That time of year again.
Where NPR and Pitchfork and Paste Magazine puts out their best albums of the year.
Yawn
With each passing year, I continue to lose interest in the next big thing, the next big band or the next big hype and it makes less sense to continue to put out a best of music blog. Even with new releases I tend to listen one time, base a judgement and then file it away, only to donate it or sell it to Half Price Books for pennies on the dollar. If Greta Van Fleet is the future of rock and roll, they better do a better job on the next album, it simply wasn't enough rock and roll fun for me.
Let's face it, fifty years ago, rock and roll was in the glory years, always new exciting music on the horizon. Fifty years later Beatles White Album outtakes are still selling but nobody is breaking in new acts. There's too much rap and hip hop and autotuner for me to give a flying f**k. And for the so call new rock, it sounds the same, right Lukas Graham? The major labels don't give a shit, new country is worse and corporate radio still plays the same 30 to 40 year old songs over and over. Nothing new, nothing surprising and people are glued to their smart phone and streaming to care anymore. With Best Buy jumping off the CD bus and Wal Mart and Target shrinking CD shelf space to 10 feet, it's hard to get anything new on CD. But you can always buy the LP for 25 or 30 dollars.
It doesn't help that digipacks are the main supplier of albums. I quit buying Neil Young's album simply of the fact that he has them in overshaped mini LP facsimile digipack. Do I see a need to pay 70 dollars for a 2 LP archives collection? Nope and as Neil Young falls by the wayside I continue to took my attention more to those who still use the jewel case, not good for the environment but at least you can stack them just right unlike the Neil Young albums.
For the most part, the classic rock acts are now into their 60s or 70s and even 80s and still make albums from time to time. Willie Nelson will make 100 more albums before he's dead and gone and Neil will have 200. With no foreseen future rock bands grabbing my attention, I'm resigned to go to second hand stores to find albums in the dollar bins to get me through the day. If there was anything new worth getting, it would be a trip to Moondog Music to get such music or up to Madison. This year I did buy some new albums but in my estimation, I didn't buy as many as I did in 2017. Except for that rare occasion of new music that came out in the same week (Bottle Rockets, Rhett Miller, Marianne Faithfull) new music was few and far between. Even the Gin Blossoms put out their first album in a few years but I can't remember how most of the songs went, they came and went past by me like a summer wind. Or the Judas Priest, which was better than the last album but again about four songs too many and my attention span went back to the Train Cam at Rochelle Illinois.
Last year's best of 2017 I found myself still playing Deep Purple's Infinite and So You Wanna Be An Outlaw by Steve Earle which must have meant there was some substance there. Of course there was, but Steve Earle was too country for new country and as for Deep Purple, Classic Rock Radio don't care. The Question remains if the Best of 2018 will have one or two of the top faves still in the player a year or two from now and there'll be one or two. But overall, when you're dealing with 60 plus years of rock music, you're not going to have time to hear everything. Reality won't wait and neither will the better half. When I checked out NPR and Pitchfork's best of, none of their selections were mine, nor did I care to seek out their best, tho' number 3 Kasey Musgraves Happy Hour was in my possession for a couple months. It's a good pop album but in reality I couldn't relate to it very well. But for Mitski and Janelle Monae, I'll stick with Marianne Faithfull. It's the sign of the times and it's the youngster's music, but I guarantee you five or ten years from now, nobody will remember Janelle Monae, but they'll remember The White Album From The Beatles. Especially if they reissue the GD thing for the 60th or 70th anniversary reissues. By then, I'll be dead by then.
So once again, in no particular order or indifference, is my faves of 2018. The ones that haven't gotten taken to Half Price Books for cash. But I'm sure that will change a month or two from now.
My Faves of 2018
Willie Nelson-Last Man Standing (Legacy)
He's 84 and still putting out two to three albums per year and he'll make another 20 more before he's dead and gone, but Last Man Standing is a better and more lighthearted album than God's Problem Child. Album number 2 of the year My Way, shows that he can still channel his inner Frank Sinatra, tho' it's not as good as say, Stardust was, but it does kick Healing Hands Of Time all over the place.
John Prine-The Tree Of Forgiveness (Oh Boy)
His first new album of originals in quite some time and like Willie's Last Man Standing is one of his best album's ever. When I Get To Heaven is a fine ending and grand statement to this cd.
Richard Thompson-13 Rivers (New West)
Freed from Concord/Fantasy, Thompson puts in one of his more angriest guitar playing albums ever. That's saying something. Not for the faint of heart.
Blackberry Smoke-Find A Light (Thirty Tigers)
Their last album kinda left me thinking they were missing something but Find A Light returns them to a more Southern rock and roll that was heard on Holding All The Roses. Flesh And Bone rocks.
Nik Turner-Life In Space (Purple Pyramid)
He's has more of the classic Hawkwind sound down better this decade than his former band.
The Damned-Evil Spirits (Spinefarm)
The biggest surprise is how good this record is from start to finish. Tony Visconti helps with the production. Paul Gray, ex Eddie and Hot Rods bass extraordinaire adds collective bottom cool too.
The Bottle Rockets-Bit Logic (Bloodshot)
I don't think they ever made a bad album and there's always a guaranteed spot in the top ten best of when they put a album out. I tend to think Jeff Tweedy gets to be overrated but at the same time Brian Henneman is a much better songwriter in terms of getting older.
Rhett Miller-The Messenger (ATO)
Another fine effort by Rhett. The shiny love songs do get darker as the record goes on. Of course he will always be the voice behind the Old 97s but this album is better than last couple Old 97s album.
Ace Frehley-Spaceman (E One)
40 years after his Casablanca album, which blew away his bandmates solo albums, Ace returns to the style and sound of that album. Even gets Gene Simmons to write a couple songs and play too.
Crack The Sky-Living In Reverse (Loud N Proud)
Another 40 year old band finally getting some much needed love, Living In Reverse is in reality their most visable album, thanks to being signed to a major/minor independent label. Crackology, their digital only streaming album, revisits their better known hits. Until, somebody wrestles the album away from Cashman/West Lifesong Records this will have to do, but they might be that 40 year old overnight sensation band that you might get to hear on the radio. Or maybe not.
Reissues of the year:
Bram Trchovsky-The Complete Albums
Strange Man, Changed Man and Funland are excellent albums, the second album Pressure (Or The Russians Are Coming) isn't that good, but Funland was one of my all time favorite albums of 1981
Neil Young-Songs For Judy
79 minutes of prime Neil unplugged back in 1976, when he was restless, writing and scrapping songs at a record pace but whatever he thought was throwaways or not ready for the public, most if not all of these tracks captures him at his best. I'm still not that thrilled at A Man Needs A Maid but listen for the riff that would eventually become Like A Hurricane later on.
Bob Dylan-More Blood More Tracks
The single CD was the one that I got instead of the Dust collector 6 CD Set. Tho' the single CD isn't the original first release of Blood On The Tracks it does provide an interesting insight of what Dylan would have done had he kept it a unplugged folk album. It does include Up To Me, an outtake that didn't make the album but Roger McGunn did cover for the 1976 Cardiff Rose album.
Bob Seger And The Lost Heard-The Cameo/Parkway Singles- A very brief look at Bob's early singles for that label before Capitol claimed him. Before he decided to go all out on the Springsteen true confessions route, he embarked on blazing display of Detroit rock and roll on these singles, including Heavy Music Part 1 and 2 and Sock It To Me Santa, which is much more harder rocking than anything Mitch Ryder and The Detroit Wheels ever came up. The missing link between the MC5 and The Detroit Wheels, even if he only did five singles for Cameo. Detroit rock in the 60s kicked ass.
Don Gibson-Best Of The Hickory Records Years- He had some good songs after leaving RCA for Hickory and spent over a decade there. Highlights include Woman, Sensuous Woman (A song that you may have heard me cover this year), One Day At A Time and Touch The Morning.
Buck Owens-Country Singer's Prayer-Originally Capitol planned to issue this but had cold feet and issued a half assed best of Buck Owens Volume 6. After the death of Don Rich, Buck never recovered and the record wasn't that inspired. The new female singer didn't sound right for the Buckeroos. Best song was John Law, which Rich recorded and sang lead vocal on.
Marianne Faithful-Come Away With Me. Mostly pop songs of the mid 60s, starts out with fairly great, then goes nowhere. Marianne would drop out for a couple years before returning with a new vicious sound with Sister Morphine, her sweet honey voice became an inflamed mix of drugs, booze and lots of cigarettes. That song would point the way for her alternative rock career with Broken English.
Honorable mention:
Marianne Faithful-Negative Capability (BMG)
Ministry-AmeriKKKant (Nuclear Blast)
Judas Priest-Firepower (Epic)
Willie Nelson-My Way (Legacy)
Gin Blossoms-Mixed Reality (Cleopatra)
Pistol Annies-Interstate Gospel (RCA)
Kasey Musgraves-Golden Hour (MCA)
Alice In Chains-Rainier Fog (BMG)
Brian Fallon-Sleepwalkers (Island)
Roger Daltrey-As Long As I Have You (Republic)
The honorable mentions are basically the rest of the albums that I listened to that came from 2018. There were a few other new albums from artists that I didn't get around to review or listen to due to unavailability, or I didn't get the order in, nor seen the bands at hand. Delta Moon, Amy Rigby and local faves Wooden Nickel Lottery issued new albums and I'm sure I'll get around listening to all of them. Graham Parker's latest album was ordered at the last minute and will be the first album of 2019 to review. I have come to find the new Ministry was a better listen than,Judas Priest or Alice In Chains but all three albums were better than most metal or hard rock albums that came out. I'm getting too old to really get into the new metal bands. I'm sure there's some great albums out there, but since radio doesn't play nothing but 30 year old corporate classic rock, Sirius XM is slightly better but still has its nose stuck in the past as well and I am not a fan of streaming new stuff.
The honorable mention does have a couple albums that would have made my turd list but I will not mention names. Musgraves outdid herself on Happy Hour, which was more of a pop album than country, but even a country mode, that record seemed too country for new country music, which is basically watered down rap pop pap. While critics gave The Pistols Annies room on the best of, I still can't get into this album of theirs. Perhaps Miranda Lambert's time as country music darling is now past, she is the Loretta Lynn of new country, loved and cherish by many but not suitable for country radio anymore. To which I blame the music corporations for their narrow minded and sexist playlist of hack fools (FGL, Kane Brown) and copious amounts of autotuner and snap beats. And it won't get better anymore. Thank Newt Gingrich and Bill Clinton for that 1996 Telecom Act this is responsible for outdated classic rock and new bands who grew up on Nu Metal, Wu Tang Clan, Backstreet Boys, Poison and New Direction for lack of decent music. Sorry folks, the classic rock years are gone, what was new and exciting is now stale and boring now. Even when they bring back Woodstock this summer, we can't return to the garden. The hippie dream is gone.
But even in this list, we saw the return of the Gin Blossoms, 25 years removed from their classic New Miserable Experience and still making 3 chord songs but they never recovered from outing the doomed Doug Hopkins who made their best songs. Danny Wilde tries, as he has been the last couple of GB albums but it just isn't the same. The Roger Daltary album does have Pete Townsend helping out, tho' it's not a official Who album, As Long As I Have You was better than Endless Wire but not by much. And Brian Fallon quietly put out a album that recalls The 59 Sound from his idled band Gaslight Anthem but nobody paid much attention to it. The reason why Best Buy had about 5 copies of that album on their liquidation sale for 20 percent off. The last CD I ever bought from Best Buy as well. Useless trivia if there is ever one.
For reissues, I'm am aware of the Beatles White Album 50th Anniversary Album but didn't think it was worth 40 bucks buying the whole thing over just to hear bonus tracks that have been out in various bootlegs Wounded Bird, did put out some of the out of print Rhino Handmade double CD sets (Lee Hazelwood Story, Peter Ivers) but even for specialized labels reissuing albums that made an impact years ago, there wasn't much to hang your hat on. Real Gone, the best of the reissue labels did put together a decent Four Tops ABC Dunhill Records Overview which captured the final finest moments that the Tops had to offer and The Essential Eric Andersen to which I did buy and thought it was okay, warts and all, much to my chagrin, I saw that one used when I was up in Madison during the WNBR weekend bargain hunt.
I don't forsee 2019 to be any better for new music that will be memorable. I don't have time to listen to subpar music when there's so much from the past that needs to be rediscovered. Joe Jackson has a new record that might grab my attention for a second. Plus I'm tired of buying digipack albums that don't fit on a shelf (Neil Young is notorious for this). Collector's Choice Music has been the best mail order for getting the hard to find but even their shipping and handling charges and now us paying Iowa income tax (thanks Republicans) I haven't bought much of late. Unless something that hasn't been reissued before (Bram T.) I'm not going pay much mind. Most of the Elvis stuff has been recycled, Led Zep, Beatles as well. I kinda took note on the Steven Wilson remastered prog rock albums from King Crimson and Jethro Tull but unless he takes a crack on The Godz Nothing Is Sacred, I continue to pinch pennies and take chances in the dollar section at Half Price Books or Stuff Etc.
In the end, the best of 2018 is nothing more at this point than posting the albums that I did buy, the good and bad and both are beginning to be part of the best of and that's not a good thing. It used to be that the best of, were the best of and the worst likewise. Nowadays it blurs in just like radio.
No rhyme or reason.
Happy new year.
Monday, December 31, 2018
Thursday, December 13, 2018
2019 Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame
In order of importance.
Roxy Music
For many years they been ignored by the HOF but this year the biggest surprise. Led by Bryan Ferry and helped by Phil Manzera and Andy McKay, they went from Prog rock glammers to a more mellower MOR rock sound. They were rock with Phil Thompson on drums and John Gufstason on bass and Brian Eno added oddball sounds on the first two albums. They never made a bad album, in fact Avalon is fun music to get romantic with, but I enjoy the craziness that is their 1979 album Manifesto. Siren is a bit overrated, Country Life is better. Ferry's solo albums of that time had Roxy members guest starring but by the 1990s, Ferry's albums weren't standing out either. After Avalon, Roxy Music never made a new album, but did put out a couple a reunion albums that kinda captured the spirit of the early years.
The Zombies:
One of the best singles band from the UK, their Odessey And Oracle album probably were the inspiration for another Rock Inductee band Radiohead. The best introduction remains any of their best ofs out there. Rod Argent and Colin Blumstone are the only two remaining members of that band still out there. Varese Records did issued a couple comps with lesser known and b sides that are worth seeking out and loaded up the bonus tracks on OAO, which can be a good thing since the original album didn't go past 30 minutes.
The rest;
The Cure
Cutting edge mope rock. Their best years were with Sire but I really didn't pay a lot of attention to them. I did get a chuckle out of their Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me album but the only album that ever made to my player was Staring At The Sea best of, later replaced with The Cure Greatest Hits. Maybe sometime I'll search the Sire albums to see what I have missed but for a band that gets lumped in with Bauhaus, I don't have that much enthusiasm to go look. Unless the records are in the dollar bins.
Stevie Nicks
I'm sure Lindsay Buckingham is LOL on this one and truthfully, Stevie's albums have been problematic. She was a sex symbol around the time of Rumors and Bella Donna and as time marches on, you wonder what the fuss the solo albums were about. Not exactly hall of fame material. Trouble In Shanghai has been my favorite of her solo output even with Sheryl Crow (2027 rock inductee) on it. Her shining moment remains, Silver Springs, the B side to Go Your Own Way and should have been included on Rumors, to which Rhino did tack on a limited edition reissue.
Radiohead
For most overblown and overhyped band Radiohead is first ballot all the way baby! OK Computer being the most overhyped album ever,tho' it does seem to be one of the more listenable albums, overall best ever? No. Kid A influenced a lot of the new acts (Lukas Graham, Franz Ferdinand) but to me it's a crap album. Best album I'd think would be In Rainbows, but I don't have a lot of use for Radiohead. They did shed that Cure Mope rock skin after Pablo Honey and became something more to the critics but they never did rock much.
Def Lepherd
This year's fan favorite. Their best was On Through The Night, which remains their hardest rocking album, and they traded Tom Allom for Robert John Lange and scored big time. There's a AC/DC influence on the next two albums and then Pyromania broke them big. They really had nothing to say with their goofy lyrics (rock rock till you drop, rock rock never stop) and Photograph had that trademark RJ Lange method of catchy lyrics and riffs and a hooky chorus to remember that song by. On Hysteria, they sold their soul to the classic rock radio mode (mold). Pour Some Sugar On Me is their answer to Yummy Yummy Yummy.
Janet Jackson
Like Radiohead JJ's induction was coming and like brother Micheal, Janet dominated the R and B charts of the 1980s, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis the secret weapon. Control and Rhythm Nation are her two best but after that, I couldn't tell you anything off later albums.
And there you have it. Your 2019 rock hall members.
Roxy Music
For many years they been ignored by the HOF but this year the biggest surprise. Led by Bryan Ferry and helped by Phil Manzera and Andy McKay, they went from Prog rock glammers to a more mellower MOR rock sound. They were rock with Phil Thompson on drums and John Gufstason on bass and Brian Eno added oddball sounds on the first two albums. They never made a bad album, in fact Avalon is fun music to get romantic with, but I enjoy the craziness that is their 1979 album Manifesto. Siren is a bit overrated, Country Life is better. Ferry's solo albums of that time had Roxy members guest starring but by the 1990s, Ferry's albums weren't standing out either. After Avalon, Roxy Music never made a new album, but did put out a couple a reunion albums that kinda captured the spirit of the early years.
The Zombies:
One of the best singles band from the UK, their Odessey And Oracle album probably were the inspiration for another Rock Inductee band Radiohead. The best introduction remains any of their best ofs out there. Rod Argent and Colin Blumstone are the only two remaining members of that band still out there. Varese Records did issued a couple comps with lesser known and b sides that are worth seeking out and loaded up the bonus tracks on OAO, which can be a good thing since the original album didn't go past 30 minutes.
The rest;
The Cure
Cutting edge mope rock. Their best years were with Sire but I really didn't pay a lot of attention to them. I did get a chuckle out of their Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me album but the only album that ever made to my player was Staring At The Sea best of, later replaced with The Cure Greatest Hits. Maybe sometime I'll search the Sire albums to see what I have missed but for a band that gets lumped in with Bauhaus, I don't have that much enthusiasm to go look. Unless the records are in the dollar bins.
Stevie Nicks
I'm sure Lindsay Buckingham is LOL on this one and truthfully, Stevie's albums have been problematic. She was a sex symbol around the time of Rumors and Bella Donna and as time marches on, you wonder what the fuss the solo albums were about. Not exactly hall of fame material. Trouble In Shanghai has been my favorite of her solo output even with Sheryl Crow (2027 rock inductee) on it. Her shining moment remains, Silver Springs, the B side to Go Your Own Way and should have been included on Rumors, to which Rhino did tack on a limited edition reissue.
Radiohead
For most overblown and overhyped band Radiohead is first ballot all the way baby! OK Computer being the most overhyped album ever,tho' it does seem to be one of the more listenable albums, overall best ever? No. Kid A influenced a lot of the new acts (Lukas Graham, Franz Ferdinand) but to me it's a crap album. Best album I'd think would be In Rainbows, but I don't have a lot of use for Radiohead. They did shed that Cure Mope rock skin after Pablo Honey and became something more to the critics but they never did rock much.
Def Lepherd
This year's fan favorite. Their best was On Through The Night, which remains their hardest rocking album, and they traded Tom Allom for Robert John Lange and scored big time. There's a AC/DC influence on the next two albums and then Pyromania broke them big. They really had nothing to say with their goofy lyrics (rock rock till you drop, rock rock never stop) and Photograph had that trademark RJ Lange method of catchy lyrics and riffs and a hooky chorus to remember that song by. On Hysteria, they sold their soul to the classic rock radio mode (mold). Pour Some Sugar On Me is their answer to Yummy Yummy Yummy.
Janet Jackson
Like Radiohead JJ's induction was coming and like brother Micheal, Janet dominated the R and B charts of the 1980s, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis the secret weapon. Control and Rhythm Nation are her two best but after that, I couldn't tell you anything off later albums.
And there you have it. Your 2019 rock hall members.
Friday, December 7, 2018
The Crabbys: 2018 Best of Places.
And so, it begins again.
The year end of awarding the Crabby Awards to my favorite places. And they're getting to be few and far between.
2002. Was the year that CD sales were sliding down and places to hang out to buy CDs are now faded memories. 2002 was the year that Pawnshops decided that CDs weren't worth selling and nobody was bringing their Pink Floyd or Zeppelin but the tons of dog shit rappers and plastic pop and American Idol rejects making shitty EPs or CDs. But in 2002 we still have FYE and Hastings to find the cheap stuff. Trans World or who ever owned FYE bought up the Wherehouse Music stores, which made my trip to Seattle tolerable since the woman I was seeing at the time was making my vacation a trip to hell. At that time, I had a choice of 7 Wherehouse Music stores or in Spokane 4 Hastings stores to keep me occupied.
Going to the big cities would enable me to find the hard to find stuff. Cellophane Square Music in Seattle was the place to go to, in Phoenix there was FYE, Wherehouse Music, Zia's, at least 25 stores in the area, not including Goodwill. For a bargain hunter I was doing well. But as the 2000's continued on, record stores were closing up. The Virgin Music Store in Vegas and Phoenix closed their doors, so did Tower Records, yeah they were overpriced as hell but I could waste 2 to 3 hours looking at inventory. Up in my town, Relics closed shop, so did Rock n Bach. Co Op Cedar Rapids and Waterloo were no match for either stores but at least I didn't have get on a airplane to look.
Northern Arizona had Hastings as well and all of a sudden, I had a place to hang out when I was in Kingman or Flagstaff and even discovered one in Ames before they pulled the plug in 2010 in the area and gave up the ghost in 2016. I haven't been back to Arizona in over five years, but as far as I know Zia's is still going strong, but FYE did closed my favorite hangout on Longmore across from Fiesta Mall, now also history. The places that I used to go to are now long gone.
I think the vinyl revival is finally slowing down, however Wal Mart and Target continue to shrink their CDs down to a paltry 500 and Best Buy stopped selling them this summer. We still places that sell records and CDs, and they're still hanging on. The places and people are changing tho'. Thrift stores are doing well but Marion decided to boot the Salvation Army out of their longtime area on 7th Avenue in favor of a Dollar Tree. One less thrift store to find records or donate. The demise of Best Buy has opened Books A Million to have their own used DVD and CD section and I managed to find some cheap finds at both Dubuque and Davenport locations. The Books A Million buy back program is no different than say, Half Price Books but at least you can get something back for your unwanted stuff. The BAM selection will not wow people but once in a while they might have something 30 percent off if you planned it just right.
So anyway, the rules are simple. I put up the best places to look for records being used or whatever. But it's not what it was were. What is number 1 is my go to place and the rest do get a visit. But the top rated ones are, shall we say, more reliable than your local Wally World or Target or the obsolete K Mart.
Best Record Stores In My Area
Moondog Music-Dubuque
Analog Vault-Cedar Rapids
Ragged Records-Davenport/Rock Island
Wax Ecstatic-Marshalltown
Co Op Records-Moline
Weird Harolds-Burlington
CD's 4 Change-Dubuque
Record Collector-Iowa City
Metro Records-Cedar Falls
Mohair Pear-Cedar Falls
Books A Million-Dubuque/Davenport
Wal Mart-(Various locations)
Barnes And Noble-(Cedar Rapids, Davenport)
Target (Various)
Best Buy (Lp's only)
If you're looking for new releases on Cd, Moondog Music remains, hands down, the best for that. Look hard enough and they might have some new releases on sale. Ragged Records has grown so much that they now have a second location in Rock Island. Bob Harrington continues to outdo the competition on new vinyl releases. Analog Vault is the closest and therefore remain the second best place, they're in New Bo, what better place to relax and chat and hear music from scratchy LPs. Wax Estatic in Marshalltown had a tornado that tore through town and cause the store to shut down for about six weeks but they have rebounded quite nicely. Co Op Moline does a better job in terms of new CDs, Reid Robinson has done wonders. The new owners of Record Collector in Iowa City continue the tradition of Kirk Waltier and they still are worth a trip to Iowa City, even if they are the last standing record store in Iowa City. But I have found going to Dubuque is a better place, they have three record stores in a two mile radius, with Books A Million getting into the used Cds field. Until Dubque or Davenport get a Half Price Bookstore, they're not match for BAM. Davenport has their share of good stores, but Waterloo is lacking and Cedar Falls I only heard of Metro Records, and judging by their inventory, I wouldn't be in there very long. Mohair Pear is owned by the leader of House Of Large Sizes band, and is the place to go if you're looking for their music on vinyl.
As for the the retail stores, It's Wally World or nothing else. Target only has the top 10 best sellers or new releases. They haven't been relevant in quite some time. Barnes N Noble, better on the lesser known but still overpriced most of the time than not.
Best Used Stores for Music;
Half Price Books (CR, Des Moines, Madison)
Stuff Etc: (CR, Coralville, IC, Davenport, Waterloo)
Sweet Living Antiques (Iowa City)
Housewerks (Iowa City)
The Closest Door (Iowa City)
Goodwill (Various locations)
Salvation Army (Davenport, Cedar Rapids, Waterloo)
St. Vincent De Paul (Madison, Waterloo, DBQ)
Books A Million (DBQ, Davenport)
Super Pawn (Iowa City, Cedar Rapids, Waterloo)
As long as there's a Half Price Book store in the area, there'll still be plenty of bargains to be found in their bargain bins, And still will be my second home. Per usual, the thrift stores and bric bracs stores are always hit and miss, but I did notice that Stuff Etc did have, for a while, major inventory of decent music. For old time pop 45s, St Vincent De Paul have them, tho' the only rock records they get are scratched up to the point of decent plays. The closing of the Marion Salvation Army store, now has only the Council St Army still in business. But now, that 45s are now no longer made, except the overpriced Record Store Day crap that really makes no dollar sense to get. I'll take my chances of one song both sides promo every time.
What's missing from this list? Pawnshops. Super Pawn up in Waterloo has the most, but even what they have are junk that nobody wants but for 50 cents you might score a Beatles Sgt Pepper CD. Iowa City did have Klaatu's first on CD but it was too scratched to buy, but they did have Ted Nugent's S/T remaster and also where I got a cheap copy of Pearl Jam 10. Siegal's Jewelry has dropped out of this list, they don't sell CDs any more.
Best Stores for music instruments.
Uncle Ike's (Asbury-DBQ)
965 Guitars (CR)
Bob's Guitars (Cedar Falls)
Musician's Pro Shop (IC)
Rondellei's (DBQ)
West Music (CR, IC, DBQ)
Guitar Center (CR,Davenport)
Griggs Music (Davenport, CR)
It's sad to see the kids of today not playing music as we did growing up. The internet has made slaves out of us all. Uncle Ike's in Dubuque always takes me back to the days of hanging at a old forgotten store and they still have the best used drum selection in the area. In town, you're got a choice of Guitar Center or West Music, who seems to have the latest drums and cymbals than Guitar Center. Darwin at 965 Guitars is the place to go if you're in Cedar Rapids, Bob's Guitar in Cedar Falls worth the drive itself. Griggs continues to disappoint but then again nobody can't afford the latest DW sets.
CD Reviews:
The Monkees Christmas Party (Rhino 2018)
Mostly the Micky Dolenz show with Davy Jones singing two from the grave and Mike Nesmith adding two off the wall traditional numbers. Peter Tork adds a Christmas Turd and if you really care, Target has a CD with two bonus tracks. I'm certain that the Old 97's Christmas album is better, but this album does start out with a couple pretty good Dolenz numbers and House Of Broken Gingerbread is fairly good. Nesmith really doesn't go all out, his take on The Christmas Song is nice. Questionable stuff remains, Alex Chilton's Jesus Christ is tedious, and the world doesn't need another Wonderful Christmastime, tho' it's not as odious as Paul McCartney's original. Compared to Cheap Trick's Christmas album, this isn't in the same neighborhood but for yuletime background music you can do worse.
Grade B
The year end of awarding the Crabby Awards to my favorite places. And they're getting to be few and far between.
2002. Was the year that CD sales were sliding down and places to hang out to buy CDs are now faded memories. 2002 was the year that Pawnshops decided that CDs weren't worth selling and nobody was bringing their Pink Floyd or Zeppelin but the tons of dog shit rappers and plastic pop and American Idol rejects making shitty EPs or CDs. But in 2002 we still have FYE and Hastings to find the cheap stuff. Trans World or who ever owned FYE bought up the Wherehouse Music stores, which made my trip to Seattle tolerable since the woman I was seeing at the time was making my vacation a trip to hell. At that time, I had a choice of 7 Wherehouse Music stores or in Spokane 4 Hastings stores to keep me occupied.
Going to the big cities would enable me to find the hard to find stuff. Cellophane Square Music in Seattle was the place to go to, in Phoenix there was FYE, Wherehouse Music, Zia's, at least 25 stores in the area, not including Goodwill. For a bargain hunter I was doing well. But as the 2000's continued on, record stores were closing up. The Virgin Music Store in Vegas and Phoenix closed their doors, so did Tower Records, yeah they were overpriced as hell but I could waste 2 to 3 hours looking at inventory. Up in my town, Relics closed shop, so did Rock n Bach. Co Op Cedar Rapids and Waterloo were no match for either stores but at least I didn't have get on a airplane to look.
Northern Arizona had Hastings as well and all of a sudden, I had a place to hang out when I was in Kingman or Flagstaff and even discovered one in Ames before they pulled the plug in 2010 in the area and gave up the ghost in 2016. I haven't been back to Arizona in over five years, but as far as I know Zia's is still going strong, but FYE did closed my favorite hangout on Longmore across from Fiesta Mall, now also history. The places that I used to go to are now long gone.
I think the vinyl revival is finally slowing down, however Wal Mart and Target continue to shrink their CDs down to a paltry 500 and Best Buy stopped selling them this summer. We still places that sell records and CDs, and they're still hanging on. The places and people are changing tho'. Thrift stores are doing well but Marion decided to boot the Salvation Army out of their longtime area on 7th Avenue in favor of a Dollar Tree. One less thrift store to find records or donate. The demise of Best Buy has opened Books A Million to have their own used DVD and CD section and I managed to find some cheap finds at both Dubuque and Davenport locations. The Books A Million buy back program is no different than say, Half Price Books but at least you can get something back for your unwanted stuff. The BAM selection will not wow people but once in a while they might have something 30 percent off if you planned it just right.
So anyway, the rules are simple. I put up the best places to look for records being used or whatever. But it's not what it was were. What is number 1 is my go to place and the rest do get a visit. But the top rated ones are, shall we say, more reliable than your local Wally World or Target or the obsolete K Mart.
Best Record Stores In My Area
Moondog Music-Dubuque
Analog Vault-Cedar Rapids
Ragged Records-Davenport/Rock Island
Wax Ecstatic-Marshalltown
Co Op Records-Moline
Weird Harolds-Burlington
CD's 4 Change-Dubuque
Record Collector-Iowa City
Metro Records-Cedar Falls
Mohair Pear-Cedar Falls
Books A Million-Dubuque/Davenport
Wal Mart-(Various locations)
Barnes And Noble-(Cedar Rapids, Davenport)
Target (Various)
Best Buy (Lp's only)
If you're looking for new releases on Cd, Moondog Music remains, hands down, the best for that. Look hard enough and they might have some new releases on sale. Ragged Records has grown so much that they now have a second location in Rock Island. Bob Harrington continues to outdo the competition on new vinyl releases. Analog Vault is the closest and therefore remain the second best place, they're in New Bo, what better place to relax and chat and hear music from scratchy LPs. Wax Estatic in Marshalltown had a tornado that tore through town and cause the store to shut down for about six weeks but they have rebounded quite nicely. Co Op Moline does a better job in terms of new CDs, Reid Robinson has done wonders. The new owners of Record Collector in Iowa City continue the tradition of Kirk Waltier and they still are worth a trip to Iowa City, even if they are the last standing record store in Iowa City. But I have found going to Dubuque is a better place, they have three record stores in a two mile radius, with Books A Million getting into the used Cds field. Until Dubque or Davenport get a Half Price Bookstore, they're not match for BAM. Davenport has their share of good stores, but Waterloo is lacking and Cedar Falls I only heard of Metro Records, and judging by their inventory, I wouldn't be in there very long. Mohair Pear is owned by the leader of House Of Large Sizes band, and is the place to go if you're looking for their music on vinyl.
As for the the retail stores, It's Wally World or nothing else. Target only has the top 10 best sellers or new releases. They haven't been relevant in quite some time. Barnes N Noble, better on the lesser known but still overpriced most of the time than not.
Best Used Stores for Music;
Half Price Books (CR, Des Moines, Madison)
Stuff Etc: (CR, Coralville, IC, Davenport, Waterloo)
Sweet Living Antiques (Iowa City)
Housewerks (Iowa City)
The Closest Door (Iowa City)
Goodwill (Various locations)
Salvation Army (Davenport, Cedar Rapids, Waterloo)
St. Vincent De Paul (Madison, Waterloo, DBQ)
Books A Million (DBQ, Davenport)
Super Pawn (Iowa City, Cedar Rapids, Waterloo)
As long as there's a Half Price Book store in the area, there'll still be plenty of bargains to be found in their bargain bins, And still will be my second home. Per usual, the thrift stores and bric bracs stores are always hit and miss, but I did notice that Stuff Etc did have, for a while, major inventory of decent music. For old time pop 45s, St Vincent De Paul have them, tho' the only rock records they get are scratched up to the point of decent plays. The closing of the Marion Salvation Army store, now has only the Council St Army still in business. But now, that 45s are now no longer made, except the overpriced Record Store Day crap that really makes no dollar sense to get. I'll take my chances of one song both sides promo every time.
What's missing from this list? Pawnshops. Super Pawn up in Waterloo has the most, but even what they have are junk that nobody wants but for 50 cents you might score a Beatles Sgt Pepper CD. Iowa City did have Klaatu's first on CD but it was too scratched to buy, but they did have Ted Nugent's S/T remaster and also where I got a cheap copy of Pearl Jam 10. Siegal's Jewelry has dropped out of this list, they don't sell CDs any more.
Best Stores for music instruments.
Uncle Ike's (Asbury-DBQ)
965 Guitars (CR)
Bob's Guitars (Cedar Falls)
Musician's Pro Shop (IC)
Rondellei's (DBQ)
West Music (CR, IC, DBQ)
Guitar Center (CR,Davenport)
Griggs Music (Davenport, CR)
It's sad to see the kids of today not playing music as we did growing up. The internet has made slaves out of us all. Uncle Ike's in Dubuque always takes me back to the days of hanging at a old forgotten store and they still have the best used drum selection in the area. In town, you're got a choice of Guitar Center or West Music, who seems to have the latest drums and cymbals than Guitar Center. Darwin at 965 Guitars is the place to go if you're in Cedar Rapids, Bob's Guitar in Cedar Falls worth the drive itself. Griggs continues to disappoint but then again nobody can't afford the latest DW sets.
CD Reviews:
The Monkees Christmas Party (Rhino 2018)
Mostly the Micky Dolenz show with Davy Jones singing two from the grave and Mike Nesmith adding two off the wall traditional numbers. Peter Tork adds a Christmas Turd and if you really care, Target has a CD with two bonus tracks. I'm certain that the Old 97's Christmas album is better, but this album does start out with a couple pretty good Dolenz numbers and House Of Broken Gingerbread is fairly good. Nesmith really doesn't go all out, his take on The Christmas Song is nice. Questionable stuff remains, Alex Chilton's Jesus Christ is tedious, and the world doesn't need another Wonderful Christmastime, tho' it's not as odious as Paul McCartney's original. Compared to Cheap Trick's Christmas album, this isn't in the same neighborhood but for yuletime background music you can do worse.
Grade B
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