I’ve done my share of lamenting the heat in this space. The last few summers have been brutal but it’s not as bad this year. It’s still hot but it hasn’t been as muggy as usual. As long as it stays under 93 degrees our air-dish can handle it. So can I.

The Trump trial balloon has had the desired effect in the Gret Stet Of Louisiana. In a word: Chaos. The Clownfish is drooling at the prospect of bringing New Orleans in line. There’s a long tradition of folks in the rest of Louisiana hating New Orleans. Landry has already butted into things in which the governor has no role. It’s what happens when you have a weak mayor who’s under indictment. Whatever happens, it’s not about crime, it’s about intimidation.

I’ve been listening to three artists of late: Seventies Frank Zappa, 21st Century Rodney Crowell, and early Bee Gees. That’s an eclectic combination even for me. One could even call them an unholy trinity. That leads me to this week’s theme song.

Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb wrote Lonely Days in 1970. I think of it as their John Lennon song, especially when Maurice’s pounding piano takes center stage.

ELO’s Jeff Lynne has said that Lonely Days influenced the sound of one of his best loved songs:

That makes me feel less lonely. Why? I’ll never know.

We begin our second act with some tech talk.

AI Blues: My countryman Tom Nichols had written a cool piece about AI in fiction. Thoughts of HAL in 2001: A Space Odyssey remind me of my misspent youth. Thoughts of AI make me jittery.

Fifties sci-fi movies warned us about the consequences of letting technology get out of human control. Will that happen here? I don’t know but the tech pukes could care less about the impact that AI has on the rest of us.

Nichols mentions Brain Salad Surgery by ELP. The album includes a suite about an out of control computer:

That’s where I get my stock tagline for Odds & Sods: Welcome back my friends to the show that never ends. Thanks, Keith, Greg, and Carl.

Let’s move on to a piece that only a drummer could love. That will be the lone drummer joke of the segment. This is some serious business.

Dude, Where’s My Drummer? Drumming is hard work.  Carl Palmer is still at it and he’s 75. It’s harder still for mere mortals. Vulture’s Devon Ivie has a stellar piece about drummers and how hard it is for rock bands to find and keep the right one.

The last word of our second act goes to Gene Krupa:

We begin our third act with our favorite stolen feature.

Separated At Birth: Is it just me or has anyone else noticed a resemblance between Illinois Gov JB Pritzker and actor Oliver Platt? Oliver’s never played a governor, but he was White House counsel on The West Wing.

Your Weekly Oscar: Still feeling lonely? Let’s get together with OP and Dizzy Gillespie for a cure for what ails you.

Have I told you lately how much I love Oscar Peterson?

Best Of TCM: I’ve written about the Hollywood blacklist in several of my movie posts. Here’s a more cogent and coherent discussion by TCM’s Tom Reimann:

There will be more blacklist chatter tomorrow in my post about Cornered starring Dick Powell.

Classic Movie Trailer: 1941’s Ball Of Fire is one of my favorite comedies. It has a great cast anchored by Gary Cooper, Barbara Stanwyck, Dana Andrews, Henry Travers, and SZ Sakall. What’s not to love about a movie directed by Howard Hawks with a script by Billy Wilder and Charles Brackett? Not a damn thing.

Grading Time: I give Ball Of Fire 4 stars and an Adrastos Grade of A.

I’ve already posted Gene Krupa’s Drum Boogie. It was featured in Ball Of Fire with vocals by Stanwyck.

Saturday GIF Horse: While we’re on the subject of old movies, here’s Claude Rains in The Invisible Man:

Toon Time: As Cassandra noted the other day, the Kaiser of Chaos is still on the hot seat with the Epstein scandal or as I prefer to call it the Epstein-Maxwell mishigas.

He truly is a small and petty man, especially in contrast to the Epstein survivors:

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

Saturday Closer: Here’s Aimee Mann live on KEXP in Seattle in 2017.

That’s all for this week. The last word goes to the great Carl Palmer.