The Weekend Desk Report

"The United States ought to give up trying to keep secrets. We sure are no good at it. Between the Walkers, the Pollards and the U.S. Marines, the only person in the world the government can deceive is Ronald Reagan," Aaron Freeman wrote in the Tribune in 1987.

It is at least gratifying that most of the spying is done by noncommunists for nonideological reasons. These are capitalist scoundrels. They may sell out the country, but they still love the system. I think it is unfair and inaccurate to call them traitors. What they have done is wholly consistent with our national character. Nothing is more American than an assiduous commitment to money and sex - although I wish they would have held out for more substantial payments.

The largest payment Navy spy John Walker got was $40,000. That ain`t exactly chump change, but it barely pays for a week's worth of lawyers once you get caught. In exchange for "four or five" sexual encounters with Violetta Seina, Sgt. Clayton Lonetree allegedly gave her "Uncle Sasha" the run of the U.S. Embassy and got only $3,500. He should have had Jessica Hahn's lawyer.

But the real lollapalooza of unintelligence is the new U.S. Embassy in Moscow. Some geniuses in the Nixon administration decided it could be assembled of pre-fabricated pieces built by the Soviets. But now the thing apparently has more bugs than a Chicago housing project. It is refreshing, however, to have a national security catastrophe that can't be blamed on the liberals.

That's the first use of "lollapalooza" in the Tribune in the 1985-to-present archival era.

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Did you know that Gene Ween is the stage name of Aaron Freeman?

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Of course, the Trib piece was written by this Aaron Freeman, not that one, sadly.

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The first use of the word ever by the Trib was in this 1934 Old Gold cigarette ad, if the ProQuest database is to be believed.

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Here's the first mention of the word by the Sun-Times in their 1986-to-current database era, from 1991:

"Lollapalooza" tour, stopping at the World Music Theatre at 2 p.m. Aug. 3. The tour features Jane's Addiction, Living Colour, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Nine Inch Nails, Butthole Surfers, Ice-T and the Rollins Band. Tickets are $27.25 for the pavilion, $22.25 for lawn seats.

Dig the rest of the World calendar from that year:

Tickets will go on sale at 10 a.m. today for David Lee Roth, Cinderella and Extreme, playing heavy metal at 6:30 p.m. July 21 at the World. Tickets are $27.25 and $24.75 for reserved seats and $14.75 for lawn seats.

Hard rockers Alice Cooper, Judas Priest, Motorhead, Dangerous Toys and Metal Church will bring "Operation Rock 'n' Roll" to the World at 5 p.m. July 20. Tickets are $34.75 and $29.75 for the pavilion and $22.25 for the lawn. Tickets will go on sale at 11 a.m. Sunday.

There also are several changes in the World's lineup. The Styx show will begin at 7:30 instead of 8 p.m. on June 21 ($24.75 and $22.75 for pavilion, $12.05 for the lawn), the AC/DC and L.A. Guns concert, set for 8 p.m. June 29, has been changed t o 7:30 p.m. ($29.75 and $27.25 for pavilion, $17.25 for lawn).

The Subdudes will be opening for Huey Lewis and the News at 7:30 p.m. July 6 ($27.25 and $22.25 for the pavilion and $17.25 for the lawn).

Aldo Nova has been added to the Scorpions, Great White, Winger and Mr. Big show, which will begin at 5 and not 6 p.m. July 12 ($24.75 and $22.25 for pavilion and $14.75 for lawn).

The Yes show will start at 7:30 and not 8 p.m. on July 25 ($42.25 and $27.25 for pavilion, $14.75 for lawn).

And the Lynyrd Skynyrd concert, set for 8 p.m. Aug. 16, now will start at 7:30 ($24.75 and $22.25 for pavilion, $12.25 for lawn).

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What's the difference between Lollapalooza and Pitchfork? The Pitchfork lineup, as usual, is easily superior. That's not to be a snob, it's just to tell the truth.

But The Weekend in Chicago Rock will still be chock full of good stuff.

Meantime, here's the pre-Lolla Week in Chicago Rock that I posted late Friday, featuring "Tiny Dancer" From Almost Famous at Millennium Park, Viet Cong, St. Paul and the Broken Bones, Mutemath, Lissie, Paper Mice, Colin Stetson, Dick Dale, Snow Tha Product, Smoking Popes, Laura Marling, Johnny Flynn, Bryan Adams, 50 Cent, Shania Twain, and Delbert McClinton.

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I really enjoy compiling The Week/Weekend In Chicago Rock; it also really helps me keep on-point.

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The Beachwood Radio Sports Hour #62: Neither A Buyer Nor A Seller Be is in post-production.

Our man on the White Sox, Roger Wallenstein, joined me and Jim "Coach" Coffman on Saturday morning to talk post-trade deadline Cubs and Sox.

Plus: The Starlin Castro Saga; Len Kasper, Company Man; Bill Veeck, TV Bartender; The Journesia Of Training Camp Narratives; The Chicago Fire Continue To Disgust Us; and Eleane Delle Donne Emerges As The Face Of The WNBA.

Bonus tweet:

#WhiteSox perfectly reflected on #TradeDeadline: Are they buyers or sellers? No.

— Beachwood Reporter (@BeachwoodReport) July 31, 2015

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A new Beachwood Radio News Hour is in the works too.

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The Sad & Suspicious Return Of American Pharoah
Monmouth's mad money.

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The Sound Opinions Weekend Listening Report: "The Grateful Dead has the most devoted following of any rock band in history, but also has its fair share of detractors. Jim and Greg re-examine the legacy of The Grateful Dead as the band celebrates its 50th anniversary."

See also:
* A Grateful Dead Dime Story.

* The Beachwood Radio Hour #61A: Grateful Dead Edition.

* Grateful Dead Chicago.

* Meet Chicago's Worst Deadheads.

* Confessions Of A Covert Deadhead.

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BeachBook
* We're Suing The Justice Department Over The FBI's Secret Rules For Using National Security Letters On Journalists.

* Why Your Team Sucks: Chicago Bears 2015.

* "Yes, We're Corrupt:" A List Of Politicians Admitting That Money Controls Politics.

* What The BGA's Story About Fatal Chicago Police Shootings Gets Wrong.

Yup. Totally misleading but clickbaity headline. https://t.co/NjLaHjUJBi

— Beachwood Reporter (@BeachwoodReport) August 1, 2015

A Sun-Times reporter once told me that it was okay to use gross numbers instead of per capita because readers understood it better. SMDFH

— Beachwood Reporter (@BeachwoodReport) August 1, 2015

Now a Tribune business reporter, heh-heh.

— Beachwood Reporter (@BeachwoodReport) August 1, 2015

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TweetWood
A sampling.

Following the McCartney #Lolla concert on Twitter is as exciting as following any baseball game pitch-by-pitch on http://t.co/RT2uLyplH8.

— Matt Farmer (@mifarmer) August 1, 2015

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SeinfeldChicago: Puddy wears flower crown to Lollapalooza; Kramer quits school bus job due to new CPS start times; Rick Hahn is Even-Steven.

— Beachwood Reporter (@BeachwoodReport) July 31, 2015

SeinfeldChicago Director's Cut: Years of unpaid pension contributions found in Newman's apartment.

— Beachwood Reporter (@BeachwoodReport) July 31, 2015

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Unlike Rahm Emanuel, Tim Jennings does not like Nickelback. https://t.co/rbHUpeIX5o

— Beachwood Reporter (@BeachwoodReport) July 31, 2015

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The Weekend Desk Tip Line: Crown me.

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