Just a side note

I currently have The Very Best of Ray Charles turned up to "pissing of the neighbors" volume. And yes, I'm grooving to it.

You know what the sad part is? I mentioned this CD to a kid at Ft. Jackson, and he asked "Ray who?" I almost choked him to death.

Kee-riste, the kids these days don't even know where their music COMES FROM! I had the same problem in Ft. Lee, when one of the "kids" there was from Harlem. So I turned to her and said "Ah, so you know where Duke Ellington played?"

She said "Duke who?"

HOW THE FUCK DO YOU GROW UP IN HARLEM AND NOT KNOW WHO THE HELL DUKE ELLINGTON IS?????? Luckily, there was a Sergeant First Class standing there with me who turned to me, shook his head and said "They don't know, Dave. They just don't know." So I didn't feel so old. But still, DAMN! We're talking HARLEM! If there's one musician who's tied to Harlem, it's Duke Ellington! But this kid was as ignorant as a baby.

And if you like jazz, you have GOT to find recordings of Duke Ellington in Harlem. He played with just about anyone who was anyone there. Unless we remember where we came from, we won't know where the hell we're going. Every rock musician these days has his roots in the like of Ray Charles, Duke Ellington, Frank Sinatra, Chuck Berry, Benny Goodman, and all those people who pushed the boundaries decades ago. And the kids today walk around thinking everything was just the way it is. And if you don't have a Ray Charles CD, check out THIS one. It's damn good.

I worry about my future sometimes.