Velvet Underground are definitely NOT CRAP!

I have often wondered over the years if I would have grown up to be as big a Led Zeppelin fan as I am, if I had been born and raised somewhere other than Southern California...say somewhere like Tempe, AZ or North Carolina perhaps. You see, there are two criteria I use to decide whether a band is worth my devotion...their albums and their live shows. There have been many bands that put out albums I liked but didn't deliver the goods in concert. Conversely, there are the bands that can put on a good show, but then always seemed to have a hard time translating that live energy to a studio album. It is the bands that can do both, put out great albums and play cracking live concerts, that make my all-time best list and earn my eternal devotion. Now Led Zeppelin put out great albums, no question, and it was first hearing those albums on the radio and then buying them that made me a fan in the first place. But it was seeing them in concert that really etched the band as "GODS" in my heart and mind and put them in the pantheon of greats along with the Beatles, Stones, Hendrix, Pink Floyd, Velvet Underground, James Brown, Lynyrd Skynyrd and a few others at that time. To recap for those of you who don't know me, here are the Zeppelin concerts I was lucky enough to see: 1972 Tour 6.25.72 LA Forum 6.27.72 Long Beach Arena 1973 Tour 5.31.73 LA Forum 6.2.73 Kezar Stadium, SF 6.3.73 LA Forum 1975 Tour 3.12.75 Long Beach Arena 3.24.75 LA Forum 3.25.75 LA Forum 3.27.75 LA Forum 1977 Tour 6.21.77 LA Forum 6.23.77 LA Forum 6.25.77 LA Forum 6.26.77 LA Forum 6.27.77 LA Forum By any objective measure, I think you could fairly say that I saw some of the best concerts Zeppelin would ever play anywhere...some of those shows were fairly mind-blowingly orgasmic...especially to a young lad like me; my ages during my Zep concert run spanned from 10 to 15 years old. But what if my only Zeppelin concert experience was the 1977 Tempe, AZ show; a show I have never heard, but from all accounts is stunningly bad...I dare say my view of Led Zeppelin would have dropped a few notches. Same if the only shows I had to go by were the Landover, MD shows...now those I have heard from various boots, and I was amazed at the disparity in playing between Landover and LA. So, that is why I stopped having knee-jerk reactions to people who dissed the 1977 Zeppelin tour, or even the 75 tour. Before, whenever a poster would complain about the 77 tour, I would rush to Zeppelin's defense, asking people "What are you talking about, they were great in 77, just listen to 'Listen to this, Eddie' or any other LA boots!" But gradually I realized that my 1977 Zeppelin concert experience was probably different to about 90% of others, due simply to the luck of being able to attend the LA shows. If I had been stuck out in the sticks somewhere...chances were more likely I got a sub-standard show, if they even toured anywhere near where I lived to begin with. I mean, think about the poor folks in Montana or the Dakotas; did they ever get a Zeppelin tour coming thru their state? As for the specific question that began this thread...ie, why the Seattle show was so bad. Consider that there was a huge gap between the end of the LA leg of the tour and the start of the next leg in Seattle...from June 27 to July 17, nearly a month. Whatever momentum the band had built up from the MSG and LA Forum shows seems to have dissipated...I mean, listen to Plant! What did he do during the interim to cause his voice to suffer so? He sounded so good in LA, then BAM, first show back and he sounds like it was 1975 all over again. I remember being shocked at how skinny Jimmy had become...yes, he had always been thin, but on the 1977 tour, he was positively wraith-like. Even so, he still danced like a demon, which is why I was amazed to hear one poster comment how he spent one show(was it the Tempe one?) stock still by the drum riser...I couldn't imagine a Zeppelin concert without the charismatic sight of Jimmy tripping the light fantastic around the stage, his whole body a conduit thru which he transmitted his music. It is obvious that none of the band members were taking good care of themselves; and Peter Grant was mired in the depths of his marriage pains/divorce to be able to focus on getting the band in good shape, and we all know that Richard Cole, by this point, was more of an enabler than any kind of responsible road manager. The whole enterprise was straining under the load of all the drugs and egos and ennui...it seems it took special circumstances(like a show in the band's home away from home, LA) for the beast to get itself together and play near to its once formidable capabilities. It is funny, and you'll think me insane, but I once used to take Zeppelin concerts for granted; I mean, they ALWAYS toured LA and always, well mostly, played great...and I assumed that they played that way everywhere. But after hearing some of the boots from the rest of 77...and even some of the non-LA shows of 73 and 75, I thank my lucky stars that my parents had the good sense to move to Southern California when they did. Now, when I think how I saw Led Zeppelin 14 times...I wished I had realized then how good I had it compared to other kids. And I kind of feel bad for those of you who lived elsewhere and maybe got a not-so-great concert, especially if it was your one and only chance to see Led Zeppelin.

I'm not going to respond to the response to my post..besides, Del Zeppnile already astutely pointed out the flaws in the response to my post, so the point is moot by now. I'll just say it was hot this weekend, but it's always hot in July, so nothing new there. The 4th was great...went to the Hollywood Bowl for the 50th Anniversary LA Dodger celebration with Randy Newman and fireworks...then, later watched with friends the Angels win their game vs. Toronto that we tivo'd, while drinking whiskey and tequila shots. Saturday, watched the Venus vs. Serena Women's Wimbledon Final in the morning...then went out to play some tennis for a couple hours...then went to the beach with friends and tweeked my back surfing. Today is my godson's birthday...he tunrs 13, a teenager at last!...so after just watching the great Men's Wimbledon match, am heading over to celebrate his birthday with his family. Hope all of your 4th of July weekend were equally fun...ciao!

Thanks for the giggle...hadn't had a good laugh in a while. Now I have. Ta!

The best Led Zeppelin album is...whatever Zeppelin album you happen to be listening to at that moment. Each album to me has a specific flow, a unique mood and aura to them...which is why I always prefer listening to their albums as opposed to any compilation such as "Mothership" or "Remasters". Presence...Physical Graffiti...LZ III...they are all great and I could no more choose which is my favourite than which of my two nieces are my favourite. So, whatever mood you are in, or whatever Zeppelin album you have handy at the moment, that is the best Zeppelin album...the one you are listening to right now.

Why? Are you suddenly going to become rational about this?

Yeah, Evster, it's a damn shame we missed each other...but as to how it happened, this might give an inkling why: The first night, my friend that I was going with had to work that day and we didn't make the show until the middle of Sharon Little's set...we took our seats in the front row and as it was during the set, we didn't look around for other people and just focused on the show. Then, during the break, we went to get more drinks, hit the merch stand, where I picked up the $40 Tour book(it is an actual book, not a cheap, paperback program) and the $10 Plant & Krauss record tote bag and the $20 Lithograph tour poster. Saw Pamela des Barres and had a few words, exchanged pleasantries...then bumped into some friends that my friend knew...before you know it, it was close to Robert and Alison show time, so my plan of going around the venue shouting out names of Zep board posters I knew (Evster, AllisonAdler, etc.) had to be aborted, as I didn't want to miss a second of the show. After the show, we were just kind of in a rush to get out of the vortex of Greek traffic. As for the second night's show...more disaster. Again, I had pit tix, and was going with a friend who was bringing her sister along. Well, it turns out her sister lost her ticket, so I gave her my ticket so they both could see the show together, and I told them I would try to find another ticket from a scalper or somebody. As it was already around 8:45 or so when we got to the Greek, they didn't have much time so I sent them on in, and started looking around for tickets, preferably in the pit area. Well, I didn't find any pit tix, but I managed to score a section A, 6th row for $50 about the time they were just starting "Black Dog" I think. So again, I didn't have any time to scout around for Zep board members...was mostly consumed with the show and checking in with my date and her sister from time to time. Hey, Evster...are you going to the Radiohead shows August 22-23 at the Bowl or the Black Crowes at the Greek September 17? Maybe then we can meet up for drinks.

It is ironic, I suppose, that one of my favourite 4th of July traditions is watching the Wimbledon Championships, Women and Men. Actually was lucky enough to be able to attend Wimbledon in 1983 and 1984. This year's Men's final was simply epic, no make that EPIC! Worthy of mention in the class of the 1980 Borg-McEnroe final. Congrats to both Nadal and Federer for giving us a whopper of a match! It was everything you want in a championship...tough, riveting, back-and-forth, athletic tussle. I was cheering for Federer, but you can't deny that Nadal has stepped up his game on grass...and has closed the gap faster than Federer has closed the gap between them on clay. Now to see how Federer responds to this loss, coupled with the shellacking Nadal gave him in the French Open. I had thought Federer would have won his French Open by now...and that he would win a French title before Nadal would win a Wimbledon. Doubt crept into my mind after this year's French Open...and now I wonder if we aren't witnessing the changing of the guard? Is it now Nadal's time, while Federer gets older and starts to fade? I still think Federer has it in him to win 2 to 4 more Grand Slams, and still pass Pete Sampras as all-time leader. But with Nadal, it seems to be more of a mental thing now...he has to get mentally tougher as Nadal just seemed so much more focused and intense in both the French and Wimbledon finals. No question now, that Federer vs. Nadal is THE rivalry of the moment in tennis...even better, in my opinion, than Sampras-Agassi. Bravo, gentlemen, BRAVO, for a well-played match for the ages.

Now that "Some Enchanted Evening" has been released in a deluxe edition, the answer is easy...it's "SOME ENCHANTED EVENING"! Not only do you get the original double-album restored, but there is bonus dvd footage as well. And while containing most of the early classics that are on "On Your Feet...", you also get the later classics like "Godzilla" and "Don't Fear The Reaper". And while we are on the subject of live BOC, don't forget "Extraterrestrial Live", which was recorded on the "Fire of Unknown Origin" tour of 1981-82. Frankly, all three are great and focus on the three main periods of BOC's career. But if I had to choose just one, it would be "Some Enchanted Evening"...just remember to get the deluxe edition.

Wow, "face fucking"? Were you there TypeO? Are you sure he was getting that deep? Got news for you, us kids were having oral sex years before Clinton and Ms. Lewinsky. It's a healthy alternative to intercourse, and nothing to be ashamed of nor fear...more power to the kids who do it. Most couples who practice oral sex along with straight intercourse have happier sex lives and better orgasms because of it. And I am sure that you and all the other conservatives would have told the truth if that was you on the stand being asked about your sex lives...yeah, right.

For years I've wondered the same thing, Dirigible...where are the good recordings of the Return to the Clubs tour? Sad to say, it appears the Brits were lagging way behind the Americans when it came to recording the Zeppelin. Think about it...there are plenty of classic good sounding boots from early American shows...the Fillmore shows, the LA Forum "Blueberry Hill" show, the 1971 tour, and many others. Then there are the Japanese, who got great boots from the 1971 and 1972 tours. Now let us look at the Brits...just about every boot I have heard from a 1969 Brit show sucks in sound quality and completeness. Then, there is the famous Bath Festival of 1970...150,000 or so people in the crowd...but apparently not one taper of any worth, as the only tapes I've heard from this show sound like crap. And then, the 1971 tour of the clubs, and again...NOTHING! I don't know if it was laziness or incompetence on the Brits part, but it is sad that such an important part of the band's evolution will never be heard because of it.

Hear hear docron! I second that motion!

For chrissakes people, let it go...for the last time, Rainn is NOT dissing Zeppelin, so get off his case already. Is the reading comprehension level among you that poor? Maybe it would help if Trashbag changed the title of this thread, since Rainn never called Zeppelin "girly".

Sadly, it is the paradox of this country, Electrophile...we're simultaneously sex-obsessed and prudish. It is the legacy of the Puritans. Even after 232 years, this country is still in its adolescence...while Europe and other places have matured and view sexuality with an adult perspective, we snigger and giggle like little teenagers and think an exposed penis or tit will bring the downfall of the nation. Slice and dice that tit, however, and it's multiplex fare for the whole family. It is mindboggling how much violence gets a pass as good-old all-american entertainment, while the barest hint of nudity gets you strung up before the FCC.

I too will always have fond memories of the two Page/Black Crowes concerts I saw at the Greek...which I believe were the first ones ever, right? And as much as it was great hearing Ten Years Gone and other Zep classics with all the guitar parts done live for the first time, I got just as much a kick at seeing some of the Black Crowes songs transformed...No Speak No Slave I remember being absolutely MASSIVE with all three guitars screaming in unison! As for Chris' quotes...meh, no biggie...and I'll cut him some slack as it is possible he was drunk and/or out of his mind on substances when he gave this interview, and was just taking the piss.

You know what TypeO? You are right...I totally bollocksed that metaphor. So feel free to disregard anything else in my post. Just as you would seize upon Sunshine's describing Bush as a coke addict to ignore the more important fact that this IS an illegal war. A war waged against a sovereign nation that DID NOT attack us, and had nothing to do with the 9/11 attacks. Similar to how it was alright for conservatives to wage an eight-year witch-hunt to try and find anything, anything no matter how slight or trivial, to tie up Bill Clinton in court proceedings...it's a miracle Bill was able to get anything done with all the hounding being financed by right-wing nutjobs like Richard Mellon Scaife. Impeach a President over a blowjob...but let a President use lies and deceipt to send thousands of American soldiers to their deaths, let alone hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians, along with suspension of habeas corpus and untold other violations of Constitutional law and we're supposed to believe that impeachment proceedings would "harm" the country? Pass the dramamine, I'm woozy.

Lest we forget in all the rush to eulogize Jesse Helms...similar to all the white-washing of Reagan's record in the wake of his death...here's a reminder of what Jesse Helms was about from a 1995 article. What You Need to Know about Jesse Helms By Eric Bates May/June 1995 Issue Jesse Helms sits at the head of the curved rostrum, a faint smile on his lips, listening attentively to testimony about the beleaguered Mexican economy. It is his second hearing as chair of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, and he has been a model of procedure and decorum. He has kept his remarks brief, demurred to the newest members, doled out equal time to Democrats and Republicans, and treated Clinton administration officials with courtesy and perhaps even a touch of deference. Dr. Sidney Weintraub of the Center for Strategic and International Studies has just finished testifying in support of an administration plan to provide Mexico with $40 billion in loan guarantees. Helms, who opposes the aid package, leans forward to question Weintraub. "Would you feel differently," he asks, "if you were informed that the president of Mexico has declared in a press conference yesterday and again this morning that he will accept no conditions on this loan?" The packed hearing room grows still. Helms is renowned for maintaining his own network of sources in Latin America, and for dropping bombshells in committee hearings. Weintraub is guarded. "No conditions of any kind?" Helms nods. "Yes, sir." "If he would accept no conditions," Weintraub concedes, "then I would not support the loan." Helms looks satisfied. "Well, I think that is important." Then he adds, almost as an aside, "I am not saying he has." The room explodes in laughter. "Now wait a minute," Helms says. "The report last night was flat-out, and I have been trying to trace it, and I am told the Associated Press moved it and then pulled it back. I'm not sure about that. I have only a report from the British Broadcasting Corporation, which has various statements made by President Zedillo, and we are attempting to ascertain what the facts are." Something sinister is going on south of the border, Helms seems to suggest, and he is going to get to the bottom of it. Moments later, his aides give reporters the BBC story, which quotes Zedillo as saying he will accept no loan conditions that will "undermine Mexican sovereignty." It is the kind of thing a politician says to allay nationalist fears--not, as Helms implied, an outright refusal to negotiate repayment terms. It is a classic Helms maneuver. The Mexican loan package is complex, but the senator has sidetracked the entire debate by turning a nonfact into a central issue. "No conditions" becomes a refrain throughout the hearing, creating a false impression of Mexican deadbeats trying to get something for nothing from American taxpayers. Weintraub spends the rest of the morning on the defensive, refuting something that no one had any reason to believe was true in the first place. INNUENDO AND DIVERSION After nearly a quarter century in the Senate, Helms understands how a determined minority of one can influence the national agenda. Whether he is suggesting that the commander in chief needs a bodyguard or demanding that Fidel Castro leave Cuba "in a vertical or horizontal position," Helms is well-known for his use of innuendo and diversion. Even the Republican Party treats him as a rogue elephant, powerful yet dangerously erratic. But the recent GOP stampede has given Helms a respected position from which to trumpet his bitter opposition to abortion, gay rights, racial equality, arts funding, and aid to what he calls "foreign rat holes." His agenda is driven by a lifelong opposition to democracy and diversity. In his first months as Foreign Relations chair, Helms called for tougher sanctions against Cuba, accused Haitian President Jean Bertrand Aristide of unleashing "vigilance committees," and moved to gut support for developing nations. On the home front, he introduced a bill to eliminate all affirmative action programs, which he denounced as "reverse discrimination at the hands of ruthless bureaucrats." How did someone so mean-spirited end up in a position to act on his divisive politics? For the most part, Helms wins political battles by keeping the spotlight on the morality plays he stages. To hear conservatives tell it, Helms is a personal friend of Jesus Christ, a populist defender of the little guy, and a bitter opponent of big government. Shifting the spotlight reveals a different Helms. A former bank lobbyist whose fundraising machine has been fined for breaking federal campaign laws, Helms favors a big-spending, activist government--one that aids those in economic power. He voted to bail out the savings and loan industry, for example, and has seldom met a big-ticket missile system he didn't like. By contrast, he has voted to slash school lunches for impoverished children, medical care for disabled veterans, prescription drugs for the elderly, and wages for working families (see "On the record," below). "Looking at the record, people ought to understand that Helms is not representing them on the great majority of issues," says Rep. Melvin Watt, a North Carolina Democrat. "They perceive that he stands up for the little guy, but he really stands up for rich people rather than poor and working-class people." NEGLECTING NORTH CAROLINA James Harrington is one of the little guys. He doesn't vote. At 63, he retired last year from a loading job in Raleigh, N.C., and gets around with the help of a walker. He rents a ramshackle house in a black neighborhood for $250 a month, no heater, no appliances. Helms, he says, is just like any other politician. "They promise you a whole lot, but you can hold what you get from them in a small paper bag." Beecher White votes. She cleans tables and washes dishes at two restaurants. For the past 16 years she has rented a modest house in a predominantly white part of Raleigh: $325 a month, no appliances. She likes Helms because "he is unpopular with liberals. I'm a conservative, so that's fine with me. I'm opposed to homosexual rights and abortion, and in favor of a balanced budget, increased defense spending, and Christian prayer in the schools. Helms is like my granddaddy." Harrington and White are more than a cross section of the North Carolina electorate. Both live in rental units owned by Helms' wife Dorothy. The couple's personal property--including their home and the more than a dozen rental units they own between them--is valued for tax purposes at more than $1.4 million. An investigation by The Independent, a weekly newspaper in Durham, found that the Helmses employ two rental agents to manage their properties--one in low-income black neighborhoods and another in middle-class white areas. Some of the low-income units are in disrepair; Harrington's house has a rusty fuse box, peeling linoleum, missing doors, and a leaky ceiling. If Helms the landlord neglects some of his tenants, Helms the senator fails to provide for many North Carolinians. Only four states receive less per capita in federal funds; only eight have more residents living in poverty. The state currently ranks 42nd in the release of cancer-causing toxins, 43rd in manufacturing wages, and 44th in infant mortality. To obscure his record, Helms relies on a potent combination of money and fear mongering. Since he was first elected to the Senate in 1972, Helms has raised hell, introducing amendments he knows will be defeated simply to force recorded votes. He has also raised money, founding the North Carolina Congressional Club, a political action committee that quickly became the nation's most successful moneymaking machine. The club freed Helms from the restraints operating on most politicians: He no longer needed the party to raise money, and he no longer needed the media to reach voters. But his fundraising edge has never bought Helms a stunning margin of victory. Although he outspent his opponent 30-to-1 in his first bid for re-election, the senator won by only 103,000 votes out of 1.1 million cast. Six years later, when Reagan carried North Carolina with 62 percent of the vote, Helms raised a record $16.5 million and barely edged by with 52 percent. Trailing in the polls to black architect Harvey Gantt two weeks before the 1990 elections, Helms used an infusion of national capital to air a set of overtly racist commercials and squeaked through with only 53 percent. Those narrow victories indicate how sharply Helms polarizes voters. "Right now there are 45 percent of the people going to vote for him if he runs two years from now, and 45 percent going to vote against him," says North Carolina AFL-CIO President Christopher Scott, who has followed Helms' Senate career closely. "He's never won an election by more than 55 percent, and when he's been seriously challenged it's been closer than that. He's been able to artfully use racism and negative character assassination to pull just enough votes over the line to win." Many white North Carolinians are no doubt motivated to vote for Helms because of the almost primal fears he fans. "The principles we're espousing have been around for thousands of years," former aide James Lucier once explained, citing the "prepolitical" themes of God, family, property, and national pride. But some voters are also attracted to Helms by the personal qualities that make him a rarity among politicians. He brings genuine passion and a sense of moral purpose to what he does. He stands on principle and refuses to compromise. He stands by his friends, and he forces opponents to vote on issues they would rather ignore. "Most North Carolinians are not as conservative as Jesse Helms," says Paul Luebke, a state representative and author of Tar Heel Politics. "But by presenting himself as a man of courage, willing to stand up against 'tax-and-spend liberals,' homosexuality, and so forth, Helms commands respect." But respect only goes so far--so the Helms campaign hedges its bets by cheating. In 1986, the Federal Election Commission penalized the North Carolina Congressional Club $10,000 and ordered it to reorganize, saying it had illegally subsidized Helms' 1984 campaign. Last year, a decade after the race, the FEC penalized the Helms for Senate committee $25,000 for accepting $700,000 in illegal contributions. And in 1992, the Helms campaign and the Congressional Club settled a Justice Department complaint over a pre-election mailing of postcards falsely threatening 125,000 black voters with jail if they went to the polls. POLITICS OF SEGREGATION The strategy that helped Republicans sweep to power last November is one that Jesse Helms perfected decades ago. "Jesse Helms understood before anyone else that the proverbial angry white male feels the most aggrieved, and is therefore the most likely to vote," says Larry Sabato, a professor of government at the University of Virginia. "Jesse Helms was an angry white male before most of his compatriots were. He should have been lucky enough to be on the ballot in '94. He would have won easily." Unlike many of his Republican counterparts, Helms has changed little over the past 50 years. Long before Rush Limbaugh, Helms pioneered the use of television to rally public sentiment. While Ronald Reagan was losing primaries to Gerald Ford, Helms mobilized the religious right and built one of the most profitable political fundraising machines ever. And long after die-hard segregationists like George Wallace and Strom Thurmond began courting black voters, Helms fueled white fears by opposing a national holiday in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., whistling "Dixie" while standing next to Senator Carol Moseley-Braun, and supporting apartheid in South Africa. "His racial politics are deeply held convictions, not simply politics of convenience," says Christopher Scott. "He has a view of a fundamentalist Christian society in which everyone is not welcome. If you could pick up the South Africa of 20 years ago and transplant it to America, that's what he would do." Born in Monroe, N.C., in the fall of 1921, Helms grew up in a segregated world not unlike the one of apartheid. He dropped out of college to work full time as a reporter before discovering the two arenas that would shape his career: broadcasting and politics. He learned about radio as a Navy recruiter during World War II and stuck with the emerging medium as news director of a fledgling station in Raleigh. And he was an "unofficial" researcher for conservative Willis Smith, whose 1950 Senate campaign is still considered one of the meanest and most racially divisive in the country's history. (One of Smith's ads featured a doctored photo of the incumbent's wife dancing with a black man. Helms has denied any involvement, but a newspaper advertising manager later told Helms biographer Ernest Furgurson that Helms personally cut up the photos.) Smith won, and Helms was rewarded with a job as staff administrative assistant. In 1953, Helms returned to North Carolina as executive director of the state's banking association, spending the next seven years fighting to enrich his bosses. He won a seat on the Raleigh City Council and, in 1960, took a job as a TV commentator. He spent the decade railing against King, "Negro hoodlums," the media, "sex perverts," and anyone on welfare. As he explained in one of his nightly five-minute broadcasts, "A lot of human beings have been born bums." Since Helms won election to the Senate, no "bums" have felt his rage as fiercely as citizens of poor nations. Over the years, the senator has proposed hundreds of measures to slash foreign aid, overthrow governments he doesn't like, and block administration policies. As the new chair of the Foreign Relations Committee, he has made it clear that his first priority is to enact deeper cuts to a foreign aid budget already slashed nearly 30 percent in the past decade. "The fact is that the American people are sick and tired of this whole foreign aid concept anyhow," Helms said last year. "I find myself wishing that somehow we could put it on a national ballot and say: 'What do you think of this?'" Those cuts will hit hardest in the Third World, where Helms has long been a staunch ally of right-wing military rulers like Augusto Pinochet in Chile, Raoul Cedras in Haiti, and Roberto D'Aubuisson in El Salvador. Confronted with evidence that D'Aubuisson directed death squads to murder civilians, Helms made it clear that some things are more important than human life. "All I know," he replied, "is that D'Aubuisson is a free enterprise man and deeply religious." A SHADOW STATE DEPARTMENT Helms has long maintained an extensive network of contacts in Latin America that serves as a sort of shadow State Department. "For years he had a cadre of young people who were very well-connected," says a committee staff member. "You could have set them down in any South American junta and they would have been right at home." The problem, say those familiar with his network, is that the information it provides is one-sided. "When I bring people to his office to tell him what we've seen, we aren't even allowed in," says Gail Phares, who leads delegations to Central America through Witness for Peace. "I remember when one delegation managed to get in and told his staff what they'd seen and heard in Nicaragua about the contras killing doctors and nurses and children, their response was, 'Well, they're just Communists--they deserve to die.'" Such careless remarks concern the new Republican leadership, but Helms is simply too valuable--and too powerful--to silence. In effect, his unpredictable outbursts serve the GOP by tilting the agenda to the extreme right. "Helms is a wild card," says one former committee staffer. "You never know where he will pop up--and that keeps the opposition guessing." Helms also keeps the media guessing. His staff refused an interview for this article, but Helms recently exhibited his disdain for journalists when a Washington Post reporter asked him what he considered his biggest accomplishment as senator. "Raising the blood pressure of reporters and editors like you so easily and so often," Helms replied. After nearly half a century of outraging his enemies, Helms may need to watch his own blood pressure. At 73, he has been slowed down by prostate cancer and heart surgery, and several staffers say privately that the senator visited the hospital in January complaining of chest pain. Helms has broken with many longtime allies, purging several key staffers and ending his formal ties both to the fundraising machine now called the National Conservative Club and to a spin-off group accused of illegalities by the IRS. Some observers feel that federal scrutiny of his campaign network, along with his failing health, could make Helms vulnerable now that he has indicated he will run for re-election in 1996. But such predictions have been made before, and Helms has overcome the odds. What would Helms do with a fifth term? "If you think he's bad now, wait until you see what he's like if he wins again," says Christopher Scott of the North Carolina AFL-CIO. "The biggest fear people should have is that if Helms is re-elected, he will understand that the next term would almost inevitably be his last. He will feel no constraint--he won't have to worry about political realities. It will be his final chance to shove it to those people he doesn't like." For a list of resources on Jesse Helms, see our resource guide. Eric Bates is investigative editor of Southern Exposure and director of the Investigative Action Fund of the Institute for Southern Studies in Durham, N.C. Research assistance by David Ramm.

DING-DONG! THE WITCH IS DEAD "Ding-dong the Witch is dead Which old Witch? The Wicked Witch! Ding-dong the Wicked Witch is dead Wake up you sleepyhead Rub your eyes, get out of bed Wake up the Wicked Witch is dead She's gone where the goblins go Below - below - below Yo-ho, let's open up and sing and ring the bells out Ding Dong' the merry-oh, sing it high, sing it low Let them know the Wicked Witch is dead" Lyrics by E. Yip Harburg 1939 from "The Wizard of Oz"

JULY 12: SUPERGRASS at the Hollywood Avalon(formerly the Palace...where Dean Martin's tv show was filmed and where he mocked the Rolling Stones when they appeared on his show in 1964). Out of all the Brit bands that flooded the world in the early-mid 90's; Oasis, Blur, Pulp, and a gazillion others, SUPERGRASS was , and is, my favourite...well, after Radiohead that is, but then I never lumped Radiohead in with the Oasis/Blur crowd to begin with. Sharp, short, snappy, witty tunes that rock and roll and make you want to bounce around the room...yet they also have songs that spread out and get trippy and sound good on headphones. So glad they haven't thrown in the towel, as they have never received the acclaim they're due, while Coldplay reap millions.

GRANDADDY

My last run thru Amoeba showed that they had new cds of Zooma and Thunderthief, and used copies of The Sporting Life(w/ Diamanda Galas) and Scream for Help.

I hope he gets together with Dolly Parton next...that will really piss some people off, hehe. And Dolly Parton was practically begging for a chance to sing with Robert and Alison in a recent interview I read...she even did a bluegrass "Stairway" on her "Halos and Horns". C'mon, Robert, do it...Percy and Parton, together at last. And talk about your "golden breast"!

I don't listen to radio much anymore..and generally don't listen to KLOS at all, unless I happen to remember to catch Jim Ladd's show at night if I am home...his wednesday night show "Headsets" can feature some weird amazing shit that you usually won't hear on radio, especially "classic rock" radio. Plus, this past Sunday I was at the American Cinematheque for the U.S. premiere of the documentary on Arthur Lee and Love, "Love Story", which I wasn't missing for any old radio interview. So I missed this one, but from what some of you have said, I didn't miss anything new...which I figured was the case anyway, just more rehashed stuff.

I guess my favourite white sax player is Paul Desmond...or maybe Gerry Mulligan. Never gave it much thought before.

COOL! A My Bloody Valentine story, too! Looks like another stellar issue as usual by Mojo...one question Knebby; what's on the cd? The Sex Pistols issue is still on the newstands here in LA...so I can only go by your scans, but it looks like Jimmy is wearing the same military jacket he wore at the Foo Fighters Wembley gig, right?