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WELCOME TO THE OFFICIAL RICHARD E GERSTEIN JUSTICE BUILDING BLOG. THIS BLOG IS DEDICATED TO JUSTICE BUILDING RUMOR, HUMOR, AND A DISCUSSION ABOUT AND BETWEEN THE JUDGES, LAWYERS AND THE DEDICATED SUPPORT STAFF, CLERKS, COURT REPORTERS, AND CORRECTIONAL OFFICERS WHO LABOR IN THE WORLD OF MIAMI'S CRIMINAL JUSTICE. POST YOUR COMMENTS, OR SEND RUMPOLE A PRIVATE EMAIL AT HOWARDROARK21@GMAIL.COM. Winner of the prestigious Cushing Left Anterior Descending Artery Award.

Monday, October 11, 2021

TOP 100 SONGS

BREAKING Former Judge Mike Mirabal, who resigned in disgrace facing a massive Bar/JQC  complaint, was arrested last  night for aggravated assault with a firearm involving s dispute with a tenant. F21-017688. This is a breaking story. 

UPDATE2: Based on our tip, ace Herald scribe David Ovalle went to work. Here is his article.

In keeping with the overall theme of this post, Mirabal, when contacted for comment referred everyone to what he said was his favorite all time song: Billy Joel's I Am An Innocent Man. (Not really, but still...)

From the article: 

This is what happened, according to an arrest report: Mirabal was unloading groceries Sunday evening, with his dog, in the parking garage of his building on Orduna Drive. A man — the cousin of a resident in the complex — was on the other side of the garage gate, asking if he could be let in.

The man had left his phone upstairs in his cousin’s apartment. Mirabal refused because the man wasn’t a resident, and the two got into a heated argument, the report said. The man began yelling for his cousin to come downstairs and get him. The neighbor came down and let his cousin inside the parking garage, and they again encountered Mirabal. Mirabal’s neighbor told police he went to talk to Mirabal, who “pulled out a black gun with his right hand, points it at him and with his left hand pulls the slide of the weapon back twice. The victim says he steps back and begins calling police going back to his apartment,” according to the report. Mirabal, however, claimed the neighbor’s cousin had been threatening “he would fight him,” forcing him to pull out his gun, which he only held it behind his back. “He says he advised the witness that he is armed, and the witness stepped back and leaves,” the report said. Coral Gables police arrested Mirabal after saying 911 calls contradicted his version of what happened. After being booked in jail, he posted bond and was released.

TOP 100 SONGS 

Sometimes the so called experts get it wrong. That's where Rumpole steps in. Jack of all trades, and master of many, we have superior insight not just on cross examination techniques, but cosmology, where to eat, and in today's case, the top songs of all time, and we have a heavy bent towards rock and soul. 

Rolling Stone Magazine listed the top 100, and beyond the shocking insult of not listing the very best rock song of all time in the top 10, they pretty much got it wrong. We will not do all 100- our top 20 is enough to prove our point, and we will include Rolling Stone's choices in those slots so you can compare. 

Feel free to weigh in.  We have a feeling this will generate some discussion. 


RUMPOLE                                        ROLLING STONE 

20 Johnny B Goode                          20 Dancing On My Own 
(The first rock n roll hit)

19 My Girl                                      19 Imagine  (Genius- needs to be higher)

18 Purple Rain                                 18 Purple Rain (We can live with this)

17 Tiny Dancer                                17 Bohemian Rhapsody (Ground breaking. In our top 40                                                               but not top 20)

16 Good Vibrations                         16 Crazy In Love (not for us ) 

15 Blowin In The Wind                   15 I Want to Hold Your Hand (Beatles yes. This song.                                                                     No)

14 One (U2)                                   14 Waterloo Sunset (doesn't make our top 50)

13 I can't get no Satisfaction          13 Gimme Shelter (there are better Stones Songs)           (a better song) 

12 Like a Heatwave                       12 Superstition (A hard song to rank)

11 Like a Rollin Stone                    11 God Only Knows (Pure Genius. We rank it higher)

10 Imagine                                      10 Hey Ya. (Never heard it).

9  Thunder Road                               9 Dreams (A top 10? You must be dreaming!)           (The most poetic rock n roll song ever written:                                                                        "You can hide neath your covers and study your pain.                                                         Make crosses from your lovers, throw roses in the rain.                                                       Wait your summer prayin in vain for a savior to rise from these streets")

8  Stairway to Heaven                      8 Get ur Freak On. (Get outta here). 

7 Baby I Need Your Lovin               7 Strawberry Fields (This is tough to rank)

6  Get Up Stand Up                           6 What's Going On. (Brilliant Song We have it higher)

5 Let it Be                                          5 Smells Like Teen Spirit (Smells like an awful choice)

4  What's Going On                          4 Like a Rolling Stone (Can't argue with Dylan in the                                                                 top 5)

3  Be My Baby                                 3 A Change is Gonna Come (Too high. Sorry).

2  God Only Knows                          2 Fight the Power (Fight the ranking. Too high)

                                                            1. Respect (This choice gets no respect).

God Only Knows is the pure genius of Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys. It's real hard, but it slightly beats out Be My Baby. 

THE GREATEST ROCK N ROLL SONG OF ALL TIME

There is no comparison. It's Bruce Springsteen's four and a half minutes of pure magic and genius about love and escape  on the New Jersey Turnpike. Four and a half minutes took over four months to record. The Big Man Clarence Clemons' sax solo, the hammering beat of Boom Carter on the drums,  and then a keyboard ramp-up that precedes the greatest pause and then release of rock ecstasy known to music...  "1....2.....3......Highways jammed with broken heroes on a last chance power drive. Everybodys out on the road tonight, but there's no place left to hide." Life does not get any better than that pure genius, 

It's more than a death trap and a suicide rap; it's more than a love letter to Wendy; its the rock n roll answer to the question "I wanna know if love is wild, I wanna know if love is real!" 

BORN TO RUN is  the greatest rock n roll song of all time. 

Music Critic Robert Christgau noted that it was all Be My Baby was and wanted to be, and more. It was more than the Phil Spector Wall of Sound. It was innovational, inspirational, and an invitation to lose yourself in all of the music and words. 

29 comments:

Anonymous said...

For those of us who cut our teeth through the darker edges of '70's culture, I nominate my 2 & 3 songs: Lou Reed's Walk On The Wild Side and Angel In Blue by the J Geils Band. And number one: LOLA by The Kinks. And how about an honorable mention for the people who learned about love in the back of a Dodge? RIP Harry Chapin

Anonymous said...

So subjective. There are only a few I would list that you have named. God only knows is god awful and wouldn’t make shit. Also, no heavy metal at all? Really. Come on.

Anonymous said...

Sympathy for the Devil= Best Rock song.

Anonymous said...

Imagine is not rock n roll at all.. both lists are absurd.

Anonymous said...

I'm hearing this isn't the first time MM threatens someone with gun violence. Apparently MM drew and chambered his firearm, pointing it at a neighbor--and later lied to police about the incident. This guy is legitimately dangerous.

Anonymous said...

Rump: the Herald credited the blog with breaking the Mirabal story: https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/crime/article254925927.html

Rumpole said...

of course they did- David's a good guy. Of course they got the name wrong, but it's the Herald, they do their best with what they have.

Anonymous said...

This story only means one thing- MIRABEL FOR CIRCUIT COURT 2024
TANNED RESTED AND READY TO SERVE!

Anonymous said...

The harder they fall...

Rumpole said...

5:08 PM- Well not really - being a county court judge for what...3 months- or less time than many books are on the best seller list doesn't qualify as BIG. It is not like FIU or U of M law school bid for the papers of his judicial time for their library to be studied by future legal historians. However, he may well have set a record for the shortest time on the bench- so he may well be in the record books for something.

Anonymous said...

Rumpole you are dead wrong. Legal scholars will be debating for ages his decision to not withhold adjudication in an expired tag case. It was truly ground breaking.

Anonymous said...

One of the best judges ever

Anonymous said...

Bullshit case should be dropped. Dude at gate and cousin were looking for a problem and found one. Guy has a right to pull a gun to avoid having to fight one or two people. He didn’t shoot nobody. Should he have waited until they there a punch to gun them down? Fuck them, even if I don’t care anything about MM and have no idea who he is.

Anonymous said...

That's exactly why bro that DeSantis should be putting him on the short list for the 3rd dca- you ever see him in court arraign someone? Like poetry in motion. One of the best ever dude at arraignments and ordering discovery> Get outta here he was so good.

Anonymous said...

Rump please explain why a sitting Circuit judge formerly in our building was allowed to support Mirabel in the election so publicly against an incumbent who was per the defense bar very good? She posted all over social media support for Mirabel. No entiendo.

Anonymous said...

8:50 is right.

And what kind of asshole doesn't let someone in that locks themself out without their phone?

Anonymous said...

"5:08 PM- Well not really - being a county court judge for what...3 months- or less time than many books are on the best seller list doesn't qualify as BIG."

I didn't include "the bigger they are" part of the saying for a reason. It seems today that even those without high or exalted position can still fall pretty hard. These guy's notoriety as a scandal and disgrace already way exceeds his tenure as a petty magistrate or bottom-feeding attorney.

Anonymous said...

605 is right

Anonymous said...

Gotta be a record for quickest to preside over arraignments to being arraigned.

Anonymous said...

What the alleged victim is saying (“pulled out a black gun with his right hand, points it at him and with his left hand pulls the slide of the weapon back twice.”) doesn't make sense. MM should get a lawyer familiar with guns and self-defense.

Scott Saul said...

Rock n' roll should be a paradox, a collection of gritty opposites that, when melded together, form a glorious racket yet also a strange beauty. It must move the listener, making ya wanna dance, bang your head, sing into your hairbrush and twist the night away. Ya need ragin' guitars, a groovy back beat, a thumping bottom end and in your face vocals. Most of all...it must ooze sexual energy. My top 5;

1. Roadrunner-The Modern Lovers
2. You Really Got Me- The Kinks
3. Satisfaction-The Stones
4. Sweet Jane- Velvet Underground
5. Gloria-Them

Anonymous said...

The Rolling Stone list is a joke. A desperate attempt by old white guys to look woke.

Some guy analyzed the comparisons between the 2004 list and the 2021.

Best one is "Get Your Freak On" by Missy Elliot. It was a 2001 release. In 2004, it was ranked 466. It never reached higher than #7 on the charts at its peak. Fast forward 17 years and it is now ranked 8. I guess the song got better.

"Fight the Power" was #330 in 2004. It's now #2. Of all time. Never made the charts at its "peak." I guess that song got better also.

"Gasolina" is number 50. "Stairway to Heaven" is 61. Seriously?

I think the list is done by Tik Tokers and their grandfathers who each get to alternate picks to go on the list.

Scott Saul said...

Great analysis 10:21 . That is precisely why these songs need to be evaluated based upon passion …as opposed to the perception of political correctness. Some of the hip hop is great but it’s not rock n roll. Prog, orchestral, chamber-pop, great genres but not rock n roll. Computer altered vocals, drum machines, all sounds coming off of a computer keyboard…not rock n roll !

Anonymous said...

Why should he, the guy isn’t a resident. Are you just going to let anyone come into a locked complex? Heck no! Not in this day and age.

Anonymous said...

Dearly Beloved, We are gathered here today to get throught this thing called life!
I'd go with Let's Go Crazy over Purple Rain.
Purple Rain is the better 'love' rock song and has that amazing awesome guitar solo, but for me the energy and passion for life and love in Let's Go Crazy is what rock music is all about.

Anonymous said...

Music is so subjective. What's the criteria for Rolling Stone's list? Unique sound? Relevance over time? Influence on other artists?

"Good Vibrations" and "God Only Knows" - hell, almost the entire Pet Sounds album - are the pinnacle of Brian Wilson's genius.

Anonymous said...

Bob Marley
Sublime
Beatles
Biggie
Pixies

Anonymous said...

These lists are fun to make. Scott Saul is right, and since our emotions change, the songs we connect to do too. My list would still include Won't Get Fooled Again, Back in Black, YYZ, and probably the Ocean Song. The legal case? Store Your Groceries defense.

Anonymous said...

https://www.google.com/amp/s/nypost.com/2021/10/13/rolling-stones-retire-classic-rock-song-brown-sugar/amp/