Thanks to Ron for this photo: When I caught a glimpse of Rita
Filling in a ticket in her little white book
In a cap she looked much older
And the bag across her shoulder
Made her look a little like a military man
Though there are no meters along downtown Brazilian streets, this young lady is the Brazilian equivalent to a meter maid. In order to park legally on the street downtown, one must purchase a parking pass from a lady like this for about a dollar. If she sees a parked car without one of these paper passes displayed above the dashboard in the front window, she will ticket your car. Then you must find her (or one of her sister meter maids) within 3 days to pay about three dollars. It gets even more expensive after three days. These women are members of a special squad of the Brazilian military police, but are referred to as "Periquito" or little parrot. This goes back to the days when they were outfitted entirely in bright green clothing to be noticable when ticketing from the streetside of a parked car. Their protestations about that style was heeded and these more conservative uniforms adopted a few years back. They do look very military and must keep their hair tight on the top of their heads. But this is afterall Brazil, where women can be arrested for not looking sexy, so the Periquitoes are encouraged to wear make-up and smile when writing tickets. Just as this one did when I paid her my three dollars.
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"We're An American Band" by Grand Funk describes real events on their 1972 tour, including an encounter with a legendary groupie called "Sweet Connie."
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"Just Dance" was Lady Gaga's first hit, and it also brought the techno-synth sound that had been popular in Europe for the previous decade to the United States.
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They sang about pink torpedoes and rocking you tonight tonight, but some real lyrics are just as ridiculous. See if you can tell which lyrics are real and which are Spinal Tap in this lyrics quiz.
Pete produced Dwight Yoakam, Michelle Shocked, Meat Puppets, and a very memorable track for Roy Orbison.
Dokken frontman Don Dokken explains what broke up the band at the height of their success in the late '80s, and talks about the botched surgery that paralyzed his right arm.
"Missing You" was a spontaneous outpouring of emotion triggered by a phone call. John tells that story and explains what MTV meant to his career.
Dennis DeYoung explains why "Mr. Roboto" is the defining Styx song, and what the "gathering of angels" represents in "Come Sail Away."
