Finding Tupelo in Athens, GA

Matt signals that Wuxtry Records in Athens passes the "Tupelo Test."

Captain Tupelo is of course as everyone knows, "The World's Greatest Junkie Superhero." and forgotten Punk Rock legend.

"The Streets of Charleston-A QM Production"

These shots look to me like scenes from one of those cop shows I used to love as a kid in the '70s. Let's call this one "Smokey and DeGennaro" and we'll say it's about two cops from up north. The big guy, Smokey, is an easy going, laid back, by-the-book detective and Degennaro is a streetwise vice cop who isn't afraid to bust a few heads. They are on special assignment from the NYPD, "on loan" to the Charleston, South Carolina police force. Think "McCloud" meets "My Cousin Vinny."

This episode finds them on the trail of some redneck gun runners who have teamed up with the Irish Mafia. The gang sends cheap, saturday night specials up north and brings shipments of "extacy" pills back down south hidden inside kegs of Guinness. Thanks to some creative "good cop-bad cop" routines our heroes convince some sorry stoolies to give up the location of the gang's hideout. But things go badly and Smokey buys the farm when they are ambushed in a set up. Later he's laid to rest in the ancient burial ground and in the closing scene DeGennaro vows to bring the culprits to justice.

Next episode we find out Smokey is OK thanks to a bullet-proof vest. The funeral was staged to fake out the bad guys. The show gets cancelled after only half a season but a spin-off about Smokey's little brother "Babajayjay" who is a yoga instructor turned turned private eye runs for two more years.

Down South Jukin'

Joana was pregnant so we made a lot of pit stops on the Skyline Drive as we headed down to Athens, GA to visit another of my friends who has fled The Elm City. I figured he'd have six months of southern hospitality before he headed back to the Northeast, the only home he'd ever known. That was Fall of 2004 and no sign of a return yet, I shouldn't be surprised when love is involved. I guess a double-wide out in the sticks is as good an environment to write as any. I'm sure there are less distractions than there were on Nicoll Street with me and everyone else perpetually dropping in to hang out.