Commandment Three: You Gotta Have Laffs

Lord Elvis knows that life is a cosmic joke, and you better let laughter into your life or you're gonna be busy dying. The world of rock and roll is full of holy fools who've saved almost as many souls as the pure rush of the best music. And the thing about a holy fool is, in the same moment that he's reminding you that you're taking yourself way too seriously, that the world is too fucking much with you, he's giving you a wink as if to say, "It can (and does) happen to me."

Problem is, today, you ain't gonna find too much of this on the old radio dial. You may laff, but not because the artist is trying to be funny (we'll make an exception for Eminem, who's a holy fool if there ever was one, his "homophobia" notwithstanding). American hits radio is a grim multimillionaire pulling the handle and hitting a billion dollar jackpot.

So--and you're gonna hear me say this again and again--you gotta dig for your deliverance. A rock and roll heart that's never been full of Huey "Piano" Smith or the Coasters or Slim Gaillard or Loudon Wainwright III or the Dictators or Mojo Nixon or Biz Markie or Homer and Jethro or Satchmo might as well be virgin territory to the stab of humor. You gotta do some homework, but, if you do, you're gonna feel a little less alone for sure.

As the Ramones assured us, long ago: "Gabba gabba!/We accept you!/We accept you!/One of us!"