Graceland

Yes, we did it. We fuckin' went and saw Graceland. Not only did we see it, we saw it for free, because Astrid emailed them and used her secret journalist superpowers to get us platinum tickets for free, free, freeeeeee. Then I went and spoiled it all by purchasing around $100 worth of touristy crap, but hey... I'm helping a legend remain!

I've always liked Elvis - never been a "fan", with all that entails of hero worship and posters on the wall and stuff - but I like a lot of his music and I like the guy. He was a simple southern boy, who made it big - no, fuckin huge - but he never forgot where he came from or the ones who helped him on his way.

Elvis was a true patriot, and way ahead of his times in terms of race relations. He took rock music to new and exciting places by mixing black blues and white country and came out with something uniquely Elvis. It helped that he could sing and that he oozed sex appeal onstage...

Graceland today is a monument to the man, the music and the legend. It is both a superficial, gaudy testimony to bad taste and a glimpse into the man behind the mask, with all his peculiarities. I had no idea that Elvis didn't much like the taste of alcohol, and preferred the taste of soft drinks - he had 17 types aboard his airplane. Nor did I know that his favorite tv shows to watch were Monty Python or that his favorite movie was Mel Brooks' "Blazing saddles". At least in these matters he had good taste. Nevermind the multicolored clothes, the pink cars and the fuzzy carpets - it's sometimes hard to tell where Elvis' personal taste ends and the horrible, horrible 70s begin.

All Graceland pics here.

Hail to the King.


A lonely piano. I dunno, I kinda like this pic.


Dinner table. Elvis would eat here with friends and family.


The kitchen was the center of the house, according to many. There were always people around, and Elvis himself held odd hours, so there was always someone cooking up sumfin' here.


The jungle room was a later addition in what was once a backyard. The decor is so 70s, it is enough to make a grown man cry.


The basement held some of Elvis' personal records and three television sets - because Elvis had once seen that LBJ was watching 3 TVs at once (there were only 3 national channels back then)...


The pool room in the basement.


My sentiments exactly.


RIP, King.


Just a few of his many, many trophies, awards and gold records.


One of Elvis' private jets. He once used a private jet to fly his dog out to a veterinarian in Boston. I like a man who cares about his animals. We also heard a story that he once flew out to Colorado for 5 minutes and back, because Lisa Marie had never seen snow...


His movies were not his strongest work...


Nice.