I Mean Hideous

I do not even try to keep up with what rock shows are on the go in Dope City any more. If someone phones me up about one that is on a weekend, so I do not have to stay up past my bed time, I am happy to join them because I like to see how the city and its mysterious people are doing every now and then. Other than that I am happy wandering around the garden in my rubber boots, a holy pair of underwear beneath my overalls and a cold beer not too far away like every one else in the neighbourhood. So it was a surprize to see Hugh Cornwell on my tv tonight.

Hugh made an appearance on the same commercial free cable show I first heard and saw the Drive-By Truckers. He was promoting his small show in town tonight. He sang "Golden Brown" in a clean suit on his acoustic guitar. It was very nice...it was motherfucking paradise.

Hugh, in case you have been living in a Dope City dumpster your whole life, was once the singer and guitar player for the Stranglers. I saw the band a couple times in England, the second time may have been the most violent concert I ever attended. The kids were trying to live up to the press' image of themselves at that time. In Dope City there was some sort of riot outside their show in the early '80s. I recall walking through the riot and emerging at the other side of it unscathed, same as my buddies. Only people from Sliverville can walk through a riot like they are walking through the Sliverville Mall on a Saturday afternoon.

The Stranglers' "Ugly" is a song that should get played at hockey rinks every now and then. It would beat the fuck out of listening to Queen every time there is a break in the action. It makes me smile when I hear Hugh sing, "And when I say ugly/I don't mean rough looking/I mean hideous."

Too bad the Stranglers were laming out by the time "Golden Brown" was recorded. The do-do-do-do-do-do part sounded real pretty on my tv tonight though. When I was young it made me sick watching old cunts like the Rolling Stones hang on for dear life. Now that I am older myself I am happy those who can hang on do. Beats doing what I do for a living.