I’m on the record as hating New Years Eve. It was spoiled for me by seeing the Grateful Dead many times on that date. Most memorably, the closing of Winterland in 1978-79. I don’t remember the t-shirt in the featured image. I wish I would have bought it. It wouldn’t fit me now. Oh well, what the hell.

The danger of New Years Eve used to lie in morons firing guns in the air and drunk drivers. In 2021, it includes unmasked unvaxxed morons spreading their germs. I’m uncomfortable with those who think Gamalian Normalcy has been restored based on anecdotal evidence. The best that can be said of Omicron is that it kills fewer people.

A note of sympathy for all the dog people out there. Dogs hate NYE because of fireworks. It’s usually a loud and smokey day in New Orleans. Orleans Parish pooches should stay off their porches. I hear that cowering under the bed is in fashion among the four-legged set.

I’m not going to fall into the trap of making resolutions or predicting that 2022 *has* to be better than 2021. We all expected 2021 to be better than 2020. It was not.

It’s shameless plug time: one good thing in 2021 was The Best Of Adrastos. It’s still out there. Tell Adrastos that Adrastos sent you. I hope that’s not too meta for you.

This week’s theme song was used by the Dead to bring in the New Year on many occasions. I’ve posted it here on past New Years Days. It’s a great rock song that’s better than the occasion I associate it with.

Sugar Magnolia was written by Bob Weir and Robert Hunter in 1970 for the American Beauty album and remains a staple in the live sets of the Dead’s many spinoffs. I get dizzy just thinking of them,

We have two versions for your listening pleasure: a live medley from NYE 1978-79 followed by the studio original.

Now that we’ve basked in the sunshine daydream, let’s jump to the break.

We begin our second act by skipping it altogether. Only earnest political types want to read serious articles on New Years Day. Adrastos don’t play that. Neither does this guy:

Before moving on, two sugar songs followed by a Magnolia song:

We begin our third act with our favorite stolen feature.

Separated At Birth Casting Edition: Ritchie Valens was one of the rockers who died in that terrible plane crash in 1959. Here he is side-by-side with Lou Diamond Philips who played him in the 1987 biopic La Bamba.

Since I’m determined to prove that I’m a captain, not a sailor, here are dueling versions of La Bamba:

The Teevee List:  I have comedy on my mind after Shaprio’s opus yesterday. Until recently, the only place I’ve seen Britcoms is on PBS or Comedy Central. I’m sure I’ve missed some swell shows. If you’re so inclined, throw some titles at me in the comments.

My Top Ten Favorite British Sitcoms  

1.  Fawlty Towers
2.  Keeping Up Appearances
3.  Absolutely Fabulous
4.  The Thick Of It
5.  Blackadder
6.  Derry Girls
7.  The Young Ones
8.  The Office
9.  Mr. Bean
10. The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin

The last word of the segment goes to Julie Driscoll and Adrian Edmondson with the theme song for Ab Fab, sweetie baby darling:

Yeah, I know Bob Dylan and Rick Danko wrote that song and The Byrds version charted. I can live without hearing Dylan sing so here’s The Band live on NYE.

Saturday GIF Horse: Curb Your Enthusiasm was featured earlier this week in my Things That Make Me Cringe 2.0 post. I got several high-fives for that post, so here are some from the cast of Curb.

Celebrity Ad Corner: A variation on the Coffin Nail Corner feature. I couldn’t pass up these razor ads featuring Maybe Cousin Telly:

Telly did indeed say baby a lot in real life, baby.

Not long after I met Maybe Cousin Telly, I asked if I could rub his head. He shrugged and allowed me to lay my hands on his shaved head.

He looked at my dad and said, “This fuckin’ kid.”

Then he gave me a dirty look reminiscent of his days as a movie villain: “Just wait until you lose your hair, kid.”

Telly Savalas: show biz icon and prophet.

TCM Clip Of The Week: A tribute to those we lost in 2021:

I’m not sure what I think of the slow version of Shiny Happy People by Reuben and the Dark & AG that TCM uses as the soundtrack. The only shiny happy dead people out there are the fictional deceased. Where have you gone Nathaniel Fisher Sr?

Let’s close down this virtual honky tonk with some more music.

Saturday Classic: Since I nattered on about The Closing Of Winterland, here’s the Dead’s set from that long ago NYE via Spotify:

Damn, I’m old. Happy Fucking New Year. The last word goes to the good old Grateful Dead live onstage at Winterland in 1977: