On Car Tech .. it seems to me, the Car Makers are simply responding to what the New Car Buying Populace wants .. these days, when so many folks can't live without being continually connected to this Facebook or that Twitter, et al .. and, let's not let little Wheezer in the back seat not be able to stream some Netflix, and, who at 7, has their own Social Media pages, a Blog, is working on becoming the Next YouTube sensation .. and a Smart Phone ..
As each new Generation comes up the line, things get ratcheted up a notch or three .. I guess that's why we don't drive Model T's anymore ..
.. would I advocate for a self driving car .. ?? Well, yes .. in fact, when they become readily available, it should be a required mode of transport for the Woman that passed me on the Freeway the other day doing at least 85, while yakking on her phone, eating a Big Mac and checking her look in the rear view ..
.. as her child in the back seat was waving a tablet around, likely screaming that the Candy Crush page was loading too slow .. oh, the Humanity ..
At any rate, I know I'm in the minority, so I'm not going to talk any further about something I don't really care about and certainly have no control over ..
.. but, I will, once again, put all of you to sleep with another brief installment of musical rambling from Days Long Past .. if any (and I know it's a long shot) remember my last ramble, it dealt with the musical "stew" that simmered Zydeco / Texas Swing / Country / Polka / Mexican / Conjunto / Mariachi ..
Today, my mind drifts back to the 1960's and the evolution of what came to be known as Country Rock, evolving thru The Byrds and on to the Eagles, Pure Prairie League, Poco and sparking what later became called Southern Rock .. why .. ?? A few nights ago, I found myself expounding over Pre-World War II Martin Dreadnaught Acoustic Guitars and why they are the Holy Grail to some players .. and then my mind drifted into what role a 1935 Martin had in the hands of a guy most folks these days never heard of .. Clarence White .. who, I believe, is the nexus / epicenter of a large portion of what music many of us enjoyed in the late 1960's & 1970's .. Clarence White was at 29, tragically, killed by a drunk driver .. he was also a good friend of Gram Parsons, who died at 26 from a drug and alcohol overdose (Parsons is a whole story within itself) ..
At 29, Clarence White, IMO, had achieved Jimi Hendrix ability as an acoustic flat picker as well as being an absolute master of the Fender Telecaster, actually helping invent a modification that is still used today called the B-Bender .. however, his old Martin D-28 is the stuff of Musical Legend, where some believe, White's spirit still resides .. by the age of 10, he had effectively begun melding Bluegrass, Traditional Country, Django Reinhardt Jazz and Gypsy stylings, Folk music going back to the Weavers .. and, outside of his time in The Byrds, helped craft music that is part of our fabric, as a session player, in many cases, uncredited .. "Lay Lady Lay", "Jesus is Just Alright", early Linda Ronstadt, Arlo Guthrie, Joe Cocker, Randy Newman, Delaney & Bonnie, Jackson Browne, Everly Brothers, and many, many more .. an incredible feat for a guy that only lived 29 short years ..
So, today, a tip of the hat to Clarence White and that old Martin .. which, IMO, led to much of the richness and vibrancy of the Music we continue to enjoy today .. sadly, not many really high quality recordings of White's early picking exist, so I'll just try and do my best to represent .. and he did use the Martin throughout his short career ..
