Month: May 2026

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Released 51 Years Ago Today

Sir Elton must be feeling old…as am I.

Elton John: Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy (1975)

This was probably the most-anticipated release of my youth, and has remained my all time favorite EJ album my entire life. The entire recording is pure genius from beginning to end. My favorite song from the album, Better Off Dead, is posted above.

Produced by Gus Dudgeon, it was recorded at the Caribou Ranch in Nederland, CO from June – July 1974. After the successful Caribou album, the prolific musician returned to the Caribou Ranch recording studio in the Colorado Rockies to record his next release. The concept album is an autobiographical account of Elton John and Bernie Taupin and the struggles they faced at the beginning of their musical careers. The single Someone Saved My Life Tonight, is about John’s half-hearted suicide attempt while he was engaged to a woman, faced with choosing her over his musical career (and still struggling with his sexual orientation at the time). His friend and former band mate Long John Baldry convinced him to break off the engagement (whom John’s refers to in the song as “Sugar Bear”). The album also marks the last time that John recorded with drummer Nigel Olsson and bassist Dee Murray until the Too Low For Zero album in 1983. Captain Fantastic makes history when it becomes the first album to ever enter the Billboard Top 200 at number one. For the original LP release, a limited number of promotional copies are pressed on translucent brown vinyl, with each album jacket autographed by Elton John and Bernie Taupin. The album is remastered and reissued on CD in 1995 with the stand alone singles Philadelphia Freedom, Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds, and Elton’s cover of the John Lennon penned One Day A Time (B-side of Lucy), added as bonus tracks. Out of print on vinyl since 1989, the album is remastered and reissued in 2017. Captain Fantastic And The Brown Dirt Cowboy spent seven weeks (non-consecutive) at number one on the Billboard Top 200, and is certified 3x Platinum in the US by the RIAA.

The album was released on pretty much every format available, but there is one vinyl pressing that is rarer than rare: a brown vinyl edition that was limited to 2000 units, signed by both Elton and Bernie. Currently there is one—ONE—listing on Discogs, and it’s going for $2500 Australian.

 

And here I thought the pink vinyl version of Madonna’s Bedtime Stories, or the multi-disc, multi-color vinyl version of Pet Shop Boys’ Relentless was ridiculously expensive and forever out-of-reach!

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#Accurate

Donald Trump returned from China on May 15th claiming strength, dominance, and another “historic success,” but the reality looked far different to much of the world watching. What unfolded during the visit often appeared less like a display of American power and more like a carefully managed spectacle orchestrated entirely on China’s terms.

Chinese President Xi Jinping is known for discipline, control, and strategic patience. Trump, by contrast, frequently appeared impulsive, distracted, and overly eager for praise and optics. While Chinese state media projected calm authority and national confidence, Trump spent much of the trip creating headlines centered on himself rather than meaningful diplomatic achievements.

For critics, the visit reinforced a growing perception that Trump walks into high-stakes international situations believing theatrics can replace preparation and substance. The awkward moments, exaggerated praise, and constant need for attention only fueled the image of a leader more focused on performance than policy.

Meanwhile, China gained exactly what it wanted: powerful visuals, global exposure, and the appearance of stability and control beside an American president many already view as chaotic and unpredictable.

Whether supporters admit it or not, the trip did little to project strength for the United States. To many observers around the world, it looked like Donald Trump had wandered into a geopolitical chess match while still believing he was starring in reality television.

[source]

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We All Remember Our First

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This is the device I spent many a summer afternoon listening to Miami Sound Machine on—not the one in my photo the other day. That was my second portable, and as near as I can remember, I didn’t get that one until after I’d moved to San Francisco—although I have no memory of where or when exactly I acquired it. Getting old sucks.

(As cringeworthy to read as they are now, I’m so glad I kept journals of my adventures in The City from 1987 thru 2001. It’s almost as if I knew at the time at some point they’d be the only way for me to verify when shit happened.)

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Good Humans

I have no idea if this is a true story or not, but I would very much like to believe it is. And if it is, we need a whole lot more of this in the world right now.

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Oh Look, It CAN Be Done

Oh look, it can be done!

I wonder how many jobs this created?

I wonder how much money this will save South Korea?

Meanwhile the US is gonna dig some more coal.

Xi Jinping was right. The United States is a country in decline.

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A Day Late…

From Tengrain:

A rendering of the Epstein Ballsroom.

…and a billion Ameros short:

“The Senate’s parliamentarian has found that $1 billion in federal funding related to President Trump’s White House ballroom is subject to a 60-vote threshold in the Senate rather than a simple majority, throwing into question whether Republicans will be able to fast-track a vote for the project.”

“Republican leaders on Capitol Hill had included the Trump administration’s $1 billion request for security-related upgrades tied to the ballroom in a $70 billion package to fund U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol for three years. Senate Republicans have been waiting for the parliamentarian to clear the entire bill before holding a vote this coming week.”

I doubt that Senate Democrats —except for you-know-who— will vote for the Epstein ballsroom (or for ICE for that matter), so this is kinda dead, barring any additional eff’ery from Republicans.