The 500 - #124 - Moby Grape - Moby Grape

I was inspired by a podcast called The 500 hosted by New York-based comedian Josh Adam Meyers. His goal, and mine, is to explore Rolling Stone Magazine's 2012 edition of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.

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Album: #124
Album Title: Self-Titled Debut
Artist: Moby Grape
Genre: Psychedelic Rock, Power Pop, Country Rock
Recorded: CBC Studios, Hollywood, California

Released: June, 1967

My age at release: 1
How familiar was I with it before this week: Not at all
Is it on the 2020 list? No
Song I am putting on my Spotify Playlist: 8:05

Moby Grape album cover for their debut release

Features the band and manager Matthew Katz

I had never heard of Moby Grape. Not a song, not a story, not even a passing reference. The name might as well have been a lesser known character from one of Hanna‑Barbera's many animated series. Moby Grape could have been a chum of the character Jabberjaw or a participant in the Wacky Races animated series, riding alongside Penelope Pitstop as they try to overtake Dick Dastardly.

Some of the Hanna Barbera characters.

When I mentioned the band's name to my wife, she logically assumed I was talking about a new record called Grape, by the electronica, trip-hop artist Moby. 

Album cover for Play, by Moby - at #341 on The 500.

Shortly after I posted on social media that Moby Grape’s 1967 debut was next up in my journey through 2012 ‘s Rolling Stone Magazine's 500 Greatest Albums, something surprising happened. A few friends, who know music well, let me know that they had only recently discovered the group, or were familiar with just a few songs by them. In all cases, they had become fans of the American rock band from San Francisco.

Back in the 1960s, the corner of Haight and Ashbury in San Francisco was the
epicenter for counter-culture, psychedelia and music.

And once you start digging, you realize how strange that Moby Grape slipped through the cracks for so many of us. Their debut record, released on June 6, 1967, by Columbia Records, was recorded in just six weeks and blended psychedelic rock, power pop, country rock, blues, and folk. The group was a rarity, featuring laser‑tight musicianship from five members, all of whom sang and contributed to the song writing.

Critics at the time recognized the band’s versatility. The record contains short, punchy rock songs, including Hey Grandma, Mr. Blues and Omaha. But also has contrasting gentle acoustic moments and harmonies that brushed up against country‑rock before the genre even had a name. The album peaked at #24 on the Billboard 200 in 1967. It was a respectable achievement, though far from capturing the heights of recognition that even artists in the music power hub of San Francisco felt they deserved.

Album jacket for the single release of Hey Grandma and
Come In The Morning.

The band was a kind of supergroup, assembled out of the rising mid‑'60s West Coast explosion. Formed in late 1966, the lineup brought together three gifted guitarists -- Jerry Miller, Peter Lewis, and Canadian‑born Skip Spence. Bassist Bob Mosley and drummer Don Stevenson rounded out the quintet. All five wrote, sang, and played, which gave them an almost over‑abundance of creative energy. Their early shows around San Francisco generated a buzz strong enough to spark a bidding war among labels, ultimately landing them at Columbia.

Moby Grape (l-r) Spence, Miller, Mosley, Lewis, Stevenson.

So, what went wrong, and how did we miss them? Given the talent and buzz, the band should’ve been unstoppable. Yet everything seemed to go wrong at once. Their manager, Matthew Katz, created years of legal and personal turmoil, including battles over the band’s own name, while Columbia Records sabotaged the album’s momentum by releasing five singles on the same day, confusing radio stations and diluting what should’ve been a breakthrough.

On top of that, Skip Spence’s mental health rapidly declined, and he was hospitalized. Add in the internal conflict among five songwriters pulling in different directions; their arrival in the chaotic San Francisco scene where psychedelic giants favored long jams over Moby Grape’s tight, punchy songs -- and their downfall starts to look tragically inevitable. They made one extraordinary record, filled with the sound of a band that could’ve shaped the era, and, then, through a mix of mismanagement, misfires, and sheer bad luck, the opportunity for greatness slipped away.

Canadian drummer Alexander "Skip" Spence was considered
a bright light of the psychedelic scene. He played on records with
Jefferson Airplane, Quicksilver Messager Service, as well as Moby Grape.

One friend told me that although he was aware Moby Grape existed, he did not follow them further because of the group’s name. He reasoned  that "because of the silly name, they would be a bunch of hippy posers trying to latch onto the San Francisco psychedelic scene". The name itself is a punch line to an equally silly joke that the band had bantered about one day: "What's big and purple and lives in the sea?" A: "Moby Grape."

This got me thinking: "Which bands sound nothing like their name?" Some groups choose monikers that telegraph their genre. Metallica, Slayer and Motorhead sound exactly like the thunderous metal you'd expect. Their names practically scream distortion pedals and black T‑shirts. But plenty of other bands picked names that give you zero clues about what they actually sound like.

A few that always come to mind for me are:

Hoobastank, who sound like hard rock or nu-metal, but actually wrote the emotional ballad The Reason, which has become a standard at weddings.

Vampire Weekend sound like a goth-emo collective or a metal band sporting fake blood and capes. They are actually write preppy, upper‑east‑side indie jams with Afro‑pop guitars and collegiate charm.

The Violent Femmes conjure images of a west coast all-female "Riot Grrrl" punk rock quartet who write songs with unapologetic feminist fury. Instead, they play a mix of acoustic, folk-inspired punk with lyrics that are more quirky and clever than violent or angry.

How about you?

Are you familiar with Moby Grape?

What bands do, or don't sound like their name?

Despite the talent, the praise, the songs, and the promise,  Moby Grape somehow remained a band many of us only discovered by accident, decades later. However, this entire musical journey by blog has been one of discovery, and Moby Grape is now part of my extensive listening catalogue.

The 500 - #125 - Pearl - Janis Joplin

I was inspired by a podcast called The 500 hosted by New York-based comedian Josh Adam Meyers. His goal, and mine, is to explore Rolling Stone Magazine's 2012 edition of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.

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Album: #125
Album Title: Pearl
Artist: Janis Joplin
Genre: Blues Rock, Soul Blues
Recorded: Sunset Sound, Hollywood, California

Released: January, 1971

My age at release: 5
How familiar was I with it before this week: Several tracks
Is it on the 2020 list? Yes, at #259, dropping 134 spots
Song I am putting on my Spotify Playlist: Me and Bobby McGee

There are certain lyrics and fragments of poetry that have stayed with me from the moment I encountered them. They drift through my mind at unexpected times and, like familiar memories, return again and again. When they do I turn them over in my brain, pondering new layers of possible meaning. Somehow the words always offer more. Sometimes it is a nuance I missed, or an idea I hadn’t picked up on…perhaps because of my youth.

A handful have come from the lyrical mind of Neil Peart, whose lines were etched in my consciousness as a teen. Other examples have arrived courtesy of Bruce Springsteen, The Beatles, Leonard Cohen, and the sharp insights of poets T.S. Eliot and Robert Frost. Of course, Ol' Billy Shakespeare has a few nuggets cloggin' my noggin'. After all, who else writes words that can shadow you for a lifetime and still feel startlingly alive each time they surface?

One of several Peart quotes I have evaluated
differently over the past 38 years.

Another lyric that sporadically runs laps through my head comes from Kris Kristofferson's pen. I was first introduced to his writing through the scorching vocals of Janis Joplin on Pearl, her second and last solo record. Her 1971 hit, Me and Bobby McGee, is a compact narrative. It follows two drifters, the narrator and the free-spirited Bobby McGee, as they sing their way across the American South. Hitching a ride from a truck driver, they wind their way west to California. Somewhere near the Monterey County town of Salina, the pair part ways, and the narrator is left alone, with the aching melancholy and regret that only a powerful song can instill.

Record label for the single of Me and Bobby McGee by Janis Joplin.

Because the name “Bobby” sits comfortably in the gender‑neutral middle ground, the tune has been recorded by an impressive cast of artists over the years, including Gordon Lightfoot, Roger Miller, Jerry Lee Lewis, Charley Pride, Olivia Newton‑John, The Grateful Dead, Dolly Parton, Johnny Cash and Pink. Each performer shifts the emotional centre of gravity just a little, proof that a memorable story can find new interpretations with different tellings.

Gordon Lightfoot had a #1 hit in Canada in 1970 with
Me and Bobby McGee.

 Kristofferson’s penetrating refrain,  "Freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose" occurs at the end of the first verse and repeats throughout Me and Bobby McGee.

Typically associated with celebration and liberation, freedom can also result from the loss of everything -- possessions, relationships, obligations and expectations. It is a paradoxical form of liberation. It is a double-edged sword of liberty, cleaving you from all things, but leaving you alone.

Existentialist philosophers, such as Jean Paul Sartre and Albert Camus, wrote extensively about freedom, loss and what remains of self when all things are stripped away.

Kristofferson may have been cribbing from their works when he penned Me and Bobby McGee and wrote that powerful thought-provoking lyric that I still work to fully understand.

Sartre wrote; “Man is condemned to be free; because once thrown into the world, he is responsible for everything he does.” The narrator, like us, is responsible for every choice he makes. He can not blame gods, fate, society or circumstance for his life and his (and, by proxy, our) freedom is inescapable and terrifying.

By contrast, Camus reflected on freedom through the lens of absurd nihilism in his play Caligula. To him, a man becomes completely free when he recognizes that "life has no higher purpose, the universe is indifferent and any longing for meaning will not be resolved". The titular 'Bobby' is free because he/she carries nothing -- no money, no obligations and, most importantly, no expectations. The narrator, after losing Bobby, inherits that absurd freedom; however, it is a freedom soaked in grief – a "terrifying burden" of true liberation for the first time.

Like I said earlier, Me and Bobby McGee is one of many songs that contain a lyrical gem that has taken up residence in my brain...and refuses to pay rent. It'll probably be there until those synapses stop firing and, as Camus postulates, its meaning, like my many questions about life, will never be resolved.

On a cheerier note, my research into this incredible Joplin record revealed that the backing musicians who support her, The Full Tilt Boogie Band, hail from my neck of the woods. Five of the band's six members are from Stratford and Woodstock, Ontario -- both fewer than 60 kilometers (40 miles) from my hometown of London. The band comprises John Till (guitar); Richard Bell (piano); Brad Campbell (bass); Ken Pearson (organ); and Clark Pierson (drums). Only Pierson is not from Southern Ontario, being a Californian.

Back cover of Pearl, featuring The Full Tilt Boogie Band.

The 500 - #126 - Catch A Fire - The Wailers

I was inspired by a podcast called The 500 hosted by New York-based comedian Josh Adam Meyers. His goal, and mine, is to explore Rolling Stone Magazine's 2012 edition of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.

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Album: #126
Album Title: Catch A Fire
Artist: The Wailers
Genre: Reggae, Reggae Rock, Roots Reggae
Recorded: Four Studios, Kingston, Jamaica

Released: April, 1973

My age at release: 7
How familiar was I with it before this week: A couple of songs
Is it on the 2020 list? Yes, at #140, dropping 14 spots
Song I am putting on my Spotify Playlist: Stir It Up

My wife and I have always loved sampling different cuisines. In fact, we recently joined friends at the Annual Taste Experience (formerly Food & Drink Show) in London, Ontario, where we eagerly tasted a variety of flavors, dishes and beverages from regional artisans. With our adventurous palates, we're ready for almost anything. Fortunately, neither of us has allergies or sensitivities, and we enjoy vegetables, seafood, and most meats. We’re also game when it comes to bold, spicy food...though, we’re not out to break any Scoville Scale records eating Carolina Reaper hot wings. We prefer spice with depth and flavor, crafted by someone who knows what they’re doing.

It took me a while to realize that not everyone possesses an adventurous approach to food. I’ve had friends who stick to a handful of simple, fairly flavorless dishes they eat over and over again. One friend even joked, "Hodgy, I’m Irish -- mayonnaise is spicy to my people."

Always the educator, I felt they were missing out. If only I could introduce them to some of the incredible dishes I’d discovered, surely they’d be won over. Sadly, in the process, I became a bit of a food bully, pushing my favorite discoveries on them, instead of respecting their cuisine comfort zone.

An AI image capturing my excitement as I push an exotic dish

on friends with more reserved tastes.

Sometimes, my pushy efforts actually worked. Case in point: Chicken Tikka Masala, a dish that delighted my wife and I while checking out East Indian cuisine in the late 1980s. At the time, the predominantly white, Anglo-Saxon city of London, Ontario, was hardly a culinary hotspot. There was just one Indian restaurant -- Curry’s on Wellington Road. Unfortunately, after 40 years it closed in 2025, a casualty of road widening. On our first visit, we tested Tikka Masala, a U.K. twist on the Delhi classic Murgh Makhani. I learned that in Britain, they simply call it Butter Chicken. And just like that, my campaign to convert the cautious began.

The front door to the recently shuttered
Curry's restaurant in London, Ontario,

Over time, we stocked up on spices and started experimenting with Indian dishes. Moving to Brampton in 1991 was a culinary jackpot. The city’s large South Asian population (15% then, 55% now) meant spices, paneer, mung beans, tamarind, ghee, naan and other Indo-Asian staples were everywhere. Now widely available, these were delicacies at the time, seemingly as rare as a snow-free January in Southwestern Ontario.

The 90s opened us up to a world of flavours. We felt tres- continental.

Slowly, we learned to tame the heat, while keeping the flavour, for more sensitive North American palates. Then came the fun part -- serving these unfamiliar dishes to dinner guests, some of whom would have bolted at the mere mention of words like spicy, Indian, or curry…let alone such mysterious names as Tikka, Masala, Murgh, or Makhani. We waited nervously as our guests took the first bite of our North American-branded “Butter Chicken on rice with a side of cheesy pita.” Just in case, a back-up pizza chilled in the fridge for quick baking.

There was no need. The foreign dish was a hit. Over and over again, our once food-reticent friends asked for seconds. We had unlocked the secret, or rather, two secrets. First. tone down the spice and, second, rebrand the name. Suddenly, ‘Butter Chicken on Rice” sounded far less intimidating than “Murgh Makhani.” Marketing works, even at the dinner table.  

The same strategy was applied when The Wailers released their fifth studio record, Catch A Fire, in 1973.

The Wailers - 1972 - (l-r) Bunny Wailer, Bob Marley, 
Carlton Barrett, Peter Tosh and Ashton Barrett.

The band found themselves financially strapped and stranded in the U.K. following a tour supporting American singer Johnny Nash, known best for his 1972 hit, I Can See Clearly Now. The Wailers’ road manager, Brent Clark, reached out to Chris Blackwell, head of Island Records, with a proposal. Blackwell agreed to pay for their fares back to Jamaica in exchange for a chance to market their next record. Five months later, Marley returned to London with the tapes from their recording sessions. Blackwell, in pure “butter chicken” fashion, reworked the tracks at Island Studios, adding rock guitar overdubs from famed Muscle Shoals session player Wayne Perkins.

Musicians Jimmy Johnson (left) and Ronnie Van Zandt of Lynyrd
Skynyrd pointing at Wayne Perkins in the Muscle Shoals Sound Studios.

The original album cover on the Tuff Gong label featured a picture of a Zippo lighter and was credited to "The Wailers". Blackwell changed the name for the International release of Island Records. The group was now credited as Bob Marley and The Wailers and featured a portrait of Marley smoking a "marijuana spliff", as seen at the toop of this post. There’s debate among historians and reggae scholars that skin tone may also have also been a factor in promoting Marley as the band’s leader. Marley was of mixed heritage, his father was white and his mother was black, and some argue that his lighter skin and "universal" image made him more appealing to Western markets. However, this ignores Marley’s natural leadership qualities as well as his talents as a singer, songwriter and musician.

Original album cover for Catch A Fire on Tuff Gong Records.

In 1973, The Wailers performed their first single, Stir It Up, on the popular U.K. television program The Old Grey Whistle Test, and international attention began to build. 

Bob Marley (centre) and The Wailers on The Old Grey Whistle Test.

A tour followed, and by the summer of 1974 the album had sold about 14,000 copies. Although not a blockbuster by any stretch, it was enough to establish The Wailers and Bob Marley as bona fide artists in a now palatable genre of reggae. The following year, Eric Clapton released his version of Marley’s I Shot the Sheriff, and reggae exploded into the mainstream. And, like our butter chicken, it was enjoyed by everyone, even those with a sensitive palate for spicy, exotic flavours. These days, it is tough to find a person who doesn't like both -- butter chicken and reggae. Mission accomplished!

The 500 - #127 - Younger Than Yesterday - The Byrds

I was inspired by a podcast called The 500 hosted by New York-based comedian Josh Adam Meyers. His goal, and mine, is to explore Rolling Stone Magazine's 2012 edition of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.

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Album: #127
Album Title: Younger Than Yesterday
Artist: The Byrds
Genre: Folk Rock, Country Rock, Psychedelic Rock
Recorded: Columbia Studios, Hollywood, California

Released: February, 1967

My age at release: 1
How familiar was I with it before this week: A few tracks
Is it on the 2020 list? No
Song I am putting on my Spotify Playlist: My Back Pages

As I prepare to return to the classroom after a restorative and creative winter break, I’m reminded that January always feels like a fresh start...even though we’re already halfway through the school year.

Why? Because this time, planning feels different. In the summer, I’m guessing, imagining the learners I’ll meet based on experience teaching students of their age.

However, now, after months together, I know exactly who will be sitting in those desks. I know their quirks, their strengths and the challenges they are overcoming. More importantly, perhaps, they know me and are better prepared to respond to my expectations and the requirements of a middle school curriculum.

The Ontario Curriculum documents, that guide classroom instruction.

Together, we built something special in the first four months of the school year that started in September. It is a shared, collaborative, creative learning environment. And that changes everything. Preparation in January is not hypothetical; it’s personal. It’s about continuing a journey we’ve already started. I have prepared some (hopefully) engaging and exciting lessons and activities to kick off the first month of 2026, and I found myself reflecting on them while listening to Younger Than Yesterday, the fourth studio record by American folk rock band, The Byrds. In particular, their version of the song My Back Pages had me deep in thought during a long walk through a nearby wintery wood -(gotta burn off a few of those Christmas calories!).

Jacket sleeve for My Back Pages, by The Byrds.

Written and recorded by Bob Dylan for his 1964 record, Another Side Of Bob Dylan, the lyrics for My Back Pages are a philosophical meditation on the tension that comes between youthful certainty and the humility that arrives through life experience. The lyrics reflect on how convictions once held as absolutes can soften over time and how wisdom often comes when one embraces doubt and the complexities of life.

Album cover for Another Side of Bob Dylan (1964).

In the opening verse, Dylan layers vivid imagery of heat and fire to convey the intensity and impulsiveness of his youthful convictions. He wrote:

"Crimson flames tied through my ears
Rolling high and mighty traps
Pounced with fire on flaming roads
Using ideas as my maps
"We'll meet on edges, soon," said I
Proud 'neath heated brow."

Conversely, the song's refrain, Dylan pens the seemingly paradoxical line:

“I was so much older then, I’m younger than that now”,

These eleven words, which repeat throughout the song, capture an odd contradiction inherent in our chronological and philosophical growth. As we mature, we learn to accept doubt for what it is, and see the world in shades of gray, rather than in black and white truths. It  allows us to  become more curious, and less rigid than in our younger years.

For Dylan, these lyrics were a confession about his earlier ignorance and a realization that many of his previous songs and public statements came from a time when he was young and less open minded.

Bob Dylan.

According to lead guitarist and vocalist Jim McGuinn, in 1967 The Byrds re-recorded the song to  align with their evolving artistic direction and thinking. By then, they were moving away from pure folk-rock and starting to embrace a more introspective, psychedelic sound. Dylan's lyrics, and his growth as an artist, resonated with that shift.

The Byrds (1967) (l-r) Chris Hillman,David Crosby, 
Michael Clark and McGuinn. 

Among the activities I have planned for my students this month are several focused on critical thinking and media literacy skills. Like many educators, I recognize the teaching profession has a responsibility to help students navigate an information-overloaded  world in which truth and opinion often blur. The goal is for them to question sources, analyze bias, and consider how messages are constructed. Such skills are essential not only for academic success but for becoming thoughtful, informed citizens.

However, as I prepared my lessons, I reflected on Dylan's refrain in My Back Pages and affirmed to myself that making mistakes is part of the learning process. It is the path to making sound decisions.. . My young charges deserve the opportunity and time to wrestle with their own lack of knowledge, much like Dylan did in the mid-sixties. Intellectual growth doesn’t happen in a straight line; It happens through missteps, reflection, and recalibration. My role isn’t to drag them to the “right” answer but to shepherd them toward it.

One day, they’ll arrive at their own conclusions, not because I forced them down the best path, but because they discovered it themselves. And who knows, with the passage of time, the path of old may have become passe, replaced by a new, more fitting route. That’s when I’ll say to myself, once again:

"I was so much older then, I'm younger than that now".

The 500 - #128 - Raw Power - Iggy And The Stooges

I was inspired by a podcast called The 500 hosted by New York-based comedian Josh Adam Meyers. His goal, and mine, is to explore Rolling Stone Magazine's 2012 edition of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.

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Album: #128
Album Title: Raw Power
Artist: The Stooges
Genre: Proto Punk, Hard Rock, Garage Rock
Recorded: CBS Studios, London, England
Released: February, 1973
My age at release: 7
How familiar was I with it before this week: One Song
Is it on the 2020 list? No
Song I am putting on my Spotify Playlist: Search and Destroy

Although I’m on a two-week winter break, I’m still focused on report card writing. If I don’t start now, January will hit like a freight train.  Elementary school volleyball season, several social obligations and publishing this blog will collide with lesson prep, report card delivery and everything else that makes the first month of the year a whirlwind of deadlines and distractions.

Despite all of this, I’m excited to bring back to the classroom an old favorite activity: CNN10. Each weekday, network host Coy Wire, a former Buffalo Bills player with infectious energy, delivers a 10-minute recap of current events. It’s quick, digestible, and engaging – the perfect way to help my middle school students think beyond four walls and connect to the wider world using their critical thinking and listening skills.

Coy Wire presenting the news on CNN 10.

I teach several literacy and social studies activities that are enhanced by the short and snappy CNN program. Moreso, I connect with a colleague at another school, Chris Wilson, who creates a current events-based trivia game based on CNN10 via a program called Kahoot! that lightens up Friday classes.

Using CNN 10 reminds me of the first time I paid attention to the news. I was about eight years old and my parents had CBC Radio on constantly. The evening news program As It Happens was a staple, often playing as we ate dinner. The voice of host Barbara Frum became as familiar as family and her recap of Canadian and world events made me feel tuned in.

It was as if I had discovered a secret window into the world of adults. Most of the headlines flew past me, but I remember the word "impeachment" tickling my brain because it sounded like a cocktail of "peach" and "mint". soon deciphered it had nothing to do with either.

Promotional poster for CBC's As It Happens (circa 1974)

Watergate was everywhere. Nixon, in my mind, was like a comic book villain. He was shadowy, scheming and, with his rubbery face and jowl-wagging delivery, larger than life. He was the kind of character who could have stepped out of the panels of a Batman or Superman monthly. The grown-ups whispered about scandals while the radio hummed with tension, and even as a kid, I could feel something cracking at the edges. I  later recognized that the optimism of the 1960s was gone; the air was heavy with mistrust and exhaustion.

That sensation of a country fraying feels like the same energy The Stooges bottled in Raw Power. It wasn’t polished or polite. The four-piece garage band from Ann Arbor, Michigan, had created something that was jagged, feral and loud. It was the sound of a world coming apart at the seams, and lead vocalist Iggy Pop didn’t just sing songs, he detonated them.

Iggy Pop performing (circa 1974)

Raw Power is the third record by The Stooges on The 500 list. I wrote about their self-titled debut (#185) in November, 2024, and their second record, Fun House (#191), a month earlier. In each post, I recap their formation and the development of their sound, as they moved from minimalist hypnotic and psychedelic grooves to a more aggressive and chaotic proto-punk sound.

Shortly after the release of Fun House, the band was on hiatus. Three of the four members, including Pop, had become serious heroin users and, in 1972, they had relocated to England in an attempt to reconstitute the group. Their new line-up, now dubbed Iggy and The Stooges, featured Pop on vocals, James Williamson on guitars, with brothers Ron and Scott Asheton on bass and drums respectively.

The Stooges (1974) (l-r) Williamson, Pop, R. Asheton & S. Asheton

The record was produced by David Bowie, who was also helping Pop recover from his heroin addiction. It sold rather poorly on release, with many critics complaining that Bowie had mixed it poorly. However, the album’s raw and rough sound gained in popularity among the earliest pioneers of punk rock, a genre which exploded in 1976.

Listening now, one can recognize its intensity. It is as if the guitars were tearing through the fabric of the era, shredding the last remnants of peace-and-love idealism and spitting out something raw, honest and dangerous. As Green Day singer Billie Joe Armstrong said when inducting the group into The Rock And Roll Hall of Fame in 2010: "They symbolized the destruction of Flower Power and introduced us to raw power".

Pop (left) with Bowie (1974).

If history doesn't repeat, it does echo. We’re living through an era of deep political divides and alarming international tensions. Who can guess at how the future will unfold?  I can already see some of my students starting to tune into the world beyond their own circles, the same way I did back in the early ’70s. That awareness often leads to something bigger and I am sure that some of them will seek clarification of the mayhem we are living through. I think our daily 10 minute check-ins with Coy Wire and the team at CNN10 will help facilitate that.

They might, for instance,  discover a musician or band that rises above today’s cacophony and uncertainty, and bring a new era in music that reflects how we got through the current upheaval. Honestly, I can’t wait to look back a decade from now and ask: Who gave us the 2020s version of Raw Power, a record that didn’t just play the times, but ripped them wide open?

Kendrick Lamar? Run The Jewels? Childish Gambino? Fontaines D.C.? or someone currently writing their debut record?

Not me for sure. I'm too old for tearing up stages or reinventing genres...beside, I have to get back to report cards.