3 Chords & the Truth: Life is a cabaret, old chum

What good is sitting alone in your room?

Come hear the music play
The Big Show's a cabaret, old chum

Come to the cabaret

(Boots clicking on the pavement en masse. . . .)

Put down the knitting, the book and the broom
It's time for a holiday
Life is a cabaret, old chum
Come to the cabaret

Come taste the wine
Come hear the band
Come blow your horn, start celebrating
Right this way, 3 Chords & the Truth's waiting

What good's permitting some prophet of doom
To wipe every smile away?

(Voice on the PA speaker at the political rally down the street
rails against scum, vermin, the enemy within. . . . )

The Big Show's a cabaret, old chum
So come to the cabaret. . . .

It's 3 Chords & the Truth, y'all. Be there. While you can. Aloha.

3 Chords & the Truth: A beastly affair

Here's a truth bomb for you: I've kinda been dreading this show, No. 666.

Six hundred sixty-six. 666. Mark of the Beast. That's some seriously bad juju.

When you enter this neighborhood, you don't know what will happen. You do know it will not be good.

While the music on this portentous edition of 3 Chords & the Truth is just as exceptional as ever, it did not take long for the god of hellfire to show his sulfurous self. That's bad.

AS IT TURNS OUT, 6-6-6 is not the only way to spell "mark of the beast." God preserve us.

Listen and learn, my friends. Listen and learn. Do not let this happen to you, especially on Nov. 5.

Like I was telling you, the music this week on the Big Show is great -- really, really great. But I must tell you that you're going to have to endure some things to get there. I would suggest you arm yourself with some garlic, some holy water, a crucifix . . . and perhaps a Kamala Harris yard sign.

Yeah, it's going to be a bumpy ride.

Thou hast been warned. Hold thy soul, and thy family, close to thy heart. The Enemy lurketh, seeking the destruction of souls . . . and nations.

It's 3 Chords & the Truth, y'all. Be there. Aloha.

3 Chords & the Truth: How did we get here?

Dear, there's never anything on the television, just Donald Trump saying crazy things and doing his best Adolf Hitler impersonation.

Let's listen to 3 Chords & the Truth instead.

I am so old, I remember Godwin's Law -- if you resort to calling someone a Nazi on the Internet, you lose the argument. I miss those days. I miss the days when not only weren't there that many Nazis on the Internet, but there wasn't one of the two major candidates for president holding Nuremberg for Dummies rallies from sea to shining sea.

How in the hell did we get here?

Why in the hell do I feel compelled to bring this up on a show -- on 3 Chords & the Truth, where the focus ought to be fun and great music, both without limit or limitations? It's because regardless of how the hell we got here, we got here nevertheless.

In other words, if you like the Big Show, listen while you can. I wish I were kidding. I am not.

The Big Show always and everywhere is greater than the Big Lie, but it is not assured that the Big Lie won't prevail, with all that it portends for the future of this country. How this all turns out is entirely up to you. Vote.

In the meantime, enjoy the music -- it's fabulous -- and the much needed distraction.

It's 3 Chords & the Truth, y'all. Be there. Aloha.

3 Chords & the Truth: The art of sound

Welcome to the art of sound, which today especially trumps the insanity of American politics.

Crap. There’s that word again — trump. Or, in our case, Trump.

Donald Trump is the boil on our collective arse that resists all treatment. And now he’s up on federal espionnage and obstruction charges. Cue the flying monkeys hooting, whining and threatening revenge and civil war.

Music is art, but it also can be a balm in these troubled times. 3 Chords & the Truth, overwhelmingly comprised of music, alas, can soothe our collective angst . . . I think. At any rate, it’s all I got, so it had better.

It seems to me that the art of sound resides within the music, but not only that. The art of sound also encompasses how we use the music, how we present the music.

Yes, it’s the Big Show. But I also hope it’s, in some way, art. And I hope it’s something of a balm.

I mean, like I said, it’s all I got.

This week on the program, we’ve got a progression of music going, so to speak. You’re going on a journey — a pleasant one, I trust.

And the farther we go on our musical journey, I’m hopeful the farther it takes us — even if it’s just for a while — from the insanity and ugliness of this present American political dystopia. One does what one can.

This show is what I can do.

Enjoy.

It’s 3 Chords & the Truth, y’all. Be there. Aloha.

3 Chords & the Truth: Jonesin' in the years

Sometimes, progress looks like going from Butch Wax to Brylcreem. Unless, of course, you live in a Vitalis household.

The above sentence makes sense to me. Therefore, I am (Generation) Jonesin' in the years. Stowin' away the time.

This means I remember when vintage was new. When classic rock was AOR. Which was not MOR. All of which ends up on 3 Chords & the Truth, by the way.

This last sentence also makes sense to me. Authenticity -- you can't fake it. It also helps you avoid sepia-colored cliches. A little dab'll do ya.

I KNOW. I'm rambling. It happens at my age. But sometimes you ramble into a lot of good stuff, just like we do on the Big Show.

I guess that's just the way we midcentury old farts do things.

So . . . yeah.

Groovy.

It's 3 Chords & the Truth, y'all. Be there. Aloha.

3 Chords & the Truth: Tick tock

Let's do the time warp again.

This week on 3 Chords & the Truth, we turn back the clock a little more than usual. To the Old Days. But not much.

Still, the Big Show is a real sentimental journey.

So, looming over the whole thing is the clock up on the wall . . . running backward. If you have any complaints about that, please direct them to PA 6-5000. Ask for Flat Foot Floogie.

It's a floy floy, Daddio.

As usual, though, it's gonna be a real trip. A journey to unexpected places. Just don't get nervous on the road -- it's going to be all right. You might even learn something. Or not. That's entirely up to you.

Also, I am pleased to announce that everything is in full-fidelity stereo. Except when it's not.

And if all this is somewhat confusing to you, then you don't know me. But that will change as days go by if you keep listening. There's a lot on the website to help you get up to speed with all the eclectic wonderfulness of this here endeavor.

So, there's only one thing left to say here.

It's 3 Chords & the Truth, y'all. Be there. Aloha.

3 Chords & the Truth: We will do what we must

There’s something you must know — we will do what we must.

To ensure your enjoyment of 3 Chords & the Truth.

That may or may not involve cranial implants.

The choice is yours.

To give you a bit of information that will inform your ultimate choice, you should be aware that the Big Show is good. Very good.

Good music, good sequencing, even a unifying theme here and there.

Host has been deemed minimally acceptable by his wife.

Overall, listeners have given it six out of five stars.

Of course, the program may not be to your taste. That’s a legitimate stance.

That also is where the cranial implants come in. Just so you know.

It’s 3 Chords & the Truth, y’all. Be there. Aloha.

3 Chords & the Truth: Tempus fugits at Christmastime

It's Christmas season once again, and another year that has slipped through our grasping fingers.

Because it's the holidays, we do the festive thing. Because it's another year that has passed by, leaving us -- yet again -- wondering where time has gone while our attention was elsewhere, we also think of all that was, yet is no more.

On 3 Chords & the Truth this week, we're doing a bit of the ho-ho-holidays. Behind the musical scenes, I'm wondering how six-plus decades could pass so quickly. So much I thought would be forever when I was young isn't anymore.

TAKE THE Dalton Theater in North Baton Rouge. It was a little neighborhood movie house we'd always drive by whenever we went to see my Uncle August. A middling landmark of my Louisiana youth, it was, standing there at Dalton Street and North Acadian Thruway.

First it closed sometime in the1970s, then it decayed. Then the city condemned it. Then, in 2000, the city tore it down. The progression of Uncle August -- who died, age 65, of cancer in 1982 -- was not dissimilar.

I think of that stuff at Christmastime. My parents' generation of the family is all gone. So are a lot of the things and places I grew up with. We shall not go there this week on the Big Show. I suspect you, if you're of a certain age, don't need my help in that regard this time of year.

It's there, lurking, in the corners of our minds. It stares back at you in the bathroom mirror every morning. C'est la vie.

Street View, Google Maps

No, this week, 3 Chords & the Truth, as always, is about the music -- pop, rock, big band, jazz, soul, standards, easy listening, country and all the rest. It's all mashed up in the food-for-the-soul processor of the mind and spit back out onto the Internet in sets that make musical sense. Well, I think they make musical sense; such is freeform radio, even when it's in cyberspace.

If my thoughts turn melancholy when the bitter wind sweeps across the Plains and the mercury digs a hole for itself, the Big Show does what it always does. It entertains and, one hopes, enlightens a bit. That doesn't change, even though everything else does.

Even though everybody else does . . . and you, too.

That's where we are as Christmas 2022 draws nigh after two previous, warped COVID Christmases removed so many things -- and people -- from the here and now and tossed them unceremoniously into the once was.

There's so much that, in Louisiana-speak, ain't dere no more. But the thing is this; the music always will be. Dance while you can, because the tempus is fugiting, and its run at the Dalton has been extended indefinitely.

It's 3 Chords & the Truth, y'all. Be there. Aloha.

3 Chords & the Truth: Now and then . . . mostly then

Submitted for your approval, the curious story of Betty, who, unknown to her, now resides somewhere between past and present, between 1954 and 2022.

Between suburban Omaha sometime during the Happy Days and . . . the Twilight Zone.

Ostensibly, this is an ordinary day. Betty thinks she is having an ordinary phone chat with her best friend, Marge. But this is no ordinary telephone call, and hers is no ordinary telephone.

Unbeknownst to her, Betty’s is a special telephone. And she has called not to Happy Hollow just across town. She has dialed 68 years into the past . . . and Marge, unfortunately, still resides firmly in 1954.

LET'S LISTEN IN on Betty’s unwitting long-distance call, a long-distance call like no other.

“Hello, Marge? You won’t believe what I just heard! It’s this freeform music podcast called 3 Chords & the Truth, and it’s fabulous!

“What’s that, Marge? Yes, a freeform music podcast. FREE . . . form. That means freewheeling, I think. Without a set format. Format. You know, like the structure and content of something.

“Yes, Marge. What? What’s a podcast?

“It’s an online program you can download and listen to anytime. Download. Off the Internet and onto your smartphone . . . or computer or tablet.

“No, Marge. No, I haven’t had a stroke or a nervous breakdown.

“No, dear. I assure you I’m making perfect sense. No, the Internet is not some kind of a communist organization. Yes, I’m here at home. Why do you ask?

“Surely there must be some reason you wanted to make sure that I’m at home right now.

“No. No, I don’t need help. Why on earth do you think I need help?

“What? Who exactly do you need to get off the line to call?

“No, I am telling you that I am fine. I do NOT need help. I happen to be making perfect sense, dear.

“I am telling you, Marge, that I am NOT a communist and that I am NOT having a stro . . . hello? HELLO??? Marge?”

BETTY DOES NOT know that in 25 minutes — or, perhaps, 68 years and 25 minutes ago — two white-clad men will arrive at her tidy, tastefully appointed home. They will come to take her to . . . the Electroshock-Therapy Zone.

They will not notice the futuristic little device plugged into her new hi-fi console. The device is the size of a Big Chief tablet, but it contains no ruled paper. It’s an iPad, and it belongs not to the world of 1954, but instead to ours.

It is the world of tomorrow — the world of the Big Show. We know it as . . . today.

It’s 3 Chords & the Truth, y’all. Be there. Aloha.

3 Chords & the Truth: Out there

way back there then,

it was a hell of a thing

to see the poetry of e.e. cummings

who wrote

but did not capitalize.

bt thn smbdy invntd txting.

this week on 3 Chords & the Truth, we're exploring musical innovation, thinking outside the clichéd and metaphorical box, and how that just -- eventually -- became . . . music.

by the way, my shift key is feeling unappreciated right now. it's just going to have to take two Theramin and call me in the morning. but speaking of the Theramin, that's where electronic music started, and we've been coloring outside the conventional lines ever since.

kind of. well, at least the innovators have, and all innovation eventually becomes conventional, and then somebody else has to get farther out, man.

and still farther out, man.

f*** me, this is freeing, this typing with no caps. or few caps. whatever, man. watch out punctuation you're next

lol

i think you're getting an idea of the thrust of this week's edition of the Big Show. it's gonna be out there. maaaaaaaan.

it's also gonna be a hell of a ride and a hell of a lot of fun. which is kinda what we do here.

so, let's hear it for the innovators and the musical freethinkers. better yet, let's just hear them.

right here.

on this here program.

it's 3 Chords & the Truth, y'all.  be there. aloha.

3 Chords & the Truth: This + That = Awesome

You take some of this, add a little of that, stir well, and you end up with some kind of wonderful.

That's the genius of 3 Chords & the Truth.

This edition of said program is as good an example of that simple recipe as anything. And it's something that hasn't sounded so good since a long-haired DJ let the spirit move him -- or her -- on the FM radio before the Gods of Homogeneity killed everything with their moneygrubbing wrath.

IF YOU'RE HERE, and if you're of a certain age, you know what I mean. If you're not of a certain age, welcome to freeform radio.

Now, this week's Big Show is all about the some of this and a little of that, including a 78 RPM rarity, one of the last performances of Maj. Glenn Miller's Army Air Forces Overseas Orchestra, which just might be the most astoundingly good big band ever assembled. At 50 pieces, it was a regular swing symphony.

The original 78, circa February 1946, was pretty scratchy and noisy, but the magic of modern computer technology here in the studio cleaned it up as best as possible without scrubbing it so much that it just sounded lifeless. 

There are also a lot of other gems in the lineup this go 'round, and you'd be quite edified if you stuck around to hear them all. He says humbly. 

It's 3 Chords & the Truth, y'all. Be there. Aloha.

3 Chords & the Truth: Bad tidings, good tunes

Methinks I have come to be the bearer of bad tidings and good music. 

It's a hell of a thing to live in America today and be constitutionally unable to avert one's gaze from the sh*tshow, where crazy is the new normal. Welcome to my life. 

Welcome to 3 Chords & the Truth. Fortunately, you get some really good tunes along with the failure to avert one's gaze. 

COULD IT be that we're a clandestine voice of the resistance, broadcasting from deep in occupied, red-state territory? Yeah, it could. Go figure. Some days here in Omaha, by God, Nebraska, it feels like the führer is running things, and the only active resistance is from the nutters who think Herr Ricketts is being soft on humanity. 

And the anti-sh*tshow people are waiting for the American invasion to come. 

What? Well, hell.

We interrupt this program for an urgent message for Amtrak Joe: The red fox chases the blue bunny. The red fox chases the blue bunny. 

And now on with the music on the Big Show. It's extra good to counteract the extra bad times. 

Which is exactly what you'd expect from the rebel radio. 

It's 3 Chords & the Truth, y'all. Be there. Aloha.

3 Chords & the Truth: Truth from Your Radio Friend

Well, this edition of 3 Chords & the Truth certainly lives up to its name.

We have a minimum of three chords, and we also have some cold, hard truth . . . from Your Radio Friend. It should be quite a ride.

The truth covers what has been going on in these Disunited States of America and where that's likely to lead us. That will not be a good place -- at all. 

Can you say fascist hellhole? I knew that you could.

And we also have a lot of great music, some of which might touch your heart and make you think. Some of it will be good fun. Some of it will be all of the above. 

That said . . . that's about all that's to be said about this go-round of the Big Show. 

So, sit back, turn on your favorite streaming device -- one preferably hooked up to a nice stereo system -- and get in touch with all kinds of stuff on 3 Chords & the Truth. 

It's hip, it's happening, and it's now, y'all. Be there. Aloha.

3 Chords & the Truth: Deviants all

The only thing that can stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a . . . well, shit. 

America, America, God took thy brains from thee. Don't get me started on your soul. 

That, sadly, is where we seem to be as a nation as we somewhat reluctantly offer up another episode of 3 Chords & the Truth. If it's not one thing, it's another.

And sometimes, it's everything at once. Well, shit.

You will have to forgive your Mighty Favog this week for a program done amid a haze of depression and, frankly, not-so-suppressed rage. Because this shit never ends.

We keep doing the same thing -- which is not doing anything -- and expecting different results. Well, the bodies keep piling up. Republicans seem to be good with that.

I am not. Maybe you aren't, either. I don't know. 

And that's where we are for this go-round of the Big Show. I may have more to say about that -- give it a listen. There's some damned fine music, too.

 It's 3 Chords & the Truth, y'all.  Be there. Aloha.

3 Chords & the Truth: Illegal in seven states

This edition of 3 Chords & the Truth is illegal in Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Iowa, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, and Tennessee. Listen at your own risk.

Legal notices aside, it's a damn fine show this week. Lots of great music -- as always.  

Plus, you'll learn things and hear songs you had no idea about. About which you had no idea? Damn you, awkward yet correct grammar! 

Well, this show must be special; I've already used the word "damn" twice. Damn! 

Three times. 

I'd better wrap this up and let you get to the Big Show before I get banned in a couple more states. Given Tuesday's primary results in Nebraska, I may even get banned here. too. 

Uh, yeah. 

It's 3 Chords & the Truth, y'all. Be there. Aloha.

3 Chords & the Truth: Legitimate musical discourse

Classic form. Classic sound. Now, pass me some heavy weaponry and a couple of clips. 

We're gonna have us some legitimate musical discourse. 

NOTE: We have ways of making you like this episode of 3 Chords & the Truth.

Uhhhh . . . we're all patriots here, right? 

As usual, the musical mix here on the Big Show runs from soup to nuts. and there is a high degree of confidence that you will love the program this week. Right? 

I said . . . riiiight? Excellent.

See, discourse is good. 

Yeah, it's a great show. The best show. You wouldn't believe how good the show is this week. 

It is some serious musical discourse. Or else. 

As a matter of fact, I have a peaceful, easy feeling about the whole shootin' match. 

NOTE: No Mike Pences were hanged during the course of the Big Show. 

It's 3 Chords & the Truth, y'all. Be there. Aloha. 

3 Chords & the Truth: The long and shorts of it

Uhhhhhhhhhhhhh . . . yeah.

I've been known to not wear pants -- and for all you know, I'm not wearing pants now -- but you don't need to see that. This is why some of us are in radio. 

Well, this is another edition of 3 Chords & the Truth, and it's as good as usual.

And, as per the norm, the river of sound runs broad and deep. I guess that's one reason why it's called the Big Show. After all, we have more than 30,000 songs to pick from, and the music library grows by the week.

For true. 

It's 3 Chords & the Truth, y'all. Be there. Aloha.

3 Chords & the Truth: That old feeling

The internet is out. Again. So, I'll be brief here on the cell connection.

This week's edition of 3 Chords & the Truth takes a musical journey spanning almost a century and covering the gamut of style and content. In other words, not that big a departure from what we do every week.

And, boy, is it good. 

WHICH, again, is no departure at all from the usual here on the Big Show.

For example, the program features . . . nah, I'm not going to tell you. That would just completely remove the mystery from your listening experience. 

And, after all, what's the fun if you really and truly know what's coming next? That's our trademark. 

Well, the missus informs me the Internet is back on. Bully for Cox, he says sarcastically. Now, I'd better wrap this up before the damn thing goes out. Again. 

It's 3 Chords & the Truth, y'all. Be there. Aloha.

3 Chords & the Truth: 'Twas the night before COVID . . .

'Twas the night before omicron, and all through the house,

Not a body was sleeping, not even the mouse. . . .

That's because who's sleeping these days? On this, our second pandemic Christmas.

SUCH IS WHERE we find ourselves these days, and we're making do as best as we can . . . without ending up sick and quarantined, or sick and in the hospital, or sick and. . . . Well, you know.

Still, the show must go on, and for your listening enjoyment, your Mighty Favog presents the big 3 Chords & the Truth Christmas-music extravaganza -- 2 hours and 42 minutes of as much yuletide cheer as we can muster. Alas.

I would say more, but this year's sponsor for the Big Show blowout doesn't want me to step on the corporate message. And that, I must respect.

So I will take my literary leave -- allowing you to start your holiday listening -- with a simple message: Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night. See you in '22.

It's 3 Chords & the Truth, y'all. Be there. Alo-ho-ho-ho-ha.

3 Chords & the Truth: Geeking out

Are you unpoopular? Do you pop out at parties, Poindexter?

Well, fret not -- 3 Chords & the Truth is here!

It will cure what ails you, because what ails you isn't an ailment. 

The ailment is all the Alpha Betas out there, who must be put in their place. Because Alpha Betas suck.

And while we're doing that on the Big Show this week, we'll also have the merriest, the wildest and the most happenin' holiday selections as part of the winning musical mix. It's another great program, and you're cordially invited to attend.

But not the Alpha Betas. Or the Omegas, for that matter.

It's 3 Chords & the Truth, y'all. Be there. Aloha.