This year for the 2023 A-Z Blog Challenge, I’m going to begin by listing a song or musical subject, and then see how fast and how far I can completely blow up my own “stream of consciousness,” and head “off the reservation,” by linking every real, and “Zulu Delta-imagined” fact, piece of music trivia, or not so apparent connection to what is racing around my head to that song in an “unstructured, graffiti-like” format. Complete and utter nonsense! Turn it up and turn it on, but as Van “The Man” Morrison said…….”It’s already turned on!”

Well, now that we all know French from listing to the bands “Fairport Convention,” and “The Wild Tchoupitoulas,” let’s use the phrase “Nom de plume,” meaning; Pen Name.

Rachelle Cordova, better known by the “nom de plume” Reina del Cid, is a singer and song writer.

I discovered her on YouTube mostly from following another musician Josh Turner.

No time here to get into all that Roswell has “become” as the “Mother of all Modern Mother conspiracy theories,” but the song will cover most of it for us anyway.

Reina and Toni have a touring van for musical appearances. They named it “Van Morrison.”

I love the idea that instead of being mad and bitter when their van broke down, they put their time to good use by not only visiting all around and checking out some history, but writing this clever song.

The chorus and music “shift” (a non-musician term), is great;

There’s nothing to see here in Roswell,

That sleepy New Mexico town……

The music kind of reminds me of the music from the “Epic and Underrated” movie; Six String Samurai, also filmed in the desert.

Ten and a half years ago, I published my “second ever” blog on this platform called “If I’m Your Honey, Why Am I Still Paying For Breakfast?”

https://zuludelta45.net/2012/10/22/if-im-your-honey-why-am-i-still-paying-for-breakfast/

I used an internet picture from the original TV show “Roswell.” As noted before, John Doe of the band “X” was the father of Liz; the teenage waitress who worked at the “Crash Down Cafe.”

Reina and Toni would show up again on the beach with Josh Turner singing a great cover song; “Shark Smile” by Big Thief. Once more, I prefer the cover to the original. 

Oddly, upon close inspection of the song’s lyrics, (one lover dying in a car crash), it’s reminiscent of other famous “teenage tragedy” songs from the early 1960’s; “Teen Angel” from 1960,” “Last Kiss,” from 1961, “Dead Man’s Curve” in 1963, and “Leader of the Pack” by the Shangri-Las from 1964.

Renia, Toni, and Josh sang the cover song on the beach in Santa Monica, California. This is also the town where Brian Wilson, Jan Berry and a few others wrote the song “Dead Man’s Curve” for the group “Jan and Dean” at Brian’s mother’s house in 1964, which is only 6.5 Miles away from the “real” Dead Man’s Curve.

Even MORE coincidentally, Jan Berry, of the band “Jan and Dean” would be involved in a near-fatal crash in his own Sting Ray near; but not on…..Dead Man’s Curve in 1966.

Overhead map view of Dead Man’s Curve, an almost ninety-degree right turn traveling west on Sunset Boulevard just past North Whittier Drive near 9901 Sunset Blvd, Beverly Hills, CA 90210

Maybe I need a guitar, or a Sting Ray for a more interesting life? 

Nah!

Let’s leave with this “wicked cool cover!” The song actually ends at 3 minutes and 20 seconds.