (of the carpe diem/you only live once variety) or an echo of Rousseau's "let them eat cake" ("Qu'ils mangent de la brioche"), I leave it to you to decide. I found the pink paint to be garish, but was at the same time delighted with the coincidence of the day before being the Laetare Sunday, the Fourth Sunday of Lent, on which priests & deacons vest in pink. (Technically, the vestments are "rose," but I have little patience for clerics who are persnickety about wearing rose not pink, yet casually refer to their usual Lenten vestments as purple when theliturgical color is technically "violet.")

Commentary The pink Quattroporte above is not the car I saw—I was too busy driving to take a photograph—but the fruit of an internet image search for "pink Maserati."

Bonus! Song o' the Day
Real Can of Yams, "Always, Grand Blanc" from the Nothing Can Kill the Grimace E.P. (Mike Papa Whiskey)

Bonus! Real Can of Yams Song o' the Day

Real Can of Yams, "Always, Grand Blanc" from the Nothing Can Kill the Grimace E.P. (Mike Papa Whiskey)

Commentary:

"Grand Blanc, you're always on my mind,
Waiting for me with open arms every time,
Grand Blanc, you're always in my heart,
Waiting for me with open veins every time…

"Nestled in the heart of mid Michigan, just off of I-75, lies a shining paradise, with pride for the past, spirit for the present, dedication for the future, and excellence always…"

The Rebel Black Dot Real Can of Yams Song o' the Day

Real Can of Yams, "Set Phasers to Fun!" from the Nothing Can Kill the Grimace E.P. (Mike Papa Whiskey)

Commentary:

"Say, 'Goodbye,' to boring nights,
Say, 'Goodbye,'
Say, 'Goodbye,' to boring nights.

"Set phasers to fun, it's just begun,
It's time to smile, it's time to run!
We'll party 'til the sun comes up and then we won!
We'll party 'til the sun comes up and then we won!…"

The Rebel Black Dot Real Can of Yams Song o' the Day

Real Can of Yams, "Hey, at least You Did Your Best" from the Nothing Can Kill the Grimace E.P. (Mike Papa Whiskey)

Commentary:

You did your best,
But it just wasn't good enough,
You tried real hard,
But you just couldn't get it done.

Maybe your best
Will never be good enough.
You did your best,
It'll never be good enough.

Hey, at least you did your best."

The Rebel Black Dot Real Can of Yams Song o' the Day

Real Can of Yams featuring J. Coliadis, "We Had a Chance" from the Nothing Can Kill the Grimace E.P. (Mike Papa Whiskey)

Commentary:

"Do we love the dream despite the cost?…"

The Rebel Black Dot Real Can of Yams Song o' the Day

Real Can of Yams, "Warning Signs" from the Nothing Can Kill the Grimace E.P. (Mike Papa Whiskey)

The Rebel Black Dot Real Can of Yams Song o' the Day

Real Can of Yams, "Sometimes, San Rafael" from the Nothing Can Kill the Grimace E.P. (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary:

"You'll take the long road home,
You'll take the one less traveled,
You'll leave your flesh and bone,
You'll leave yourt heart unraveled…"

Bonus! Song o' the Day: SKApril XIII

Real Can of Yams, "Sometimes, San Rafael" from the Nothing Can Kill the Grimace E.P. (The Last Angry Man)

Skammentary:

"You'll take the long road home,
You'll take the one less traveled,
You'll leave your flesh and bone,
You'll leave your heart unraveled.

"Sometimes, San Rafael!
Sometimes, San Rafael!
Sometimes, San Rafael,
You win."

Thank you for joining us for this thirteenth SKApril! Stay tuned in May for the SKAfter Party, Narwhal Day, & in just three months' time, SKAugust. In the sage words of the Reel Big Fish, "don't stop skankin'!"

Ska! Ska! Ska!

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day: SKApril XIII

Less Than Jake, "Look What Happened" from Anthem (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary: Via group text to the Blue Tree Whacking brotherhood, K. Steeze transmitted a photo of his adorable son wearing a onesie emblazoned with the words, "I (heart) Ska Punk;" one chubby leg was raised & Steeze added slyly, "Working on his skankin'." "Look What Happened" was soon suggested as a lullaby, followed by a discussion of whether the Borders & Boundaries version of "Look What Happened" or the Anthem version should be L.T.J.'s contribution to SKApril 2023, & just look what happened."

"And I swear it's the last time
And I swear it's my last try…"

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day

Real Can of Yams, "Sometimes, San Rafael" from the Nothing Can Kill the Grimace E.P. (The Last Angry Man)

Commentary: Brand new music!

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day

Chris DeMakes, "Blast from the Past" from the Blast from the Past E.P. (Mike Papa Whiskey)

Commentary:

"Take me back to Gainesville,
Back where it all started,
Back to the day, all these escapades
Would have never been the same
With a different set of names.

"I wouldn't trade this dream
For anything in the world…"

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day

Real Can of Yams, "A Cold Night in December" from CODENAME: Koala (Remaster) (The Last Angry Man)

Commentary: "A Cold Night in December" is one of R.C.Y.'s most sensitive & earnest songs, replete with violin-type strings to add a genuine sense of gravitas. Of course, "A Cold Night in December" is followed on CODENAME: Koala by "Teddy's First Night in the Drunk Tank," a song exactly as senstitive & earnest as its title suggests. All very "on brand" for Real Can of Yams. I love my band!

The Rebel Black Dot Song o' Columbus Day (observed)

Real Can of Yams, "Shiver Me Timbers" from CODENAME: Koala (Remastered) (The Last Angry Man)

Commentary:

"In Fourteen Hundred and Ninety-two,
Columbus sailed the ocean blue,
We're trawlin' for booty and running you through,
Shiver me timbers!…"