DIG THIS WITH BILL MESNIK AND RICH BUCKLAND- THE SPLENDID BOHEMIANS

Rich Buckland and Bill Mesnik
  • 4.8 (18)
  • Music
  • Updated Weekly

My Fellow Americans, Life is actually just a microscopic, deluded moment in time, so let's cut to the freakin' chase. One look at our impending election debacle can solidify my case. It has been my contention since birth, that the answer to every difficulty we encounter on this sacred yet demented Stone, can be revealed with ultimate clarity through the ultra neurotic engagements of Music, Art, Literature, Film, Poetry and a good Pastrami sandwich. Why would any sane human spend so must time on a film set (Do you know how long you gotta wait until your 8 second deliverance of an edited beyond repair line gets a chance to become a professional embarrassment etched in time forever? ) or expend so much energy in a recording studio, piecing together another ode to a man or woman who could not care less how much love existed within your digestive tract? It's all about hymns and prayers and a quest for mercy and forgiveness and silence and faith. We were blessed with Charles Bukowski,  Gene Chandler, Lenny Bruce, Mitch Ryder and a legion of creative explorers whose influences provided the air we breathe.  So Let's Dance! This site shall explore the reaper, find a way to disarm the stench of injustice, discover some true loves and talk it all over before it's all over. So what's the worst that our desires could produce? Failure? So sue me. I'm going to require your assistance in making as much trouble for the grown-ups as possible. Let the record show that my childish heart yearns to disrupt the madness. Join me Ladies and Germs! With Gratitude For Gena Rowlands, Nancy Sinatra, Jerry Quarry, Leo Gorcey, Arthur Alexander and Joey Heatherton, Your Splendid Bohemian, Rich Buckland.

  1. THE SPLENDID BOHEMIANS PRESENT THE JULY 4TH INSTALLMENT OF "ELECTION DISAFFECTION, PT. 3" IN WHICH THE BOYS RESURRECT THOMAS JEFFERSON'S CAMPAIGN SONG, AND CROON VOTING RIGHTS DITTIES FROM THE TIMES OF THE 14TH AND 19TH AMENDMENTS.

    1d ago

    THE SPLENDID BOHEMIANS PRESENT THE JULY 4TH INSTALLMENT OF "ELECTION DISAFFECTION, PT. 3" IN WHICH THE BOYS RESURRECT THOMAS JEFFERSON'S CAMPAIGN SONG, AND CROON VOTING RIGHTS DITTIES FROM THE TIMES OF THE 14TH AND 19TH AMENDMENTS.

    Ok, tomorrow is July 4th, our 250th year celebration of our Declaration of Independence.  The temperatures are sweltering, both outside and politically. There’s been a lot of talk recently about the nation’s division, using words like “unprecedented,” but going back over elections past over the the last two and a half centuries, you find that to be a recurring American theme.  The founding fathers (about whom we’ve heard so many patriotic references lately) were embroiled in their own knock down - drag outs:  John Adams “Alien and Sedition Acts” of 1797 … that term sound familiar? Trump was evoking it recently during one of his ploys regarding deportation…. Made it a crime to criticize his administration. It backfired because Adams pissed off the moderates, and in 1800 Thomas Jefferson (the writer of the declaration of Independence) won the office with this “Free Speech” anthem: It seems that the author of our Declaration of Independence might also be dubbed the “author of America’s Ethnic Cleansing policy”  In 1801, a few months after taking the oath of office, Jefferson wrote to James Monroe, then governor of Virginia, outlining his American Dream: “White settlers, sturdy independent farmers, will increase in numbers and eventually cover the whole northern, if not southern continent… nor can we contemplate with satisfaction either blot of mixture on that surface,” Moving on… Let’s talk about THE CONSTITUTION for a moment.   You may have heard references to this document that we all, INCLUDING THE PRESIDENT, pledge allegiance to as members of a democracy. It’s a living document that guarantees us all our rights, and which requires a super majority vote by both the House (the people’s house) and the Senate in order to change, and the its only been amended 27 times since its ratification in 1789.  Living Document? Does that mean that hard won amendments like the right to vote, which people fought and died for to make us “a more perfect union” - can be taken away if a tyrant finds it a threat to their power?  The following songs illustrate the ongoing challenges that opposed, and continue to threaten our right to vote - (the 15th amendment, passed in 1869, which granted the right to African American Men), but which was impeded -  by any means necessary - in Southern states, until 1965 with the passing of a federal ‘Voting Rights Act - (but, is currently being threatened again). And the 19th amendment, finally passed in 1920, which gave this fundamental right to women (half of the population) - after many decades of struggle by the women’s suffrage movement. Hearing these songs again, reminds me to keep some perspective during this broiling holiday season.  Thanks for listening everyone. Enjoy your holiday, and stay safe.

    12 min
  2. THE SPLENDID BOHEMIANS OFFER A TRIPLE SCOOP OF SUMMER REFRESHMENTS PAST, PROVIDED BY SLY STONE, THE YOUNGBLOODS, AND BOB DYLAN AND THE BAND. INDULGE!

    Jun 27

    THE SPLENDID BOHEMIANS OFFER A TRIPLE SCOOP OF SUMMER REFRESHMENTS PAST, PROVIDED BY SLY STONE, THE YOUNGBLOODS, AND BOB DYLAN AND THE BAND. INDULGE!

    HOT FUN IN THE SUMMERTIME / SLY AND THE FAMILY STONE (EPIC, 1969) The sweltering summer of 2023 is almost over, and all over the world folks are digging themselves out from under the epic disasters of the past months. Listening to this psych-soul ditty from 1969, one may be momentarily transported back to a cozier time of blotter acid and beach coolers.  The carefree tone of the record, however, belies the fact that at the same time that he was jamming on this anthem, an ever-increasingly paranoid Sly Stone was starting to hole himself up in his mansion with bowls of cocaine and a drum machine - from which he would emerge 2 years later with THERE’S A RIOT GOIN’ ON - transmitting a wholly different vibe. And, also, let’s not forget the murderous Altamont concert of 1969 (documented in the Rolling Stone’s film GIMME SHELTER), along with the concurrent killings carried out by the Manson kids - and you realize that everywhere you looked there were emblems of a time when chaos reigned, symbolizing an era of psychic climate change in America. Well, nostalgic or not, music has powers to soothe and direct our minds to kinder, gentler regions. It gives us a moment to meditate and reflect - a time out before we have to brave the cacophony once again. Some say “nostalgia” is defined as a sickness - homesickness. We’re urged to be forward looking and adapt to whatever the future holds. But, it’s ok to take a moment to remember and savor the joys of summers past. Just don’t forget to wear your sunblock. SUNLIGHT by The Youngbloods (RCA, 1969) I’m a romantic; I admit it. I believe in true love, and the moments of ecstatic togetherness that enable one to transcend all the struggles and grief of life. And, this song reanimates this awakening each time I hear it: by the rolling chords off the nylon string guitar, eliciting the feeling of a fresh breeze of possibility; Jesse Colin Young’s falsetto voice (one of nature’s finest) projecting such hopeful innocence; and, the lyrics, which tenderly describe scenes of eternal bliss.   I loved Jesse and The Youngbloods from the first time I put down the needle on Grizzly Bear (the first cut on the debut album). It was a bonus disc from the Columbia Record Club, and since that moment, the relationship with Jesse, Banana, and the boys, during the RCA years, was a meaningful one for me. After they went to Warners, and subsequently split up, the love affair was over. But, the remarkable Elephant Mountain, the last collection from RCA, produced by a young Charlie Daniels, delivered this song, along with Darkness, Darkness - in a collage of Sunlight and Shadow.  Jesse said that this was the first song he wrote after moving to California, and I understand it. As a New Yorker relocating to the Golden State, I too was struck by the quality of the light which casts a spell that makes one unable to sense the passage of time, and the seasons. Years flew by, the mirror mocks me, but the romantic in me remains ever innocent. MILLION DOLLAR BASH by BOB DYLAN with THE BAND (From the Basement Tapes, Columbia, 1967) Ooh, Baby, Ooooh wee! Ooh, baby, oooooh wee! It’s that Million Dollar Bash. I hear that chorus and I’m smiling. It’s a celebration, a party. Dylan and the boys are off the hard road, and they’re just having fun in the Big Pink basement with the Revox tape recorder.  There has been some interpretative gobble dee g**k about it being Dylan’s satirical payback to Andy Warhol and his pretentious Factory parties, with a salvo to Edie Sedgwick - the (“big dumb blonde) -, who dumped him, but really, that feels like a stretch. Those intimations might be there, but when Bob sings: “Well, I’m hittin’ it too hard, my stones won’t take- I get up in the morning but it’s too early to wake, First it’s hello, goodbye, then push and then crash, But we’re all gonna make it at that mIllion dollar bash! It feels to me like an expression of sweet release. An appreciation for the moment at hand. And, imagining where the heads of the bar band turned folk-rock players assembled in that bucolic place were at…. -, the men who, for me, comprised the greatest American band in rock history - in the chrysalis from which they were about to emerge to ignite a musical revolution - I can feel the spontaneous energy of joyous creation.  Oooh baby, Oooh weeeee!

    14 min
  3. THE SPLENDID BOHEMIANS PRESENT A "PUT ON A STACK OF 45s" Rewind: 'GROOVIN' BY THE YOUNG RASCALS! AS THE SUMMER HOLIDAY STARTS TO HEAT UP, THE BOYS TURN TO THE RASCALS TO GET THEIR GROOVE ON.

    Jun 22

    THE SPLENDID BOHEMIANS PRESENT A "PUT ON A STACK OF 45s" Rewind: 'GROOVIN' BY THE YOUNG RASCALS! AS THE SUMMER HOLIDAY STARTS TO HEAT UP, THE BOYS TURN TO THE RASCALS TO GET THEIR GROOVE ON.

    The concept to which The Rascals were dedicated was, in Felix Cavaliere's words, "Marvin Gaye's voice, Ray Charles' piano, Jimmy Smith's organ, Phil Spector's production and The Beatles' writing. Put them all together and you've got what I wanted to do." A White Rock band playing Black Soul music was a new idea for Pop in 1965. "The great thing about music in the 1960s was that people were discovering there was no color barrier in the business. We were respected by the Black groups we loved as much as we respected them," noted Cornish. The Rascals' music was dubbed blue-eyed Soul, a term Cavaliere never cared for. "I always hated the label because it created a separation between Black and White music. It was a marketing concept. As soon as you put a drum in music, it's R&B. I wish it wouldn't have been called blue-eyed Soul. My eyes aren't blue." The band's first release for Atlantic was called "I Ain't Gonna Eat Out My Heart Anymore" which rose to #52 in the U.S. in 1965, but it was their 1966 effort, "Good Lovin'" that made them Rock 'n' Roll stars. The song quickly rose to the number one spot on Billboard's Hot 100 and went Gold. They followed with two more Top 20 hits, "You Better Run" (#20) and "I've Been Lonely Too Long" (#16) later the same year. The writing was a key component of the band's success, as sixteen of their eighteen chart records were written by Cavaliere alone or in tandem with frequent collaborator Eddie Brigati. As the song writing progressed, social commentary began to show up in the music. The group's growing ambition was reflected in the change from The Young Rascals to simply The Rascals. The word "young" had originally been inserted before the band's name for legal reasons. It seems there was a group named Johnny Pulleo & The Harmonica Rascals who claimed a proprietary interest. "We were embarrassed about that, 'cause we were trying to be a Soul band," said Cornish. "It wasn't The Silver Rascals or The Rockin' Rascals, it was The Young Rascals! And we had to live with it. By the time we got to Groovin', we said, 'Well, enough of this. We are The Rascals.'" A high point for both Cornish and Cavaliere was 1968's #1 hit "People Got To Be Free". "The message in songs like 'People Got To Be Free' is as important now as it ever was," said Gene. It was written in reaction to the King and Kennedy assassinations that year. In fact, Cavaliere had worked for the RFK campaign. "That the song was #1 in places like Berlin and South Africa meant a lot to me," said Felix. Despite the initial resistance to the political nature of the song, it went on to become The Rascals' biggest-selling record. It was also their last #1 hit. The Rascals followed with "A Ray Of Hope" (#24 in 1968), "Heaven" (#39 in 1969), "See" (#27 in 1969) and "Carry Me Back" (#26 in 1969). Two other 1970 releases, "Hold On" (#81) and "Glory Glory" (#71) failed to crack the Top 40, and a song called "Love Me" was a miserable flop when it peaked at #99 during a one week stay on the Hot 100 in the Summer of 1971. The Jazz-tinged experimentation of later albums like "Peaceful World" and "The Island Of Real" (which Cavaliere once called "The best record I ever made") proved less commercial than the group's earlier Garage Band Soul. Management was less than supportive of the new directions the band was headed in and a switch to the Columbia label in 1971 failed to provide the new life they were looking for. Personal frictions were on the rise too, and eventually Brigati and Cornish quit the band. They were replaced with Buzzy Feiten (from The Paul Butterfield Blues Band) and Ann Sutton, who had sung with various Soul and Jazz groups in Philadelphia. By 1972, The Rascals called it quits.

    33 min
  4. THE SPLENDID BOHEMIANS PRESENT “ELECTION DISAFFECTION”, PT. 2. IN THIS TIME CAPSULE COLLAGE OF HISTORICAL CAMPAIGN SONGS AND UP TO THE MINUTE INTERVIEWS FROM 2024 WE CAN HEAR THE FUTURE BEING PLAYED OUT ALONGSIDE HAUNTINGS FROM THE PAST.

    Jun 13

    THE SPLENDID BOHEMIANS PRESENT “ELECTION DISAFFECTION”, PT. 2. IN THIS TIME CAPSULE COLLAGE OF HISTORICAL CAMPAIGN SONGS AND UP TO THE MINUTE INTERVIEWS FROM 2024 WE CAN HEAR THE FUTURE BEING PLAYED OUT ALONGSIDE HAUNTINGS FROM THE PAST.

    We originally broadcast this episode of election nonsense prior to the debate of 2024, and listening to it anew we are reminded of how drastically things can change, while at the same time aligning eerily with the past. Happy 250th, everybody! The Gladiators are approaching the cage.

    21 min
  5. THE SPLENDID BOHEMIANS PRESENT A "DIG THIS" REWIND: A TRIBUTE TO CHIP TAYLOR (3/21/1940 - 3/23/2026). RICH BUCKLAND AND BILL MESNIK OFFER THE TALE OF AN UNPARALLELED SONGWRITER AND POET, PRACTITIONER OF SOCIAL EQUALITY AND BROTHER OF A MIDNIGHT COWBOY.

    Jun 12

    THE SPLENDID BOHEMIANS PRESENT A "DIG THIS" REWIND: A TRIBUTE TO CHIP TAYLOR (3/21/1940 - 3/23/2026). RICH BUCKLAND AND BILL MESNIK OFFER THE TALE OF AN UNPARALLELED SONGWRITER AND POET, PRACTITIONER OF SOCIAL EQUALITY AND BROTHER OF A MIDNIGHT COWBOY.

    Chip Taylor (3/21/1940 - 3/23/2026) Like a cat with nine lives, Chip Taylor’s persona embodied many iterations. Starting with his successful “songwriter for hire” status, penning golden hits like Wild Thing, and Angel of the Morning, up through his phoenix-like resurgence as an Americana elder statesman, the story of this man’s artistic survival, emerging as it did, out from the quicksand of addiction, stands as one of the Splendid Bohemian’s tales of celebration. https://www.songhall.org/profile/chip_taylor BROWSE THROUGH THE CATALOG OF CHIP'S RECORD LABEL "TRAIN WRECK RECORDS"   https://www.trainwreckrecords.com/

    1h 16m
  6. THE SPLENDID BOHEMIANS PRESENT “ELECTION DISAFFECTION:” IF YOU THINK TIMES ARE BAD NOW, CONSIDER 1856… AMERICA’S ANSWER WAS JAMES BUCHANAN, AIDED BY A SONG PENNED BY THE NATION’S TOP SONGWRITER, STEPHEN FOSTER . "THE MIGHTY MEZ" DELIVERS IT H

    Jun 5

    THE SPLENDID BOHEMIANS PRESENT “ELECTION DISAFFECTION:” IF YOU THINK TIMES ARE BAD NOW, CONSIDER 1856… AMERICA’S ANSWER WAS JAMES BUCHANAN, AIDED BY A SONG PENNED BY THE NATION’S TOP SONGWRITER, STEPHEN FOSTER . "THE MIGHTY MEZ" DELIVERS IT H

    26 years ago, before the election of George W. Bush in 2000, I wrote, produced and starred in a show about the history of the campaign song, called "Muckrakers," with the fabulous Linda Kerns.   Given that this bicentennial election season is heating up, I thought it’d be fun to revisit some songs from elections past… Let's look at one from 1856... Some background: in 1854 was “Bleeding Kansas” - a bitter dispute between pro and anti-slavery forces over that territory, which led to the break up of the two major parties and the formation of a new one — THE REPUBLICANS — who vowed to oppose any further extension of slavery.  But, THE DEMOCRATIC WINNER OF THE 1856 ELECTION WAS….? Many people consider him the WORST president we’ve ever had (until now) - because he might have prevented the Civil War, and he blew it.  I’ll give you a hint: he was a bachelor - girl he was engaged to as a youth committed suicide. One eye was nearsighted, the other far - so he held his head a a funny angle…. Got it? He was the quote: “most available, and most unobjectionable JAMES BUCHANAN, former Secretary of State to Polk, who once called him “an able man,” but added that, “he sometimes acts like an old maid.” Nevertheless, Bucky won big! Carried every Southern state, except Maryland and six free states - proving that the majority still put the preservation of the Union above all else. And, that is exactly what Stephen Foster’s WHITE HOUSE CHAIR urged the voters to do.

    6 min
  7. THE SPLENDID BOHEMIANS PRESENT IN REMEMBRANCE OF DAVE MASON (5/10/1946 - 4/19/2026): A SUNNY SIDE OF MY STREET REWIND with THE "MIGHTY MEZ" - SONGS TO MAKE YOU FEEL GOOD - EPISODE #44: WHO KNOWS WHAT TOMORROW MAY BRING by Traffic (United Artists, 1968)

    May 30

    THE SPLENDID BOHEMIANS PRESENT IN REMEMBRANCE OF DAVE MASON (5/10/1946 - 4/19/2026): A SUNNY SIDE OF MY STREET REWIND with THE "MIGHTY MEZ" - SONGS TO MAKE YOU FEEL GOOD - EPISODE #44: WHO KNOWS WHAT TOMORROW MAY BRING by Traffic (United Artists, 1968)

    WHO KNOWS WHAT TOMORROW MAY BRING by Traffic (United Artists, 1968) The original line up of Traffic had it all: mysticism, funk, folk, world music, and a healthy dose of irony. For an acid head like me they were the perfect accompaniment for a trip through shifting patterns of synchronicity. Of course, Traffic was helmed by the one and only Steve Winwood, who as a teenager impressed the world, shouting the blues on “I’m a Man,” and “Keep on Running” with the Spencer Davis Group, and was now considered a full-blown genius. But they also needed Dave Mason for ballast, because after he left the rising balloon, Winwood navigated the group into extended jazz noodle-ville - (but, that’s another story!)  Who knows what tomorrow may bring from the group’s eponymous second album is a deceptively simple groove and mantra that resonates across genres, time-zones, and philosophies, releasing a blast of joy-filled dopamine to one’s synaptic receptors, even as one contemplates the evanescence of life. And, that swinging organ counterpoint is smoking!  As I felt the waves of dislocation beginning to distort my perceptions, Winwood encouraged me to “step outside” of my mind, and “float across the ceiling…” I trusted him, and so I did just that. And, it was good.

    6 min
  8. "PUT ON A STACK OF 45's" Rewind! MOBY GRAPE- "8:05" - THE DENIAL OF A GRAND DESTINY - Dig This With The Splendid Bohemians - Featuring Rich Buckland and Bill Mesnik -The Boys Devote Each Episode To A Famed 45 RPM And Shine A Light Upon It's Import

    May 23

    "PUT ON A STACK OF 45's" Rewind! MOBY GRAPE- "8:05" - THE DENIAL OF A GRAND DESTINY - Dig This With The Splendid Bohemians - Featuring Rich Buckland and Bill Mesnik -The Boys Devote Each Episode To A Famed 45 RPM And Shine A Light Upon It's Import

    MOBY GRAPE JUST CAN'T CATCH A BREAK https://www.npr.org/transcripts/17498799

    22 min
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About

My Fellow Americans, Life is actually just a microscopic, deluded moment in time, so let's cut to the freakin' chase. One look at our impending election debacle can solidify my case. It has been my contention since birth, that the answer to every difficulty we encounter on this sacred yet demented Stone, can be revealed with ultimate clarity through the ultra neurotic engagements of Music, Art, Literature, Film, Poetry and a good Pastrami sandwich. Why would any sane human spend so must time on a film set (Do you know how long you gotta wait until your 8 second deliverance of an edited beyond repair line gets a chance to become a professional embarrassment etched in time forever? ) or expend so much energy in a recording studio, piecing together another ode to a man or woman who could not care less how much love existed within your digestive tract? It's all about hymns and prayers and a quest for mercy and forgiveness and silence and faith. We were blessed with Charles Bukowski,  Gene Chandler, Lenny Bruce, Mitch Ryder and a legion of creative explorers whose influences provided the air we breathe.  So Let's Dance! This site shall explore the reaper, find a way to disarm the stench of injustice, discover some true loves and talk it all over before it's all over. So what's the worst that our desires could produce? Failure? So sue me. I'm going to require your assistance in making as much trouble for the grown-ups as possible. Let the record show that my childish heart yearns to disrupt the madness. Join me Ladies and Germs! With Gratitude For Gena Rowlands, Nancy Sinatra, Jerry Quarry, Leo Gorcey, Arthur Alexander and Joey Heatherton, Your Splendid Bohemian, Rich Buckland.

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