I think the concept is sound. I talked to Roger about setting up the investment methodology of the start-up. I think that the potential for advertising is large, although not for me and my puny little effort.

Also one of the main drawbacks I've seen personally in the world of blogs is that even the most widely read "big boys [and girls]" tend to post second hand stories from the MSM and then comment on them. Which is fine, to a point. Pajamas Media will allow new stories to be generated from the field, and the better of these to find a wider audience thru Pajamas Media's main website.

Wallace, I think your comment ended up on the wrong post, but that's OK.

I continue to believe that there are very few fulltime bloggers who can generate "new news" instead of just commenting on MSM-generated news. Maybe this will make it easier to find those few.

However, there are thousands of bloggers who can occasionally stumble across unique and timely newsworthy events before the MSM gets 'em, and this is the other group that might benefit from the aggregation approach. But, most of those events are going to be local and of limited interest, so I wonder how much traffic they'll really generate.

In any event, it will be an interesting exercise to watch.

It could almost be Eddie and the Cruisers, from the movie of around that time... but yeah, it's not.

I had nothing two posts ago, and I still got nothing.

okay, I've got it-- I think. But you'll never believe how I figured this out.

Elbow Bones and the Racketeers. The album is New York at Dawn.

What in the name of all that is holy...

Elbow Bones and the Racketeers. The album is New York at Dawn.

We have a winner!!

OK, Jim, you've got to share how you figured this out.

I'll provide the appropriate recognition later this evening. Good job!

In a word... Google. I tried I don't even want to say how many combinations of search strings with one or more of the following items...

"and the" 1984 1983 hit music album completely obscure

...no actually I didn't include completely obscure.

Finally I saw "Elbow Bones and the Racketeers" in one list of 1984 singles. Apparently it didn't chart very high.

And then, a little further down on the page was a snippet from one of your own posts! (Entitled, "Me, The Anti-Cool" from January 12, 2004 at 8:36pm) "Interesting," thought I, "that is a term I've often used in describing myself."

After that I started looking for album covers. Found a photo on a Japanese site. Apparently, Japan has a booming market for obscure vinyl recordings of bands that had one modest hit in 1984. You could make a fair piece of change selling it over there. It is a catchy tune however, you should hang onto it (I managed to find a sample too, somewhere). I don't think I've heard it before--and I was big into chart watching back then too.

I hate to admit this, but it was kind of fun. What's that say?

opal room?

Very enterprising, although to the casual observer it might seem that you have too much time on your hands. ;-)

The fact that you enjoyed it actually renews my faith in mankind.

We may have to do this again sometime, once you finish your exclusive engagement at the Opal Room, high atop the Franklin Hotel. (Don't tell me you never listened to late night jazz shows on an AM radio while camping out in your backyard.)

Oh, and Jim...going back to one of your earlier shot-in-the-dark desperation guesses (Kid Creole & the Coconuts), I was tempted to award partial credit, except that I knew that you didn't really know.

Elbow Bones & the Racketeers is a sort of "all-star" group pulled together for this one album. Guess where many of the members came from? That's right....

Way to go Jim!

I was gonna guess that, as obscure as this was, it might have been an early Siegmund band, with a name like "Eric and the Ominoes."

I tried the Google route, but unsuccessfully. Looked at a lot of 1984 album covers along the way. That was fun, too, and it just proves the ancient adage,

"It is better to have googled and lost, than never to have googled at all."

Eric, what was the name of the first band you were in? There's a blogger's meme for ya.

Thanks for the clip. The only one I got to hear didn't include the chorus... now I can go to bed with it playing over and over in my head

"Take me for a night in New York..."

My comment did end up on the wrong post.....but I'll let it stand as a protest to the "contest". Elbow Bones?

I am a man of the world having visited 3 continents that I know of, assorted islands, principalities and dominions and never have I heard of Elbow Bones....not even in passing. Not even in my drinking days.

There's nothing more pitiful than a sore loser. Unless it's a sore loser without an Elbow Bones album.

You're excused from responsibility, however, as I suspect you were still listening to "Thick as a Brick" throughout the 80s. That's OK; it could have happened to anyone.

Jim, it is a catchy tune, isn't it? Like I said, if the whole album had been as good, this contest would never have gotten off the ground.

Larry, I almost forgot about your question. The first band I was ever in was...drum roll, please...the Fort Stockton Junior High band.

Sadly, as a clarinet player, there wasn't much demand for my talents in cool bands.

Actually, there's never been much demand for my talents anywhere, but that's another story for another day. Another pitiful, whining, long, depressing day.

No way! Never heard of these people! Gag me with a spoon!

Good contest though. I'm still stumped on Pattie's second cover.

Elbow Bones?
I misread it as "Elbow Jones" the first time.

A fine bit of research, there, Jim!

Denise, I haven't a clue about Pattie's cover, either. And it's hard to Google a picture with no text!

Brian, Elbow Jones is EB's even more obscure cousin on his mother's side of the family. But the confusion is understandable.

Tom Rush......

Now him I've heard of.......Elbow Bones indeed.