My "What Was I Thinking" Song List

*UPDATE: I failed to mention one teeny thing about Bloodrock that might mitigate the diss on DOA: JOHN NITZINGER. This dude IS Texas Rock. Tonight at the McDavid Studio is his farewell performance after suffering a stroke last year. Kman and I waited too long to get tickets. I wonder if I stood around outside, maybe the kicking guitar riffs would penetrate the brick walls? A little trivia: John used to play at this famous Cowtown joint.




Okay Buckeroos, it's time for another game of musical self-discovery. This rodeo is brought to you by none other than that Bronc Bustin' Blogger of Verging on Pertinence: DARKOV. (Rules of the ropin' are at his place, go see.) Joining this reata brigade is WhiskyPrajer, who already has his first calf roped.


So, to get things rockin' here at TT, my first offering:

The year: 1970
The band: Bloodrock
The album: Bloodrock 2
The song: DOA
An Amazon snippet here.

In 1970, I was a sophomore in high school. A year before the events at My Lai, college kids were stuffing themselves into phone booths and VW's, and heavy metal rock music was born.



Bloodrock was a local Cowtown band that achieved some quasi-fame, as openers for Grand Funk Railroad, among other big bands. DOA was their only hit that made the major airwaves, and we were groovin with the boys from Cowtown. Famous, we were famous!

We would imagine all sorts of philosophical mystery to the lyrics, sure there was a message just for us. What deep meaning was behind the words, was it a prediction of the end of the world? (During the 9/11 crisis, some people even remembered this old tune, and again attributed something more to it than ever really existed.) Not the first rock band to incorporate such a theme, DOA used blood, disaster, and the eerie sound of an ambulance siren and creepy keyboards to create their one-hit wonder fame. A violent era that begat violent music, and we were bullet-proof.

Most of my generational music has stood the test of time. Some of it has been discovered by younger fans, and its longevity is a testament to true performing and compositional talent. On the very rare occasions when I hear Bloodrock's DOA now, I wonder how we could have ever thought this gross-out song was oh so cool.

Ah, youth.