I've listened to a lot of music, but I haven't heard it all. Warren Zevon is one of those that I hadn't really listened to — until now. Zoe recently mentioned him and then Joseph Duemer linked to an article about him in American Samizdat (article link below.) I went to Rhapsody and they had six Warren Zevon albums. I'm just finishing listening to the last one. I'm just blown away. The albums in Rhapsody don't include his latest, which I will have to buy. No problem.

Of course there is Werewolves of London, a few others that I recognize, and a whole lot of stuf that is new to me. My favorite is one that I had long forgotten about but, on hearing it, I remembered listening to it many years ago. It stopped me in my tracks then and it still does — Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner.

The artist snapshot in Rhapsody:

"Wa-oooo! Werewolves of London." What da heck was that about? Doesn't matter, it's just one of the many weird, wonderful songs Warren Zevon has written. Snide, sarcastic, and catchy as all get out, he's basically a harder rocking (and harder living) Randy Newman.

Warren Zevon

Selected Warren Zevon Discograpy

This is the article that Joseph Deumer linked to.

Facing Mortality With Mischief Rather Than Tears

The dying cancer patient with a dark, dry wit met one of his doctors for breakfast last week and handed over his two most recent CDs, one titled "Life'll Kill Ya" and the other "My Ride's Here." In his familiar baritone, Warren Zevon explained the gifts to the physician: "These are my last two albums. Maybe now you'll understand that eerie acceptance of death you keep asking me about."

Zevon chuckled at the account and then paused to catch his breath. Last month, doctors told the 55- year-old musician that he has inoperable cancer in both lungs. The prognosis is bleak, with his time measured in weeks or perhaps months. Zevon is the rocker who defined the volatile edge of the famed singer-songwriter scene of 1970s Los Angeles with his wild, vodka-fueled living and songs of morbid humor, and now he finds himself facing the very unfunny fact of his own mortality.

And, of course, he finds irresistible humor in that. [read more]