Merry Christmas, dear Reader!
This was a quiet time for me, with no family visiting from out of town. Thanks, COVID! But I did keep in touch through video chats, emails, texts, and phone calls. Lots of time to laze around, sleeping, reading, eating, and watching stuff. I wasn't really into any seasonal movies, even though I own a few classics, and there are loads on the streaming services. Instead, I watched a bunch of the 30 Rock TV show's Christmas episodes. My favourite show of all time, so it's always a blast to revisit those "oldies" (way back in the 2000s) with some snacks and libations on hand.
Not a big gift haul here this year, at least in terms of physical items. Mostly cash and gift cards, and I turned those gift cards into e-books. I did order a record with some of that moola (mentioned in last week's post), but won't see that for a few weeks since it's shipping from overseas.
As for fun media stuff, I got a couple of things worth mentioning. I treated myself to a 2022 wall calendar. It's become harder and harder to find calendars that I like, since I have used (and keep - don't ask) so many James Bond and Rush calendars over the years that I now see a lot of repetition of the images on them. So I am always questing for something different that'll look good on my kitchen wall. I finally settled on a big colourful Beatles wall calendar. Not the best I've ever seen, but it was reasonably priced and will do the job.
I was given a very cool band biography, one which I had dropped a hint about months ago. It's the one and only book in the world - ever - about the short but fascinating career of Canada's Max Webster. Max has long been a favourite band of mine, ever since I saw them play a gig at one of my high school "dances" back in the late 1970's. If you know anything about Max Webster, you'll understand my enthusiasm for the the band... and this book. If you have never heard of them, think back to rock radio in the 70's and 80's (maybe even later) when Max staples were in heavy rotation, stuff like Check, Battle Scar, Paradise Skies, Gravity, and Let Go the Line, to name just a few. If you're still drawing a blank, then how about the name Kim Mitchell? He was the frontman/singer/guitarist for Max Webster, before moving on to a more maintream solo career. Kim's solo songs include Go For Soda, Patio Lanterns, and Rock N' Roll Duty. Ring any bells? Those are among his most famous tunes, all from the 80's, when Mitchell enjoyed a lot of success and radio airplay, mostly in homeland Canada, but also got some exposure in the States.
Anyway, I can't wait to get into this book, entitled Live Magnetic Air: The Unlikely Saga of the Superlative Max Webster, by Canadian music author Martin Popoff. My copy was signed, too... and to me. A cherished gift that I'll never part with. That will take its place beside my trilogy set of hardcover books about the history of progressive rock royalty, Rush (also Canadian, eh), also by author Popoff. Rush and Max were on the same record label and were actually good friends, touring together in their heyday, and even recorded a song together that appeared on Webster's final album.
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