Late night open thread

So here we are at last Jersey City, the final late night open thread. In some odd way Johnny hoped it would somehow bring each day in Jersey City to a close with a hope for something better tomorrow. He wished this for Ypsilanti at the old Ypsi City Desk and he'll wish it at the new Oscoda City Desk.

You've all proven to be such admirable Hobbits to live amongst and Johnny is happy to have shared ten years of his life with all of you if only through this website. He wishes each and every one of you who read this today, perhaps in a month or even years from now the very best. You don't have to make Jersey City yours friends, it already belongs to you. Take ownership of it and never settle for the stewards of your city giving back half-measures or slapdash work.

If you're ever up north on the Lake Huron side of Michigan, give Johnny a shout, he might just buy your dinner.

Until then...

The Red Bulls kick off their conference final tie with Atlanta today

The one New Jersey/New York team Johnny really pulled for starts the conference final tie (Americans and Canadians call them a 'home and home' series) with the Atlanta Braves, er Hawks, um, no, Falcons? It can't be the Thrashers, they're gone. Anyway, the Red Bulls play at Atlanta United at 5:30pm. It would be so Red Bulls to get this far again and lose but something tells Johnny they can win the Eastern Conference. If the Red Bulls play an in your face style against Atlanta and force them into giveaways and less possession, like they did previously this season, maybe the South Ward will still be chanting, “You can’t beat us,” in the return match at Red Bull Arena on Thursday.

NYCFC fans can go put on their Red Bull hats now.

Late night open thread

Johnny's last Saturday Night Scoreboard Show in Jersey City on the last big Saturday of the season. Funny how that works out.

Ohio State 62
Michigan 39
This just in, Ohio State just scored again

Syracuse 42
Boston College 21
A great season by the Orange. 9-3 should draw interest from a top bowl game

Alabama 52
Auburn 21
Your turn in the cage, Georgia

Eastern Michigan 28
Kent State 20
The Hurons are going bowling for the second time in three years. All hail Chris Creighton

Northwestern 24
Illinois 16
The little purple engine that could

Minnesota 37
Wisconsin 15
Remember at the beginning of the year when Wisconsin was in the top 5

North Carolina State 34
North Carolina 28 OT
Overtime in the last regular season game really starts to cut into NCAA hoops watching for these fanbases

Florida 41
Florida State 14
No soup bowl for the Seminoles, their first losing season since 1982

Michigan State 14
Rutgers 10
Rutgers took a 10-7 lead with 4:00 to play but Rutgers gonna Rutgers

The Jersey City Desk Game of the Week®
Tulane 29
Navy 28
Tulane wanted one thing, bowl eligibility. So when they scored late to pull within 1, they got power up and went for 2. Charles Jones caught the trickeration and for the first time since 2013 the Green Wave are going bowling. For his catch and conversion, Charles Jones may loot and pillage New Orleans for the next 24 hours

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Remember Jersey City, we're shopping small today

It's a Small Business Saturday Jersey City so let's get out there and support our friends and neighbors who have invested in our town to make their mark and make Jersey City a better place. Try and remember these stores are there the other 364 days of the year as well. Don't just make today a one-time event.

Support Jersey City with your dollars!

Late night open thread

Q) How come elephants lie on their backs in fields?
A) So they can trip birds

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Friday night MULTIMEDIA EXTRAVAGANZA with THE BOOMTOWN RATS!

Well, here we are Jersey City and the surround, the last Music Series. As sad as that is, that's NOT what the Friday night Music Series has been about. Nothing maudlin tonight, hell no. Just great music, it's what we do here. It's what we'll be doing in Oscoda, just a click away or you can drive 600-some miles each week and watch Johnny put it together. Your call.

Let's step off one more time proper with one of the most underrated songs in the history of songs, 'Rat Trap' by The Boomtown Rats. Edgy guitar, the perfect anti-hero, the nasty sax, and Bob Geldof telling the tale. It's all in here. Like a turducken of music, only good.

Let's do this thing...

Friday night MULTIMEDIA EXTRAVAGANZA with THE SMITHEREENS!

Johnny's ode to all his New Jersey friends. Bruce or Jon seemed so cliche and we've played them both plenty. 'Blood and Roses' all up in your ears and sounding like Friday night should.

Turn it up loud enough you can drown out all the car horns ;)

Friday night MULTIMEDIA EXTRAVAGANZA with ROBERT PLANT & THE BAND OF JOY!

Johnny, a spiritual on the last night even if reimagined in such a hip way? Oh you know it, sinner. It's the music that Johnny loves. This is incredible. Plus it's one more chance to fit Patty Griffin into a Music Series and stick a finger in the eye of the person who said via email twice Johnny played her music too much.

Like that could happen.

One.Last.Song. Jersey City, you'll have to click all the way in Oscoda to get the next one in a few weeks. Radio Free Iosco (County) we'll call it. "Move Up' taking us out one last time.

Late night open thread

Go on, you can have one more piece of pie before bed. Of course it needs Cool Whip. Stupid question.

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Today Johnny is giving thanks for the great people of Jersey City

When Johnny's wife passed in early February, he truly thought he was alone here. He'd worked from home so he didn't get the same types of relationships one builds up in a office setting; dinners, movies, team building trips to Yankee Stadium, and through these outings and events and programs one makes friends. Johnny only really had acquaintances in his building as he worked early and odd hours. His best friend really was his dog walker all this time as he'd see him every day at least and chat.

He really felt isolated.

Nobody is EVER going to use any kind of, "Oh, New Jersey, pffft" insult around him and not be called on it. "Oh Jersey people..." Nope, as Bill Clinton used to say, 'That dog don't hunt." Never again will that derisive dismissal go unchallenged. Jersey City has shown Johnny some of the most wonderful people he'll ever meet and will truly miss.

Johnny's an Atheist, don't worry, just setting up this story of kindness. The first thing one does after getting up off the couch is deal with the funeral home situation however agonizing. Johnny called McLaughlin Funeral Home in Journal Square. He is SO GLAD HE DID. They've been incredible and they helped take care of so much. If you are ever in the same situation as Johnny, you can trust them. Just 4 days after his wife passed Johnny did not feel up to a PATH ride from Grove St. to the JSQ and he called a cab. The ride was quiet and uneventful which was the plan. As the cab pulled up outside McLaughlin's and stopped, the driver, in a thick accent, asked Johnny if he was going to the funeral home. Johnny said yes. He asked if it were someone close and Johnny choked up a little replied 'My wife."

The driver asked Johnny to hold on for a moment. He fumbled in his jacket for a second or two and pulled out a prayer card and asked if he could say a prayer for her with him. It was the first and one of the kindest gestures in a tidal wave of coming kindness. You better believe Johnny listened to all this good and kind stranger had to say from the card. Simply amazing.

Johnny's neighbors took his dog for walks, they'd just show up to do it. Dinner was left outside his door like it was some kind of wonderful coordinated effort for over a week. Johnny's college friend Mary who lives in Dallas wanted to make sure he ate something, anything, and ordered a burger and mac and cheese poppers from Left Bank Burger. When it got delivered there was a note from Mary relayed on the receipt but also a note from someone who worked at Left Bank Burger, "We're here if you need us."

Johnny has gotten more supportive and uplifting DM's on Twitter from Jersey City people than you can count. He's just listed a few moments here where people were kind, there have been many more.

New Jersey/Jersey City isn't Angry Governors, Snooki's and housewives. It's not. That's TV. The people of Jersey City are wonderful and compassionate and kind and whom Johnny was lucky enough to spend 10 years with.

Today he's giving thanks for you Jersey City.

Here's the traditional Thanksgiving Massacree, with the four-part harmony

Late night open thread

Guess which song Johnny's gonna post in the morning, on Thanksgiving Day? Guess. Go on, guess.

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Safe travels out there today, tonight and tomorrow

Try and make your trip Owen free.

Late night open thread

“But there is always a November space after the leaves have fallen when she felt it was almost indecent to intrude on the woods…for their glory terrestrial had departed and their glory celestial of spirit and purity and whiteness had not yet come upon them.”
-- L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Windy Poplars

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Valar Morghulis tonight Journal Square

Valar morghulis, you know, the translation for either "All Men Must Die" or "Better Get To the White Castle" will be tested tonight as the man himself, A Song of Ice and Fire author George R.R. Martin will appear at the Landmark Loew's Theater at 7:30 discussing his new book (No, not the next in the series) “Fire & Blood,” which is a history of the Targaryen family and empire.

Tickets are $40 but you DO get a signed copy of the book. Johnny went to see Mr. Martin discuss his History of Westeros book, the one with all the pictures. He's very very engaging and does take questions from the audience at the end so if you have some gripes with Game of Thrones adaptations, if that is how Hodor dies in the books actually holding the door, or whatever is on your mind, tonight is your chance to ask. When Johnny saw him a couple years back at the 92nd Street Y, Martin did explain some of the differences between his vision and the show's reality. In his vision, THIS is what the Iron Throne looks like. 7:30, see you there Jersey City!

Late night open thread

The Saturday Night Scoreboard Show, you know it, you love it, it's 5 minutes of your life you'll never get back.

Oklahoma State 45
West Virginia 41
Know what this is? It's the God of Burning Couches in Morgantown. He will rage tonight

Ohio State 52
Maryland 51
Maryland's QB decided instead of throwing a winning two-point conversion to a wide open receiver to get power up and win the game he'd take out his frustrations on a security guard who had his back turned 30 feet in the other direction

Notre Dame 36
Syracuse 3
Wonder how many people this speed bump shook off the Orange bandwagon

UCLA 34
USC 27
There is no other game in America with better, more appealing aesthetics than both USC and UCLA playing in their dark jerseys

Utah 30
Colorado 7
Even the fans were bored

Lehigh 34
Lafayette 3
College football's oldest rivalry renewed. Lehigh finished 3-8 but Johnny will bet it doesn't feel like it tonight on South Mountain

Wisconsin 47
Purdue 44
The "I Can't Believe Northwestern Is Playing In the Big Ten Championship Game" game

Maine 27
Elon 26
Maine's Earnest Edwards returned not one but TWO kickoffs for touchdowns in the Black Bears win

Furman 35
Mercer 30
Johnny told you last week he packed his Furman shirt away already. No impact

The Jersey City Desk Game of the Week®
Holy Cross 32
Georgetown 31
Macklin Kortebein wasn't happy blocking just one punt in the 26 point comeback for Holy Cross, so he decided to block two. When Miles Alexander ran it in from two yards out with 42 seconds left, Hoya fans probably had to be told because they'd already changed the channel to Georgetown basketball. For his efforts Macklin Kortebein may loot and pillage Washington D.C. for the next 24 hours.

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Late night open thread

State trivia night. Retailer JC Penney started in which state? Answer here.

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Friday night MULTIMEDIA EXTRAVAGANZA with BLONDIE!

Johnny's gonna bet if you asked 1000 serious Blondie fans what their favorite song by them was 'Union City Blue' would be at or near the top. Everything works in this song. The grind of the guitar, and Debbie Harry simply sings the shit out of this song. One of her best.

Three more songs after tonight so Johnny's fitting in songs that he truly loves or mean a lot.

Friday night MULTIMEDIA EXTRAVAGANZA with PAUL MCCARTNEY & WINGS!

Is there anybody who doesn't love this song, 'Band on the Run'? Johnny thanks his first best friend in life, Roger, for teaching him about reading liner notes being important and listening to FM radio was a must. This was one of the albums Roger would put on often. For those long-time readers of the Ypsi and Jersey City Desks, no this was not an 8-track in his Buick Regal.

Great stuff...

Still a top-tier album cover too.

Friday night MULTIMEDIA EXTRAVAGANZA with JOE STRUMMER!

Few, if any, artists have had such an impact on Johnny with their songs, lyrics and public words than Joe Strummer. Johnny can always find a song with meaning, depth, thought or in this case just some sweet-ass instrumental rock and roll. If you're looking for this song, Johnny thinks the only place you can find it in on the Grosse Pointe Blank soundtrack, which Joe Strummer produced.

'War Cry' getting you out of here and on with your Friday night party plans.

Late night open thread

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Johnny's Jersey City Stories Volume 2: Hello Mayor Healy, nice to meet you

When Johnny and Mrs. Johnny were looking at places in Jersey City, once they decided NYC and FuHo were out, and figured they would rent for the first year or so, see where they were spending most of their time in JC and where might just be a good place to buy. The first home for them was at 75 Liberty, Brunswick Towers, the old Tonnelle Circle as it was, backed right up to the place off 139 and Kennedy Blvd. One couldn't go more than a minute without car horns. Johnny tried many mornings. He'd slide open the glass sliding door a crack when he got up for work around 4am (That is not a typo, 4am for 9 years) and rarely if ever, even at that hour did it go longer than a minute without some aggrieved driver honking.

The place was nice, indoor pool, cool neighbors and the people Johnny and Mrs. Johnny were renting from, one was the former Parenting column writer in the Jersey Journal, Melinda Vickerman-Lalaoui. Wonderful woman. She and her husband Alex mentioned that the all powerful Jersey City mayor, Jerramiah Healy would be holding a fundraiser for his 2009 re-election right there in building and asked if we'd like to go. The fundraiser in fact was right down the hall from the mayor's opponent in the 2009 race, Lou Manzo. Johnny had gotten to know Mr. Manzo just on a "Hi how are you" head nod basis but even after only being in Jersey City for five months he had a good idea why this fundraiser was being held where it was. Mea culpa, Johnny nor Mrs. Johnny gave money to Healy's campaign that night. Johnny thinks in fact after a night with Healy and all his cronies and what they talked about and how they spoke he realized the Jersey City Desk at the time wasn't nearly ready enough to talk on city issues very deeply The fundraiser changed all that.

As Johnny shook Mayor Healy's hand the mayor gave him a quizzical look and asked if he'd met Johnny before. He was almost certain he had. Perhaps Healy though Johnny might be some kind of Manzo plant. He wasn't, Johnny and the mayor further talked that Johnny had just moved from Detroit (to which Healy and Bill Gaughan both rolled their eyes, ("Oh Detroit") and perhaps after all the Kwame Kilpatrick malfeasance that had just gone on in Detroit had the Jersey boys feeling a little smug. Of course this was mere days before the big Hudson County law enforcement net snared the Mayors of Hoboken and elsewhere, a few of Healy's top appointments as well (so be careful what you shit on Jerry, it might be days away from biting you in the ass) in the Solomon Dwek real estate scam. Johnny did actually get to talk with Mayor Healy about riverfront development and Johnny told the mayor quite directly he needed recession-proof hotels on the riverfront. More than were there at the time, ie, one. The hotels downtown Detroit Johnny explained weren't going bankrupt, the city was. The hotels downtown near the new casinos had to move money to go to the toilet. Hotels along the river or near the river in JC would be bulletproof. Someone took a notepad out and scribbled some ideas on this. Johnny would never claim to be the reason two more hotels got built by the water in the time he was here after he spoke to the mayor about it, that would be some serious ego shit right there. BUT he will say when Healy heard the Detroit hotels on the river were some of the biggest contributors to city coffers, he looked interested. Again, deep into the discussion Healy swore he's met Johnny before. Bill Gaughan offered to get Johnny a cocktail. It was a nice discussion with a guy Johnny would later go on to realize was pretty much in it for his pals.

Johnny also had two lovely discussions with both then-candidate for Ward C Nidia Lopez-Boehringer who was a very very nice woman and great to talk to and the actual highlight of the evening for Johnny was talking with Healy's wife Maureen out on a balcony of the place holding the fundraiser. She was just wonderful. She told Johnny about great places to shop, things to see and do, a little history of the city, just a true ambassador. For someone new to the city this was such great information. Johnny will never ever forget her kindness.

Johnny still thinks fondly about this night, he does. Even after all the nonsense that happened with Healy in office he's glad he had this chance to talk with a mayor of a big city who was willing to talk turkey and discuss real issues and not just give it the old "No comment" or "I've released a statement on that" or worse, "You're new here, you wouldn't understand."

It was an edumactional night for the noob in town.

Late night open thread

Johnny the Browns fan was pretty happy when Cleveland selected Nick Chubb in the second round of the draft. He's very fast.

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Happy Veterans Day!

While Johnny didn't grow up in a typical military family, his dad was a Korean War veteran and so, Johnny has a great great amount of respect for our Vets. 

So here's to the men and women who make up our Veterans!

Late night open thread

The Saturday Night Scoreboard Show, all the scores that matter in a smattering of the time it takes for ESPN to get to your team.

Eastern Michigan 27
Akron 7
Johnny's alma mater is bowl eligible for the second time in three years under miracle worker Chris Creighton. It was over 30 years since EMU had last played in a bowl game before Creighton arrived in Ypsilanti. This calls for the Go Green song, while not the fight song, it should have been (note the creative lyrical spelling)

Michigan 42
Rutgers 7
Staying in Washtenaw County, Michigan made quick work of RU today in Piscataway. Johnny knows it looks so fucking bleak for RU football right now. It used to look this way at Northwestern in the 70's and most of the 80's but it CAN change. If EMU is going to bowl games now...

Oklahoma 48
Oklahoma State 47
Shootout at the OK Corral for real. Our PlayStation Game of the Week

Alabama 24
Mississippi State 0
This is our shocked face

Colgate 48
Lehigh 6
Lehigh's QB Brad Mayes was a cool 8 for 31 but also had zero interceptions so Johnny's going to guess he wasn't throwing very close to anybody most of the day

Furman 49
VMI 13
Johnny's Furman shirt is now put away and ready for the move. It did not help Furman today

Indiana State 28
Illinois State 23
The Indiana state line moves ten feet into Illinois until the next time Illinois State wins this game then it moves 10 feet into Indiana as is tradition.

South Dakota 17
Western Illinois 12
Yeah, as hard as he tries Johnny can't squeeze a state line joke out of this one

Arizona State 31
UCLA 28
At 2-8 UCLA is really going to need to rally to have a chance at the Rose Bowl

The Jersey City Desk Game of the Week®
Northwestern 14
Iowa 10
No, no last second get power up heroics, just a gutty season from a gutty team who will now play in their first Big Ten title game. This team is truly a lesson for Rutgers about being underfunded sports-wise and talent-wise yet still finding a way. Northwestern University may now loot and pillage Iowa City Iowa (not the Children's Hospital) for the next 24 hours

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Late night open thread

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Friday night MULTIMEDIA EXTRAVAGANZA with THE ROLLING STONES!

Johnny's not leaving without some Stones and here on a tribute to some great rock and roll nothing would sound better than 'Can't You Hear Me Knocking' which Johnny would argue is one of the best collaborations between Keith Richards and Mick Taylor. Bobby Keyes on sax is is just, is just, Johnny's out of superlatives to use on his sax in this song.

So Stickeh! Groove with Johnny people...

Friday night MULTIMEDIA EXTRAVAGANZA with VAN HALEN!

Anything worth doing is worth doing right. If you're going to have a down and dirty rock and roll night something inside you should remind you to invite Diamond Dave and Van Halen.

The volume dial, you can do better. No, a little more. One more. There you go. 'Hot for Teacher' up next.

There's Waldo. Johnny wins again.

Friday night MULTIMEDIA EXTRAVAGANZA with NEIL YOUNG!

Real rockers seems to be theme of the night so probably after this one you'll be looking to fight someone, steal a car, and get into another fight. 'Hey Hey My My (Into The Black)' is so brilliant and such a hard, earnest song. It doesn't try to be fancy, it tries to be the best Hey Hey My My (Into The Black) ever and boy does it succeed.

Such a unique song and yet an anthem.

Late night open thread

The Saturday Night Scoreboard Show, the hour grows late in conference play and we're there to share in shattered dreams.

Ohio State 36
Nebraska 31
The Buckeyes look broken, almost as if a top flight defense could---uh oh...

Michigan State 24
Maryland 3
Speaking of such a defense, and in East Lansing no less next Saturday, that could render the Michigan/Ohio State game meaningless

Michigan 385
Penn State 7
Penn State, because someone has to serve as the buffer between the real contenders in the B1G East like MSU, OSU and Michigan, nestled in-between the Indianas, Marylands and Rutgers of the world

Georgia 34
Kentucky 17
Georgia will pay for this one come basketball season. Make book on that

Purdue 38
Iowa 36
The Big Ten West representative in the conference title game may well be Northern Illinois

Syracuse 41
Wake Forest 24
The 'Cuse is for real at 7-2, first time since 2001. Wake Forest, not so much. Not enough Wake, too much Forest

Furman 16
Chattanooga 10
Furman stayed hot while Johnny stayed comfortable in his Furman t-shirt today

Eastern Michigan 17
Central Michigan 7
That is one ugly bus ride back to Mt. Boring for the losers

West Virginia 42
Texas 41
Will Grier hit Gary Jennings Jr. from 33 yards out with just seconds to play to get the Mountaineers close, and West Virginia, instead of playing for the tie, they got power up and went for the WIN baby. Normally this would be the Game of the Week except...

The Jersey City Desk Game of the Week®
Massachusetts 62
Liberty 59 3OT
Bedlam in Hadley Massachusetts no doubt as this could have also been The PlayStation Game of the Week as well. Aw, what the hell, let's make it so! Get these numbers, UMass QB Ross Comis, 29/44 540 YDS 4TD's 1 INT. Minuteman receiver Andy Isabella had 9 REC for 303 yards and 2 TD's. Amazing stuff. For their efforts the ENTIRE UMass offense gets to loot and pillage Hadley Mass for the next 24 hours.

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Johnny's Jersey City Stories Volume 1: They Did What Now?

Johnny's going to be using his remaining time in Jersey City to spin some yarns, tell some tales out of school and favor you with things he's heard on his way out the door to Oscoda.

Today's Jersey City Story is back when, in fall 2008 Johnny and Mrs. Johnny were getting ready to move east. Mrs. Johnny had been moving up the ranks at the old Borders Books & Music and around 2007 she was named Director of Borders' digital strategy. She could pretty plainly and clearly see that above her position, NOBODY at Borders had any good idea about what a digital strategy was, or how one was going to be implemented. Mrs. Johnny could clearly see the Titanic heading for the iceberg in Ann Arbor. So, when Amazon's digital audio book company, Audible headhunted her, it as an easy choice to leave. Within a year Borders was gone.

Enough backstory, now it was time to find a place out east to live. Since we hadn't yet made our "fortune" as it were, NYC was out of the price range. The search was on and Johnny had read all kinds of awful and bad things about Newark, back then when it was known as the 'home of carjacking' Johnny wasn't going to choose Newark, right or wrong. He certainly wasn't going to live in a town Bugs Bunny made fun of so Hoboken was out. So, Johnny started reading up on Jersey City.

The very first thing Johnny laid eyes on about the town he was going to call home? A Star-Ledger article on Ward C Councilman Steven Lipski, peeing on concert-goers in Washington D.C.. Yep, the first thing he saw was an article by Carly Rothman on the whole disgraceful sordid affair. That's quite a first thing to see. But the article went on: The Mayor there does what now? The mayor gets drunk and nekkid and fights police? Wow.

What the fuck is in the water in this Jersey City?

But the article still had more. In trying to play off the urination, one Willie Flood didn't sound like she wanted to deal with it at all saying she'd need more information. OK, so the police report and arrest documents weren't enough. OK, this is how it is in Jersey City.

It was there, and then at that moment Johnny first saw the name Councilman Steve Fulop. Fulop, interviewed for the article said actions like those of Healy and Lipski were embarrassing would lead investors to "question the leadership" of Jersey City.

"It is very humiliating," he said.

Wow, Johnny thought, this Steve Fulop seems like an honest guy who would always stand up for taxpayers and the good people of this new town.

Yikes.

So, here you go, Johnny's first impressions of learning about his new home-to-be.

Late night open thread

I know he calls himself "Tennessee" but he's a goddamned penguin who isn't even from this country. He's constantly breaking laws for which he's never truly held to account and talks badly about Baldy Eagle.

My name is Chumley, and I approve this message.

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Friday night MULTIMEDIA EXTRAVAGANZA with QUEEN!

Counting tonight only four Music Series' left here at the old Jersey City Desk. After that you'll have to click on an entirely different link and we all know how difficult that can be. Starting tonight until the end, just some of Johnny's fave-o-rite music starting with Queen and 'Somebody to Love'

Somebody should really do a movie about this band, it would be a big hit.

Friday night MULTIMEDIA EXTRAVAGANZA with DAVID GRAY!

We don't know why someone chose to put up a picture of Cleveland in the background of this song (Someone will show up and bitch about that one day but Johnny will be long gone) as we miss the connection to 'Babylon' which is just a treasure of a song. It wouldn't be on the Music Series this month if it weren't.

Friday night MULTIMEDIA EXTRAVAGANZA with THE REPLACEMENTS!

Johnny would ride the bus more if pretty women would kiss him on it. Like the song says, fuck the haters looking on, she's kissing me.

Now make with the smooches woman, my stop is coming up.

'Kiss Me on the Bus' taking us out tonight.

Late night open thread

'THIS is Halloween.' Tim Burton and Danny Elfman bring it home for Halloween 2018.

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Rankin and Bass with Phyllis Diller and 'The Mummy'

Dance you wild things, get your groove on with Little Tibia & the Fibulas!

More Halloween pranks? OK!

Halloween costumes may evolve over time...

...to sexy skeleton one day we suppose but one thing never changes, the Halloween music classics, like this all-time favorite, 'The Monster Mash' by Bobby "Boris" Pickett and the Crypt Kicker Five.

Boo!

Fail Army is a great place on the YouTube for costume and Halloween fails from all over

Let's have a look. The Trick to Treat ratio is high here...

Happy Halloween from the Jersey City Desk!

Oh you bet we've got one more of these in us here. Jersey City, you're gonna have to come to Oscoda next year to get your Flametrick Subs because nobody else plays them on Halloween. Psychobilly done right, kicking things off with their standard, 'Creepy Dead Folk'

Late night open thread

Johnny will win this one day. Oh yes, he will.

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

The BIG NEWS everyone has been waiting for, Johnny's new home

Johnny promised when he had a new place agreed to (and he does) he'd let the cat out of the bag and let all all his awesome Jersey City friends and everyone from the surround know where he was headed.

Johnny has already posted his first welcome post at The Oscoda City Desk!

Johnny, seriously, what is an Oscoda? Oscoda is a great small unincorporated town along the shores of Lake Huron in Michigan along US-23 heading north if you will. Let's go to the map shall we?
Johnny bought a place that backs up to state forest that after a quarter mile becomes the Huron National Forest so no construction around Johnny. No Toll Brothers or Lloyd Goldman fucking things up in his neighborhood.

So, Johnny is all in until he's not here, around the end of November he'll be signing off here and you can catch him back at the Tidepool North, at the Oscoda City Desk.

Late night open thread

The Saturday Night Scoreboard Show, a beacon of hope in our troubled times

Syracuse 51
North Carolina State 41
Syracuse is bowl eligible in October and play the teams at the bottom of their division the next two weeks

Michigan State 23
Purdue 13
The Rocky Lombardi era begins in East Lansing

Oklahoma State 38
Texas 35
You didn't actually put any faith into the Texas nonsense did you? DID YOU?

California 12
Washington 10
You probably missed this game because it was played late on the West Coast. And the PAC 12 blows

Northwestern 31
Wisconsin 17
Northwestern moves into first place in the Big Ten West

Utah State 61
New Mexico 19
New Mexico must have said something

Georgia Southern 34
Appalachian State 14
Appy State spent the week ranked at #25 nationally. Hope you enjoyed your stay, Checkout time is noon Sunday

Pitt 54
Duke 45
We'd usually make a joke about this being the Playstation Game of the Week but such a brave effort from Pitt today with all that went on with the shooting at the synagogue in Pittsburgh this morning. Sometimes we find out what really matters

Coastal Carolina 37
Georgian State 34
We just like saying "Chanticleers"

The Jersey City Desk Game of the Week®
Kentucky 15
Missouri 14
FOUL! FOUL! Missouri commits a foul on the last play of regulation time and Terry Wilson gets power up on a touchdown pass to tight end C.J. Conrad to WIN THE GAME! Kentucky moves to 7-1. For their efforts both Terry Wilson and C.J. Conrad may loot and pillage Columbia Missouri for the next 24 hours

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Late night open thread

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Friday night MULTIMEDIA EXTRAVAGANZA with THE SUPREMES!

If you've been following Johnny on Twitter this week he's been retweeting a lot of factoids on The Supremes being posted by Motown in mentioning some of their amazing number of awards and #1 hits. There's never been a better girl group. Not one. Diana, Mary & Florence with 'Reflections' getting us started tonight. This is the rare version with the cold ending you've most likely never heard before.

Friday night MULTIMEDIA EXTRAVAGANZA with TEARS FOR FEARS!

Roland and Curt (Of course Johnny's on a first name basis with thousands of stars, it's how one becomes Johnny Action Space Punk) have made quite a few really groovy tunes but for Johnny's money this one, 'Pale Shelter' is his favorite.

Tears for Fears favoring us second tonight

Friday night MULTIMEDIA EXTRAVAGANZA with THE WHO!

As regulars of the Music Series know Johnny tries to send you on your way with the last song of the night on a musical high or a real upbeat song. 'Bargain' by The Who more than fits that bill. As the Music Series' wind down here Johnny's gonna go with some of his favorites on his way out so as to really try and leave a big big big musical legacy around these parts.

Late night open thread

As the air gets colder, so do the insults

Michigan 21
Michigan St. 7
Johnny has seen kids at the mall do what Devin Bush of Michigan did before the game, having a snit fit trying to kick up the MSU logo at midfield. The kids at the mall are four

Alabama 58
Tennesse 21
It's almost like getting into a trial by combat with the Mountain from Game of Thrones playing Alabama

Northwestern 18
Rutgers 15
So close and yet so stinky smelly awful

Georgetown 22
Lehigh 16
What the ever loving hell happened to Lehigh? They didn't used to suck, they were winners, Billy

Murray State 34
Eastern Kentucky 6
A lot of overtime games today. This was not one of them

Texas Tech 48
Kansas 16
Remember, remember, do you remember that time Kansas won two games and everybody loved them. Um......Do you, do you remember that?


Washington 27
Colorado 13
Johnny watched some of this game. Then he remembered where he put the remote control

Utah State 24
Wyoming 16
We have to have Wyoming on the Scoreboard Show at least once a year

Barcelona 4
Sevilla 2
Lionel Messi broke his goddamned arm so that's not good

Princeton 29
Harvard 21
Princeton defeated the Harvard 11 by 8 units of measure. That one never gets old

The Jersey City Desk Game of the Week®
Syracuse 40
North Carolina 37 2OT
With a really nice Syracuse season hanging in the balance, on a razor's edge, freshman Tommy DeVito simply would not let the Orange lose today. He brought 'Cuse back to get to overtime and in the second OT he got power up and threw the game-winning TD pass to Ravian Pierce. For his efforts Tommy DeVito may loot and pillage Syracuse N.Y. for the next 24 hours

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Late night open thread

A big tip of Johnny's cap to his old high school who won the highly competitive Flint Metro League tonight in football with 7 seconds to play. Well done Brandon, well done indeed!

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Friday night MULTIMEDIA EXTRAVAGANZA with COWBOY JUNKIES!

We've only got a handful of the Music Series left here at the Jersey City Desk so Johnny wants to close strong and really make them count. He's got some great songs in his pockets he's been holding onto to we're gonna start letting them out as there's no reason to save them.

Cowboy Junkies getting us started with the brilliant 'Crescent Moon'

Friday night MULTIMEDIA EXTRAVAGANZA with INXS!

Every so often Johnny tries to come up with a really cool song you probably haven't heard in quite a while that may well get stuck in your head. 'Don't Change' by INXS is such a song, no? Let's try and see.

Friday night MULTIMEDIA EXTRAVAGANZA with LITTLE RICHARD!

It's frost on the pumpkin weather out there tonight kids, so we'll sent you off with something you can move around to and keep warm as you head out to hit he early Halloween parties.No better way than to Little Richard your way down the street and tonight you'll be doing it to 'Lucille'

Late night open thread

Nothing better than the Scoreboard Show on Upset Saturday! Let's dig in shall we?

Michigan State 21
Pennsylvania State University 17
Some call this an upset, but is it ever really an upset when the favorite is coached by James Franklin? Mark Dantonio beats a Top Ten team with a banged up wreck of a squad on the road. Same as it ever was

Eastern Michigan 28
Toledo 26
Toledo clocked out two points too early at 'The Factory' today in Ypsilanti and US 23 will now be painted green between Ypsi and Sylvania

LSU 36
Georgia 16
Dogs don't like gumbo

Notre Dame 19
Pittsburgh 14
Touchdown Jeebus granted a favor today. He might not be paying out twice vs bad teams Mr. Kelly

Florida 37
Vanderbilt 27
FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!

Iowa State 30
West Virginia 14
The Mountaineers got caught in the Cyclone 'suck zone'

Oregon 30
Washington 27 OT
The ranking carnage, it's a thing

James Madison 37
Villanova 0
James Madison will pay for this come basketball season. In fire and blood

Morehead State 35
Davidson 28
Morehead. Morepoints

The Jersey City Desk Game of the Week®
Colorado State 20
New Mexico 18
You don't call your team Rams if you can't get power up once in a while. Wyatt Bryan kicked a 26-yard field goal as time expired to give Colorado State the game and now, for his efforts, Wyatt Bryan may loot and pillage Fort Collins Colorado (Home of Marla Hooch) for the next 24 hours

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Late night open thread

Don't miss tomorrow night's Scoreboard Show. You wouldn't want to not be cool would you?

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Friday night MULTIMEDIA EXTRAVAGANZA with THE JACKSON FIVE!

Johnny's told this story before but originally Michael Jackson was not the one who was supposed to sing this song, they didn't feel his voice had the maturity and depth to pull off the serious subject matter.

Mmmmm hmmm, how'd the decision not work out? The Jackson Five and 'Never Can Say Goodbye'

Friday night MULTIMEDIA EXTRAVAGANZA with ELVIS PRESLEY!

Ok kids, listen close to Mr. Elvis. He has some valuable words to live by when it comes to his shoes. You kids pay attention.

The King of Rock and Roll with 'Blue Suede Shoes'

Friday night MULTIMEDIA EXTRAVAGANZA with SUPERTRAMP!

Still a top ten all-time album cover.

Don't think so? Come at Johnny, see what happens.

Supertramp sending out into this deeeeeelightful crisp fall evening with 'Goodbye Stranger'

Late night open thread

The Saturday Night Scoreboard Show, losers beware

Northwestern 29
Michigan State 19
Johnny's had steaks tougher than the MSU offensive line

Miami (Fl) 28
Florida State 27
Florida State led 27-7 in the second half. There's no clever line here other than the Seminoles are miserable

Texas 48
Oklahoma 45
The Sooners outscored Texas 21-3 in the fourth quarter....and still lost

Pitt 44
Syracuse 37
The Orange need to get back on track. Johnny's friend is a big Syracuse fan and he expects results

Iowa 48
Minnesota 31
If you want to win Floyd of Rosedale, you come up with plays like this

Colgate 27
Bucknell 3
Colgate's cavity-free season continues at 5-0

Wofford 21
Chattanooga 10
Johnny wore his Wofford Terriers shirt today and just look at those results

Clemson 63
Wake Forest 3
Somebody remind Wake Forest you don't collect checks for getting your ass kicked then going home in conference games

South Florida 58
Massachusetts 42

Your PlayStation game of the week

The Jersey City Desk Game of the Week®
South Carolina 37
Missouri 35
When Missouri's Tucker McCann kicked a 57 yard field goal with under 3 minutes to play, we'll just bet he thought HE would be the one looting and pillaging in Columbia South Carolina better than Lt. General William Tecumseh Sherman did but NO, it was Gamecocks kicker Parker White who was true from 33 yards with seconds to play. For his efforts Parker White will be the one looting and pillaging Columbia for the next 24 hours

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Late night open thread

With all this talk of art Johnny wanted to share his biggest selling masterpiece. He created it in 2009, it's called, "Ghosts Eating Marshmallows in a Snowstorm"

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Friday night MULTIMEDIA EXTRAVAGANZA with THE SEX PISTOLS!

Tonight's Music Series is dedicated to all the fabulous artists who make up the Jersey City art scene. No matter your medium, if you're famous or not, keep going. Johnny may be leaving Jersey City but he will always be talking about the truly amazing art scene here. He proudly has pieces by five JC artists in his home, big and small. Here's hoping this Music Series is worthy of your efforts.

The Sex Pistols with 'Holiday in the Sun'

Friday night MULTIMEDIA EXTRAVAGANZA WITH BOB DYLAN!

The rage you feel today, use it on election day. Here's Bob Dylan to remind you to vote with 'Political World' batting second tonight on the Music Series.

Friday night MULTIMEDIA EXTRAVAGANZA with JOE JACKSON!

Since tonight is dedicated to all the incredible artists in Jersey City, here's a number they might relate to. You all keep on doing what you're doing, you're ALL dazzling! Joe Jackson with 'Survival'

Late night open thread

One day soon we'll have the grand unveiling of the next "City Desk" city so the townfolk can be forewarned and flee. Flee like this, "Johnny is coming, oh Jesus, Johnny is coming!"

While they are running many may also beg the question, "Not ANOTHER City Desk thing."

See ya back here for the Music Series tomorrow night.

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

The countdown begins friends

Johnny and pretty much all the regulars here knew this day was going to come after that awful day in February and Johnny put Space Punk Acres up for sale. Well friends tonight he has accepted an offer and the beginning of the end of the Jersey City Desk has come. Up until the end, as Johnny did with the Ypsi City Desk, he'll be all in until he goes.

The clock has begun ticking.

Late night open thread

The Saturday Night Scoreboard Show, we laugh at losing teams because we love them.

Clemson 27
Syracuse 23
Good lord that poor Clemson QB got the soul knocked out of him. Syracuse looking so improved even with the loss

Northern Illinois 26
Eastern Michigan 23 3OT
They worked a lot of overtime at "The Factory" in Ypsilanti today but nobody from Eastern got paid

Brown 35
Georgetown 7
The Brown over the 'Town

Michigan State 31
Central Michigan 20
Newsflash, MSU leads nation in run defense; in other news, water is wet

Purdue 42
Nebraska 28
This whole Scott Frost transition thing just looks so seamless when you're winless and getting creased by the Boilermakers

Indiana 24
Rutgers 7
Ringmaster, how long must this Rutgers circus continue?

Ohio University 58
Massachusetts 42
The Playstation Game of the Week

North Carolina State 35
Virginia 21
Remember, remember, do you remember that time that Virginia was a #1 seed in the NCAA basketball tournament and lost to #16 Maryland at Baltimore County? That was AWESOME!

Michigan 20
Northwestern 17
If Michigan doesn't come back and win this game the Jim Harbaugh outlook gets real bad real fast

The Jersey City Desk Game of the Week®
Georgia Southern 28
Arkansas State 21
There were just seconds to play when Wesley Kennedy III set sail for the Arkansas State end zone but if it's the Game of the Week you know Kennedy got power up and made it to the house ensuring sweet victory for the Eagles. For his heroics, Wesley Kennedy III may loot and pillage Statesboro Georgia for the next 24 hours.

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Late night open thread

“Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower. “
 -- Albert Camus

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Friday night MULTIMEDIA EXTRAVAGANZA with STEELY DAN!

You kids today, you don't know good radio, especially good FM radio. Sure you have XM and Sirius with no commercials but you simply do not get today the DJ knowledge so inherent back in Johnny's day. You got to know who played on the track, the artist's thoughts maybe and when the band was coming to town and where. Just about every song got that treatment when they did finally break for a commercial.

No static at all, here's 'FM' (Awesome extended version you've probably never heard before, Johnny hadn't, he never bought the FM soundtrack)

Friday night MULTIMEDIA EXTRAVAGANZA with SUZANNE VEGA!

What's not to love about Suzanne Vega? Such a brilliant lyricist. Not that the rest of the package isn't fabulous but boy Johnny used to read ALL her liner notes for lyrics. From the Songs in Red and Gray album, here is 'Penitent' and a great live version.

Friday night MULTIMEDIA EXTRAVAGANZA with ECHO AND THE BUNNYMEN!

What better song to send you out into this glorious fall evening in Cool City? Interesting note about this song, the chords were based on David Bowie's "Space Oddity" just played backwards.

'The Killing Moon' puts the wraps on another Music Series.

Late night open thread

It's college football the way you like it....FREE!

Buffalo 42
Rutgers 13
MAC teams like to fly a pirate flag when they beat a Power 5 conference. Rutgers is going to have to take out a restraining order against that flag

Michigan 56
Nebraska 10
Frosty creamed corn

Duke 55
NC Central 13
Johnny had to double check this wasn't basketball

Syracuse 51
Connecticut 21
WTF Syracuse? 4-0? It's the first day of fall and everything is already orange in upstate New York

Colgate 45
Lafayette 0
Lafayette did not much enjoy their check up

UCF 56
FAU 36
Does it seem like the first five weeks of the season all the Florida teams have a round-robin?

Miami (FL) 31
FIU 17
Does it seem like the first five weeks of the season all the Florida teams have a round-robin?

Arkansas State 27
UNLV 20
Good thing Arkansas State scored 8 points in the fourth quarter to none for UNLV. Because if they hadn't they'd have lost. You get that right? Hello, is this thing on?

West Alabama 16
Limestone 13
When we say we check ALL the scores, we check ALL the scores

The Jersey City Desk Game of the Week®
Idaho State 25
North Dakota 21
Idaho State's Defensive back Christian McFarland did not travel from Idaho all the way to goddamned Grand Forks North Dakota to lose. No sir. McFarland got power up and intercepted a UND pass very late to seal the win. Loot and pillage Grand Forks as you will Mr. McFarland but as always, please keep it to 24 hours, people have to work on Monday

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Late night open thread

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Friday night MULTIMEDIA EXTRAVAGANZA with MARVIN GAYE!

Johnny gets all the cards and letters you mail him for suggestions on the Music Series and you kids can't seem to get enough of themed nights. Well how about we just go to the dogs tonight? Tonight it's all about our furry friends. Marvin Gaye kicking things off tonight with 'I'll Be Doggone'

Friday night MULTIMEDIA EXTRAVAGANZA with GEORGE CLINTON!

Bow-wow-wow-yippie-yo-yippie-yeah
Bow-wow-yippie-yo-yippie-yeah

'Atomic Dog' bringing the funk on a fall Friday

Friday night MULTIMEDIA EXTRAVAGANZA with PINK FLOYD!

Smoke 'em if you got 'em, 17 minutes of Pink Floyd and 'Dogs' taking us out on a particularly sonic note tonight.

Late night open thread

It's the Saturday Night Scoreboard Show, just loaded with gluten.

North Texas 44
Arkansas 17
Ever have anyone go one and on about how pigs are soooo smart? Like housepigs or Razorbacks like these:

LSU 22
Auburn 21
Johnny called his bookie before this one and put $500 on the Tigers to win proving Johnny is at least smarter than Arkansas

Alabama 62
Mississippi 7
Ole Miss scored on their first play and NICK SABAN WAS UN-FUCKING AMUSED and spent 59 minutes salting Oxford like Scipio Africanus and the Romans salted Carthage

Kansas 55
Rutgers 14
Suddenly Kansas is playing with house money

Western Michigan 68
Delaware State 0
Picking up a check is a hell of a price to pay to a red-ass beat down and two nights at the Sheraton off I-94 and Westnedge Avenue

BYU 24
Wisconsin 21
Rafael Gaglianone is a sad Badger. He missed a 42 yard field goal to send the game to overtime with 41 seconds to play. He probably has to sit alone on the Bucky Bus this week

Connecticut 56
Rhode Island 49
The Playstation Game of the Week

North Carolina State 3
West Virginia 2
Last week Johnny miscounted the usual ten games for the Scoreboard Show and you got nine. Here is this week's makeup game. This one was actually canceled because of the hurricane but Johnny decided to make up some shit. Big upset for the Wolfpack

Ohio Wesleyan 9
Wooster 7
It's always action packed when the Ohio Wesleyan Battling Bishops take on the Wooster Fighting Scots. OK, well, maybe not always

Wyoming 17
Wofford 14
Alphabetically it has to be the last one before the game of the week

The Jersey City Desk Game of the Week®
South Dakota 90
Arkansas-Pine Bluff 6
When you kids have a chance to score 90 points on someone, you don't do that. South Dakota actually threw two TD passes of 37 and 76 yards in the fourth quarter. Big win Jackrabbits, but no looting or pillaging for you, a lesson you must learn

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

The All About Downtown Street Fair, it's TODAY!

So come one, come all, from 12-8pm today its All About Downtown (and yes we hear the snickers from The Heights, Greenville, India Square et al -- you're not wrong) and there is a lot to showcase. Johnny could spend a lot of time typing words and spell-checking words and editing run-on sentences, but he's not gonna do that. Instead, he'll leave you with THIS handy dandy link to the official site. See ya at the Fair cats and kittens.

Late night open thread

Missing the Saturday Night Scoreboard Show tomorrow night? That's a paddlin'
Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Friday night MULTIMEDIA EXTRAVAGANZA with JACKSON BROWNE!

Perhaps Johnny's favorite sing-along song. It's the one he doesn't horribly offend those around him as he plods along somewhat in the vocal range of Jackson Browne meets Yoko Ono. 'You Love the Thunder' from the legendary live album, Running on Empty, from 1977.

Friday night MULTIMEDIA EXTRAVAGANZA with SPONGE!

Yes Elaine Benes, this song IS Spongeworthy. 'Plowed' ready to run you over, back up, and do it again. These guys all know how to do that, they're from Detroit.

Friday night MULTIMEDIA EXTRAVAGANZA with MOBY!

Sending you out to where you're headed tonight with some attitude. If you can't get to where you're going with this elegant jam playing in your head man, it's therapy time. There are so many pitch perfect parts to this song it will hold up in any era ever. Moby with 'Porcelain' all up in your ears:

Late night open thread

It's the Saturday Night Scoreboard Show, the most fun you can have without paying tax! So much to get to, let's make bandwagon fans cry shall we...

Clemson 28
Texas A&M 26
A miraculous catch to bring the Aggies within two at the death but the two point play is no good so no kissy face and pushups and so forth in College Station tonight, just homework

TCU 42
SMU 12
The battle of the letter schools deep in the heart of Texas. These games used to be closer when SMU was a cheating machine

West Virginia 52
Youngstown State 17
You'd think people would be more upset about Penguins getting kicked around like this

Rhode Island 45
Albany 26
Albany scored 19 unanswered points in the 4th quarter...and still got waxed

Miami (FL) 77
Savannah State 0
Miami won the toss and elected to kick the bejeesus out of Savannah State. Their new turnover chain is worth a billion dollars

Syracuse 62
Wagner 10
Wagner collects a check, drawn on Jim Brown Bank and Trust

Kansas 31
Central Michigan 7
A storied basketball program that is utter crap at football year after year break a 46 game road losing streak in Mt. Boring

Kentucky 27
Florida 16
A storied basketball program that is utter crap at football year after year break a 31 game road losing streak to Florida. Nobody beats Kentucky 32 years in a row, nobody

The Jersey City Desk Game of the Week®
Eastern Michigan 20
Purdue 19
Johnny's never been lucky enough to have his alma mater featured as the Game of the Week...until tonight. When things looked their darkest under the rainy West Lafayette skies, Eastern bravely drove down the muddy field and heroically got into field goal range and Chad Ryland took care of the rest, getting power up on a winning 24 yard FG. For his magnificent kick, Chad Ryland can now loot and pillage West Lafayette (Of all towns to get to pillage Chad wonders, West Lafayette, really?) for 24 hours. This calls for a double highlight package, the winning kick and of course, the EMU fight song

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Late night open thread

This gif reminds Johnny of the Neko Case song 'Deep Red Bells' with it's murdery overtones. Sweet dreams and see ya tomorrow night for the Saturday Night Scoreboard Show!

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Friday night MULTIMEDIA EXTRAVAGANZA with SARAH MCLACHLAN!

Johnny really likes Sarah McLachlan's music and he has pretty much since she started. She is unique in Johnny's musical pantheon. If you ask him to name a favorite song by a singer or band he'll usually hem and haw and say "Well they have a lot of great work" and gee whiz and so on. Not with Sarah McLachlan. 'Sweet Surrender' has always held a place waaaaay up on the shelf and he can tell you definitively it's his favorite song by her. There's a lot of other great songs to choose from, this one just does it.

Friday night MULTIMEDIA EXTRAVAGANZA with BIG AUDIO DYNAMITE!

As sad as the breakup of The Clash was, Mick Jones favored us with some really great music through Big Audio Dynamite. Here's an old favorite of Johnny's, 'E=MC2'

Not too far off where music was heading in the next few years with track overlays, raps, media clips, etc. Mick Jones for the visionary win.

Friday night MULTIMEDIA EXTRAVAGANZA with IGGY POP!

The pride of Ypsilanti Michigan, Mr. Iggy Pop! Turn this one up wherever you're at. If something gets broken well then it does. 'Five Foot One' bringing the ruckus and finishing off another Music Series.

Late night open thread

Johnny shared this on Twitter, the heatwave in Michigan must be tough if it can cause this to happen in Johnny's mom's house.

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

It's a Heat Advisory kind of Labor Day

The Jersey City Desk Action Weather Team is merely parroting the National Weather Service (but now the JCDAWT gets a tax write off again this year) in telling you Jersey City and the surround are under a Heat Advisory through Tuesday evening at 9pm. Heat index values will rise to close to or over 100º. You can read the whole NWS advisory here.

Nobody is going to be standing next to the grill today. Bill, those burgers look good from inside here in the air conditioning........he texted.

Happy Labor Day!

To all the workers, the salt of the earth cats and kittens out there, who slag it out day after day no matter what gets in their way the staff here hope you enjoy today. One more day at the beach. Maybe a chance to do nothing. Just one day when you make the world go around the other 364.

Here's to all the workers!

Late night open thread

You know it, you love it, you can't live without it on fall Saturday nights, it's the Saturday Night Scoreboard Show! If your team lost, best you leave now.

Notre Dame 24
Michigan 17
The Irish fans are lining up to burn down Jim Harbaugh's She Shed

Rutgers 35
Texas State 7
Remember how much fun today was in November

Iowa 33
Northern Illinois 7
Kirk Ferentz becomes the all-time winningest head coach at Iowa and shall hereby be proclaimed King of Corn

New Mexico 62
Incarnate Word 30
Still probably closer than this game should have been. Seriously, Incarnate Word put 30 on you

Clemson 48
Furman 7
Johnny had his Furman shirt on for a half. It was not helping. Like, at all

USC 43
UNLV 21
USC was barely hanging on at halftime and so Sam Darnold flew back and finished up the second half for the Men of Troy

Maryland 34
Texas 29
No team looks more ready for the playoffs after two weeks every year than Maryland. Then come the other weeks

Albion 59
Defiance 6
That's, that's really not a whole lot of what you'd call "defiance' right there

Slippery Rock 38
Kentucky State 31
Slippery Rock let the JV go out for the first half while the varsity hung back and played Madden. The Varsity went out and outscored Kentucky State 24-3 in the second half and went back to the locker room and played more Madden

The Jersey City Desk Game of the Week®
Lehigh 21
St. Francis (Pa) 19
With just 33 seconds left, Lehigh's Jon Seighman got power up and blocked a potential game-winning 30 yard field goal by Eric Bofenkamp who will swear this is all fake news. For his heroic efforts Jon Seighman may loot and pillage South Mountain for the next 24 hours

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Late night open thread

Johnny's Spartans weren't all that and a bag of chips tonight vs Utah State but a win is a win. Speaking of which, don't forget the Scoreboard Show tomorrow night. So much needless slagging.

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Friday night MULTIMEDIA EXTRAVAGANZA with STEVIE WONDER!

When Stevie Wonder played this song at Aretha Franklin's funeral today it took on a whole new importance to Johnny. He's always loved this song but this is the song Stevie wanted to send off his dear friend and Detroit compatriot to. There will always such a bigness to this song for Johnny anymore. Add to it a proper church chorus and it was magic. 'As' getting us started tonight.

Friday night MULTIMEDIA EXTRAVAGANZA with THE POLICE!

If you ever sent Johnny's LP records back scratched that'd be crossing the line. Put up your dukes woman. There are some lines a person cannot cross. A man's record collection IS that line.

The Police with 'I Can't Stand Losing You'

What the hell happened to Ace Face from Quadrophenia? He'd kick this guy's ass. This is like early Waldo shit right here.

Friday night MULTIMEDIA EXTRAVAGANZA with SANTANA!

While a freshman at Northern Michigan University, Johnny met one of those guys you meet in college who has a big impact because they too have an awesome music collection so the bonding is strong. Add to that a daily Gary Du****u buzz club in the adjoining suite and you get deep into the Santana collection. Johnny always got a kick out of this song on the Zebop album. Not every Santana fan's go-to album but it's got a great track to send you out on tonight, 'Over and Over'

On a record player, the way the Old Gods intended.

Late night open thread

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Pssssst, one of the best things about the Jersey City Desk returns Saturday night

Long-time readers and college football fans know what Saturday night is around here, the Saturday Night Scoreboard Show! It's back for another season every Saturday night through Thanksgiving. We pull some of our best numbers on the Scoreboard Show. Kids love it!

Late night open thread

You'll probably be happy to get a new late night open thread after a week of Mickey Mouse fucking cheese...

According to Genesis 1:20-22, the chicken came before the egg. (Sure Johnny's an Atheist but anything for a hand grenade in the room on this topic)

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Friday night MULTIMEDIA EXTRAVAGANZA with THE PIXIES!

Like Mrs Johnny used to say, "monkeys are gold." 'Monkey Gone to Heaven,' 'Shock the Monkey,' The Monkees, you get the drift.

On the list of songs that should not be hold music on a suicide prevention hotline this is probably in the top ten. Also, sludge? New Jersey? Oh come on now Pixies, don't be fence-builders. 99.999 % of that sludge was from New York. That's what Johnny told the cops at the time.

Friday night MULTIMEDIA EXTRAVAGANZA with CAROLE KING!

The new Queen of all things music, Carole King (Johnny's from Detroit he can say that). Johnny will be taking no questions but he will play the timeless 'Jazzman'

Friday night MULTIMEDIA EXTRAVAGANZA with HEART!

It is THE perfect late summer night out there kids. Set Johnny to thinking as he was at a rooftop party in his building tonight about perfect summer songs. We also like to have a big song for our last one of the evening (unless we don't) and this is a perfect match, 'Barracuda'

Not many songs sound better on a summer night.

If you're in the band and your place on the album cover is behind the goat, well, your paycheck is smaller.

Late night open thread

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Friday night MULTIMEDIA EXTRAVAGANZA with ROMEO VOID!

Ok, you kids head to bed, the adults have a really fucking great song to dance and sing along to. No, bed, NOW. Sorry, sometime the Bigs have to do their thing. This is one of those times.

Note the producer on this song on the record in the picture. Cool eh? 'Never Say Never' starting things off with a bang tonight.

You might like Johnny better if we slept together...

Friday night MULTIMEDIA EXTRAVAGANZA with RILO KILEY!

This song has grown on Johnny. A song that comes across the iTunes every so often and after 3 or 4 plays Johnny has a hankering to play it on the Music Series. See how that works? Rilo Kiley and 'Under the Blacklight'

Friday night MULTIMEDIA EXTRAVAGANZA with FLORENCE AND THE MACHINE!

Johnny loves this song. Loved hearing it live at Radio City years ago. A good way to send you all off into this steam bath tonight, something ghostly. 'Seven Devils' wrapping up another Music Series.

Late night open thread

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

It's finally sinking in

Probably the greatest singer of this era of rock and roll, pop, that began back in the mid 50's in earnest (Elvis also died on this day so the King and Queen curse of 8/16 can begin) has passed. Rolling Stone polled their best and brightest writers and researchers along with people in the music business and Aretha Franklin not only win top female artist ever, she won best singer ever, boys OR gurls. A titanic presence on so many fronts.

'Chain of Fools' on Aretha Franklin Day. If Johnny were Mayor of Detroit tomorrow he'd rename all the streets Aretha Franklin Boulevard for 24 hours. Probably a good thing he's not Mayor of Detroit.

Remember when Mick Jagger redid 'Beast of Burden' with Bette Midler?

In the mid to late 80's Mick Jagger and Keith Richards weren't having much of each other. All those years together had reached critical mass. Oil and water, The Glimmer Twins. It is not known if Mick redid the Stones classic 'Beast of Burden' with the magnificent Bette Midler to get under Keith's skin or not. Keith sure thought so. He decided to redo another of their classics in 'Jumpin' Jack Flash' and if you're gonna even gonna try and one up the Divine Miss M there's only one person on this earth you can call. The Detroit area code is 313.

Keef will have his revenge in the person of Aretha Franklin...

Hallelujah!

More with the Queen of Soul this morning

On an all-Aretha Thursday. (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman.

RIP to the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin

Just awful news (on the same day Johnny finally got his wife's updated death certificates after six months) from Detroit this morning. Detroit legend and their gift to the signing world, well, one of them anyway, has passed at 76. We're going to spend the day playing Aretha Franklin songs to help fill a great void.

'I Say a Little Prayer' to start off

Late night open thread

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Friday night MULTIMEDIA EXTRAVAGANZA with THE BRAVERY!

A four song Music Series tonight just to have some fun. it's been so hot let's enjoy some music and forget about it. Now, on to song #1 tonight.

Air drummers, do your exercises now. We'd hate you to pull a muscle on this one. A great song from The Bravery, 'This is Not the End' to get things started and again, if you're the air drumming type have a cold beverage ready in another three minutes fifty-nine.

Friday night MULTIMEDIA EXTRAVAGANZA with HOWARD JONES!

Here's this week's "Oh damn, I haven't heard that song in forever' cut. Since it's been a while why don't you go on up and try and hit that "I DO" hit part you were so good at back when. 'Things Can Only Get Better' on a four-song Music Series this week.

Look kids, a record.