“there ain’t nobody left but us these days”.

Again, Tony has floored me.

Tony and I have similar musical tastes. We have Guns and Bon Jovi in common, as well as U2, Springsteen, and a lot of classic rock bands. He is into a lot of artists that my ears are becoming more attuned to as a result of some postings by Tony and others on the mail lists we are on - Arcade Fire in particular. But on these mail lists there are 2 Bon Jovi fans - Tony and I. The others on the lists aren't big on Bon Jon and band. I guess the comparisons to that other musician from Jersey are ingrained in the psyche of these list members and they just dont get it. But Tony and I do.

Tony has this amazing way of inspiring me whenever he writes something about a band that we both have an interest in. At times I have lost interest in a particular band or album, and suddenly Tony will write something about that band or album. I don't tell him im over that band or album - he'll just all of a sudden write a review of a album or a show he has seen. And bang - im back listening to that band or album again. Its happened with Guns. Its happened with Bon Jovi a few times. Its happened with the Stones.

Anyway, Tony saw Bon Jovi in Chicago this week. His write up on the shows is here and here. Tony is the biggest Jovi fan I know. He writes about them constantly - and can both prasie them and be critical of them when needs be. And I always agree with his opinions. Jon Bon has done some rather stupid things over the last few years - the biggest being his decision to release Slippery When Wet g-strings and bottles of cheap wine to commemorate the albums 20th anniversary . But jon and the band have released some great music - Lost Highway is a classic in my opinion - so I forgive Jon for trying to turn into Gene $immon$.

You may recall in my review how great it was to hear Richie sing the song These Days at the January show. Not as good as Jon could have done, but still good to hear him sing one of my favourite Jovi songs. Richie sang it at the Feb 26th show in Chicago, and Tony posted the following write up;

“These Days” with Richie Sambora on vocals
I’ve seen the You Tube videos and must admit, I was underwhelmed; however this particular performance was delivered with despaired vocals by Sambora that you believed as if his life depended on it. For reasons I can’t go into, the emotions uncoiled here for me tonight. Sambora’s performance exuded aching vulnerability and even though he’s a millionaire many times over, he sold it tonight. It made me think of my mate Adam in Australia who has recently encountered unimaginable darkness and I was hoping that whatever he was listening to at that very moment was making him smile because I was smiling sending good thoughts his way and knowing that tomorrow would be brighter because “there ain’t nobody left but us these days”.

And all night all ive listened to is These Days - the song and the album.

Thanks for inspiring me again Tony.


Bon Jovi - These Days

I was walking around, just a face in the crowd
Trying to keep myself out of the rain
Saw a vagabond king wear a Styrofoam crown
Wondered if I might end up the same
Theres a man out on the corner
Singing old songs about change
Everybody got their cross to bare, these days

She came looking for some shelter with a suitcase full of dreams
To a motel room on the boulevard
Guess shes trying to be James Dean
Shes seen all the disciples and all the wanna bes
No one wants to be themselves these days
Still theres nothing to hold on to but these days

These days - the stars seem out of reach
These days - there ain't a ladder on these streets
These days - are fast, love don't last in this graceless age
There ain't nobody left but us these days

Jimmy shoes busted both his legs, trying to learn to fly
From a second story window, he just jumped and closed his eyes
His momma said he was crazy - he said momma Ive got to try
Dont you know that all my heroes died
And I guess Id rather die than fade away

These days - the stars seem out of reach
But these days - there ain't a ladder on these streets
These days are fast, love don't lasts-in this graceless age
Even innocence has caught the morning train
And there ain't nobody left but us these days

I know Rome's still burning
Though the times have changed
This world keeps turning round and round and round and round
These days

These days - the stars seem out of reach
But these days - there ain't a ladder on these streets
These days are fast, love don't lasts-in this graceless age
Even innocence has caught the morning train
And there ain't nobody left but us these days

These days - the stars seem out of reach
These days - there ain't a ladder on these streets
These days - are fast, nothing lasts
There ain't no time to waste
There ain't nobody left to take the blame
There ain't nobody left but us these days