on the subject of....chat, suicide, Tommy James

On friday nights, I host a chat from 11:30 to about 1 or whenever we get bored and everybody wants to call it a night. For years we were at MSN Groups till MSN pulled the plug on that (and about four years worth of blogs and top tens from myself and others) then moved over to Sparkpea. And since our movement over there in 2008, our participants have dwinded from 40 to about 5. Most of the participants are pretty good in knowledge of music but there's always one that tends to piss people off. Ladies and gentlemen, meet Doowop.

The guy has one era he likes, and that is late 50's Doowop music. Anything else he'll make his usual comment that was beyond my time. When I talk about finding things at the music store, he'll pop in with "I don't buy outdated music media such as CDs or vinyl or 45s". I don't know much about Doowop outside that he lives in a small studio apartment in sunny Florida and spends time downloading doowop music from his era. I'm sure he's a good guy but he's an arrogant prick when it comes to any other decade.

Case In Point: Talking albums. When the folk was telling what they were playing, I mentioned that I was listening to Justin Hayward's Songwriter, an album that came out in 1977. Doowop: I must say that was way after my time. Crabb: I know that, that's why I'm playing it fool.

So we making up jokes and I came across something that I liked. Doowop: Oh, I heard that joke before but don't let me stop you. Crabb: Thank you for killing the mood before I told the joke asshole. So after Doowop got bored and left, Tiger, the woman in there, mentioned ain't he a nice guy? Crabb: He's much nicer if he would have stayed home and watched his doowop movies.

I'm thinking that in the course of him joining up in chat, that we have lost about 15 members and donno if that has to do with the arrival of Doowop but he was the reason why I decided to take a month away from chat. But with narrow minded people like Doowop, he tends to zap the energy out of the chat and people leave. Nevertheless, sometimes I think its better if Doowop would remain in the other chatroom he frequents and leave the music chatter with open minds alone. After all, I perfer the outdated storage media like Cds and vinyl so I can read the liner notes. Can't get that when you download MP3s.

Final exchange: Doowop, How is Everyone? Crabb: Fine till you got here bro.

I read that the leader of Sparklehorse Mark Linkous shot himself in the heart over the weekend. He was either 47 or 48. Never got into the music of Sparklehorse myself but its been described as taking the ugly and making it beautiful. Linkous latest album, which he teamed up with Danger Mouse and David Lynch got held up under EMI red tape and is supposely ready to be finally released to the world. Dark Night Of The Soul its called and I'm sure it will get lots of great reviews. It's a shame to lose somebody that was this talented like Mark Linkous so one can only do is check out his output and decide for yourself. In the words of Mark....

"There's one thing we've still got, that's one last dance in this parking lot"

Collector's Choice Music has reissued some old Tommy James & The Shondells albums. I Think We're Alone Now, Getting Together and their final album Travelin' to which I got on vinyl and decided to get the CD. The albums proved that Tommy James was a great bubblegum pop singles artist but the albums themselves tend to have too much bubblegum than rock and most of the hits are better heard on the Anthology album that Rhino put out years ago. Travelin', on the other hand, shows more of a hippy dippy but a more grittier rock sound to it with the angry Bloody Water, or urgent Gotta Get Back To You and B side Red Rover. The Shondells never rocked harder with the title track or Talkin & Signifyin but the dated guitars on Early In The Morning or Moses & Me screams 1970. Make no mistake, The Shondell's lineup was their best, beginning with Crimson & Clover and ending with Travelin. While it's debateable Travelin is the best studio Tommy James & The Shondells album (My pick remains Crimson & Clover) this does improve on the chaos what was Cellophane Symphony and while James laments what could have happened had they stayed together, it does make a good finale to a band that never really seem to get over that dreaded "singles band" moniker. In essence they really were a singles band, but Travelin proved that they could put together a good side of music and call it a good album. Not essensial but worth a listen...or two.

Grades
I Think We're Alone Now (Collector's Choice 1967-2010) B-
Getting Together (Collector's Choice 1967, 2010 reissue) B
Travelin' (Collector's Choice 1970, 2010 reissue) B