The Beat Patrol

Bringing you all the best in music & Beat literature…  

 

“Great things are not accomplished by those who yield to trends and fads and popular opinion.” ~ Jack Kerouac 

Nov. 10, 2009

Hey folks,

It’s been awhile. Hope everyone is doing well. Just went over 200,000 hits on this site and over 2,000 postings, plus about 500 comments have been left on here. Just wanted to say thanks to everyone.
The holiday season is almost upon us and I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving!! 
The Beat Patrol…still going strong…

The Beat Patroller   

July 28, 2009

Hi folks,

I just realized that I completely forgot the fact that last week was the one-year anniversary of this site. It came and went without me taking notice. Anyhow,  I can’t believe a whole year has passed already. And almost 2,000 postings later and several hundred comments that all of you have left here, I just want to say thank you. 
Hope to be here in another year, and I hope to keep finding interesting videos, articles, poems, and personal writings on here over that time.
Take care and enjoy the rest of the summer…

The Beat Patroller  

July 2, 2009

Hi,

A few things. First off, this site just went over 125,000 hits. Amazing. In a couple of weeks it will be our one year anniversary. Definitely went by fast. Thanks to everyone for continuing to stop by. Some postings have done consistently well, like the Jim Morrison posting of his “Wilderness” poems. Some postings haven’t done as well as would have been expected. So ya never know. My philosophy is to throw as much out there and see what sticks. So I’ll continue to put up things that fascinate us for one reason or another.
Sadly, I’ve just been informed that one of my favorite blogsites, The Lump Room, is no more. But the good news is, the person who ran the site and who is a friend of mine has graciously allowed me to start regularly posting her poems on this site. Her nom de plume is Lauri Adverb and one of her poems (“math”) was posted on this site awhile back (check it out). Now she will be contributing stuff to this site whenever she feels so inclined. She’s an amazing young poet who is looking to put out a book of her efforts in the near future. I’m honored to have her work on this site.
Lastly, Independence Day is soon upon us once again. Hope everyone has a safe, happy holiday. Peace.

The Beat Patroller   

May 25, 2009

Hey everyone,

I just wanted to wish you all a Happy Memorial Day! Let us not forget all the men & women who have fought & died for our country over the years, and all the troops fighting right now around the world, whether you support this war or not.
I, personally, want to give thanks to both of my grandfathers who proudly served their country during WWII and risked their lives, and also my father, who was in the military but narrowly escaped being sent to Vietnam. 
Without all the brave soldiers this country has produced, we wouldn’t enjoy the freedoms that we have. Let us never forget that.

The Beat Patroller

April 18, 2009

Hey everyone,

Looks like my site went over 100,000 hits last night. I can’t believe it. I want to thank everyone who has been stopping by the past 9 months and leaving comments. It’s much appreciated. Hope to keep posting more cool items as time goes on. Again, thanks to all of you.

The Beat Patroller

Hey people,

My site went over 75,000 hits today. Thanks for visiting and leaving me comments.  If there are any requests out there, please let me know. I might just put them on here. 
Hope everyone is doing well so far this year, despite the bad economy & such. Anyhow, thanks again.

The Beat Patroller 

Jan. 29, 2009

Hey there,

I hope everyone enjoys the Super Bowl this weekend. Me, being the lifelong Cowboys fan that I am, I certainly have to root against the Steelers (for obvious reasons). Go Kurt Warner!
Also, speaking of the Super Bowl, please check out this article (written by a good friend of mine), which I posted today –  http://beatpatrol.wordpress.com/2009/01/29/joseph-devassy-ballad-of-the-black-field-goal-kicker-2009/

I hope, despite the bad economy and lack of jobs, everyone is having a good new year so far. Peace.  

The Beat Patroller     

Dec. 31, 2008

Happy New Year to everyone!

Let’s hope and pray that 2009 is much better than 2008 was. It’s got to get better – right? Then again, it’s probably inevitable that it will get worse before it starts getting better. That’s just being realistic at the way the economy is going…
I’m in the middle of fighting off a very nasty trojan virus that is wreaking havoc upon my computer (and my life). Might be looking at a complete reformat. Ugghhh…
I hope everyone has a safe & happy New Year!! See ya in 2009…

The Beat Patroller 

Dec. 21, 2008

Hey everyone,

Just went over 50,000 hits on my site, as of last night. Thanks for visiting and leaving comments. I’ll probably be putting some more entires on today, being that I’m snowed in. I truly hate this weather…
Hope you all have a safe & happy holiday season. And let’s pray this coming year is much better for everyone. These are extremely difficult times we are living in, what with the economy in the toilet, the job market in horrible shape, an endless war and us having to bail out all these greedy bigwigs who continue to screw up companies and then expect the taxpayers to come to their rescue (only so they can then make the same mistakes)…but let us not give up hope. Things will get better. It’s gonna take time though. Let’s hope Obama does well… 
Anyhow, enjoy your friends & family during this holiday season. God bless…

The Beat Patroller

Nov. 26, 2008

Hey everybody,

I wanted to wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving. Enjoy the holiday and the following three days off (assuming you don’t have to work on Friday). Stay safe and try not to get into too many family dinner squabbles…

The Beat Patroller 

Nov. 4, 2008

Hey folks,

Don’t forget to get out there today and vote!! Let’s hope this turns out well and the right man gets into office. We cannot afford for the wrong person to win. It should be an interesting day…
Not much else to report. Again, thank you for all the comments over the last few months. Have a great week…

The Beat Patroller

Oct. 21, 2008

Hi folks,

I just wanted to let you know that I realized last night that quite a few of the videos on my site are not playing if you click on them (once). They say they are no longer available. So I am doing some maintenance on the site and found out something…
Most of the time, you only need to click on to a video once for it to start playing. In some instances though, if you just double click on the video, it will take you to the source of the video (in most cases, Youtube), where it will start playing fine (even though it says it’s not availabe on my site). It will bring the video up in another window. I am trying to list which videos you need to double click on. So the point is, if you single click on a video and it says it’s no longer available, try double clicking on it. More than likely it will play, but only on the Youtube site itself. Why it is doing that is beyond me, and I know it’s a pain. Sorry about that.
Also, several videos I had to unfortunately remove because the source video is no longer available (this includes quite a few Elvis videos and King Crimson). If I find another version down the line, I will add it back again. I apologize for this, but it’s completely out of my hands.
If you are having trouble playing any videos on here, please leave me a comment letting me know. Thanks.

The Beat Patroller  

Oct. 6, 2008

Hey everyone,

Just a couple of things. I just went over 25,000 hits on my site a few minutes ago. Pretty cool. 
Also, with about a month to go until election time, don’t forget to register to vote. I’m not the type to tell anyone who to vote for, but I definitely think we need a major change from the way this country has been run the past 8 years. This could be one of the most defining elections in the history of our country.
Anyhow, thanks for visiting. Have a good week.

The Beat Patroller

Sept. 19, 2008

Hey everyone,

As of today, the site has registered over 20.000 hits since July 19th - so in otherwords, exactly two months. This past week saw the total double thanks to another site linking a few postings I had on here. I’m definitely excited about that. 
I’m still trying to find as much interesting stuff as I possibly can. So definitely keep checking in. And keep the comments coming. They are appreciated. 
Have a great weekend everyone.

The Beat Patroller  

Sept. 10, 2008

Hey folks,

I just want to say that sometime while I was sleeping and dreaming up more stuff to put on this site, my total number of hits on here went past the 10,000 mark due to one incredibly popular posting that got linked to another page (Expecting Grain – look for the link under “blogroll”).  
I only started this site less than two months ago and never dreamed it would be doing this well this soon.  I started doing it more for my own enjoyment than anything. Now it just keeps growing.
Anyhow, I just want to thank all those people for checking out my site. Keep the comments coming and keep stopping by. Remember, music is the universal language.

The Beat Patroller  

Sept. 3, 2008

Hey out there,

Just wanted to say that I am up to almost 1,000 postings on this site (over the first month and a half), and have had well over 6,000 hits so far. So thank you to all those who have stopped by to take a look around. I am adding new stuff everyday – live videos, promo clips, poems, music articles, reviews, etc. So hopefully anyone who comes on there will find something to their liking. 
I know some people who have told me they could easily spend a few days on here getting lost. And I know some who come on here pretty regularly. Again, I definitely appreciate it. I do this out of love – not for money (although that would be nice…) – so if I know people are enjoying this site, then it makes it worth it to keep going.
I have over 50 categories (for the items that have the most postings) but if you don’t see what you are looking for and don’t feel like spending 3 hours trying to find it, just type in what you are looking for under “search” – chances are I might have something by that person or artist. And if not, check back every week – I may have just not gotten around to posting something yet. There is really no rhyme or reason to what I have put on here so far – just anything that catches my eye, or any artist that I love and want to turn on to other people out there who may not know of them. Also, I have had a few requests. So if you request something and I myself like it, I will definitely put it on, if I can find it.
Keep the comments coming and keep coming back…

The Beat Patroller

Aug. 26, 2008

Hey folks,

I have recently been adding many reviews & articles by some of my favorite music writers – Lester Bangs, David Fricke, Greil Marcus, Paul Williams, Dave Marsh, etc. They were written over the past 40 years and are some of the most well-written reviews I have read over the years. I have been devouring music magazines like Rolling Stone, Creem, Crawdaddy!, Musician, Circus and Hit Parader since I was about 13 years old. I think these guys are the best at what they do. And even on occasion, when I haven’t agreed with them on a particular artist or album, I still have always respected their thoughts on the subject. They are writers who truly love music and have always approached the art form with respect and integrity. Whenever I have written about music, I have tried to approach it with the same respect and passion.
I hope that none of these writers (or their estates) will mind me reprinting some of their old articles. These writings deserve to be read again – not hidden away in old magazine issues in dusty attics. 
I have also included two categories devoted to psychedelic and 60s-styled garage rock music. Many well-known, as well as extremely obscure bands, who made some great recordings way back when. So we turn the time machine as far back as 1965. Enjoy!
I will also soon be adding categories on Jazz (bebop, fusion, etc) and electronica (techno, drum & bass, jungle, etc).  All of these will be audio only. Be on the lookout.

The Beat Patroller           

Aug. 17, 2008

Hi everyone,

Yesterday, as some of you may know, was the 31st anniversary of the passing of Elvis Presley. Elvis was probably the first singer I started listening to (around the age of 6 or 7). His greatest hits album Elvis’ Golden Records was what caused me to become a lifelong fan of his. Anyhow, may his music live on forever.
Please be sure to check out some of my videos and writings on the man. I will also be including some new video material on the site in the days to come.
Also, thanks to my friend Joe (who is half Indian), I was informed that the other day was the 61st anniversary of the day India won their independence from England, due to the tireless efforts of the great Mahatma Gandhi. I have included some pieces of music by master sitar player Ravi Shankar in tribute to that hard-won independence. India has a long, rich culture of music and I encourage everyone out there to check it out.

The Beat Patroller    

Aug. 8, 2008

Fellow music lovers,

I have decided to start another new category, this time devoted to Jamaican music from the last 45 years – ska, rocksteady, reggae, dub, etc. It will be similar to my funk category (see below). Studio-only recordings – some classics, as well as some obscurities. And again, audio only.
For all of you who are unfamiliar with ska and rocksteady, they are antecedents of reggae. There are music historians who could explain the styles far better than I could but the basic idea is that ska was the first popular Jamaican music. It was big in the early to mid-60s and synthesized American R&B, jump blues, Jamaican mento, calypso and other Caribbean styles and big-band swing. Of those, the first three — R&B, jump blues, and mento — were the most important building blocks. It was a fast, rhythmic style of music – lots of trombones & trumpets, set to a punchy beat. Prince Buster and the Skatalites were two of its biggest stars. In England, it was also known as bluebeat because many of the early ska singles came out on the Blue Beat record label.  
Ska’s popularity declined in 1966, when the slower, cooler rocksteady style found favor with younger listeners during the particularly hot summer. In its simplest terms, rocksteady is half-speed ska with the trombone replaced by piano and prominent bass. The lyrics are more socially and politically conscious, and there is a greater focus on harmonies. Rocksteady then mutated into reggae around 1968. Musically, bass patterns became more complex and increasingly dominated the arrangements and the piano gave way to the electric organ in the mix. Other developments included horns fading farther into the background; a scratchier, more percussive rhythm guitar; the addition of African-style hand drumming, and a more precise and intricate drumming style. Also, the lyrics began reflecting more Rastafarian religous beliefs.
Reggae has many off-shoots: roots, dancehall, lovers rock, nyahbinghi and dub, which is a form of music which evolved out of reggae in the late 1960s. The dub sound consists predominantly of instrumental remixes of existing recordings and is achieved by significantly manipulating and reshaping the recordings, usually by removing the vocals from an existing music piece, emphasizing the drum and bass frequencies or ‘riddim’, adding extensive echo and reverb effects, and dubbing occasional snippets of lyrics from the original version.
I plan on including many songs from all of these styles in the upcoming months. Enjoy.

The Beat Patroller  

Aug. 5, 2008

Hey fellow beat travellers,

I have decided to start a whole new category on here, that will be devoted solely to 70s funk music (with some other decades thrown in). It will be the original studio recordings and be audio-only (any live videos will just appear under the main “music video” category) and will consist of mostly obscure treasures. I’m finding a world of unknown gems out there & want to share them with you. Let me know if you have any requests or if you find something you want to share with me.
For all of you who are not familiar with the style, funk was indeed the rawest, most primal form of R&B, surpassing even Southern soul in terms of earthiness. It was also the least structured, often stretching out into extended jams, and the most Africanized, built on dynamic, highly syncopated polyrhythms. The groove was the most important musical element of funk — all the instruments of the ensemble played off of one another to create it, and worked it over and over. Deep electric bass lines often served as main riffs, with an interlocking web of short, scratchy guitar chords and blaring horns over the top. James Brown has been considered the man who basically invented and popularized the form in the late 60s.
By the mid-70s, funk started to get watered down into disco music (with strings added) - but it still continues to be a popular form to this day.
There is so much great funk that exists out there, that has yet to be discovered. Can you dig it?

The Beat Patroller

July 31, 2008

Hey folks,

I have recently added tons of video content to my site. Beat-related, music-related, etc. I plan on adding more in the days to come. I am trying to organize it in a way that will be easily accessible for everyone (the artists, poets & singers that have multiple videos on here, I have put them under their own subcategories for easier access). If you randomly browse through the site though, you will find many different types of music videos (rock, jazz, r’n'b, avant-garde, etc). I am a musical connoisseur & will listen to just about anything (there are only 2 kinds of music – good and bad). This site is for those of you out there who are of like mind.  If you have any suggestions or if you find any errors, please let me know. Thanks for browsing.   

The Beat Patroller

July 18, 2008

Hi folks,

I am new to WordPress. I am just getting into the exciting world of web design and I intend on using this blog site to mostly discuss music and literature, but also politics and any other number of topics that should strike my particular fancy, as well as a place to “publish” my poetry. I plan on adding new posts, pictures, video content, etc as I go along.
I am and always have been a “music freak.” I am interested in every type of music from just about any decade (rock, jazz, blues, soul, reggae, etc). I own several thousand albums and have about 14,000 songs downloaded in my music library. I pride myself on knowing every useless trivial fact about hundreds of artists & groups. If you have any musical trivia questions that need answering, I would be glad to be of service. I might as well put this “knowledge” to use. As well as music, I have also had a serious interest in all types of Beat literature over the years. Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, William S. Burroughs, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, etc.  I encourage anyone out there to explore the world of the Beats.   
Also, I am interested in possibly pursuing a career in web design (still in the learning stage), so please let me know if you have any suggestions on enhancing this site. I am sure someday I will look back on this simple effort and laugh. But we all have to start somewhere.
Thanks for visiting,

The Beat Patroller

NOTE: I make no money off of this site – it is purely for the love of it.