I'm supposed to take it easy with my carpel tunnell flaring up but the music cannot wait.
In the wasted decade we call the Aughts, it may have been the worst music decade to ever come out. Unless you were a fan of the Autotune it may have been the best decade for you but for people that wanted to hear melody, we were pretty much left out in the cold. Upon further review I came across a couple artists and bands that made an impact on me.
Black Stone Cherry-Certainly Roadrunner tried to make these guys like Nickelback but BSC had more rock and roll and boogie in them in the two albums that they made in the late 00's then most of Nickelback's catalog. The Bob Marlette produced Folklore and Superstitions got them radio ready and that one took a long time to grow on me but with hook filled songs such as Please Come In and Reverend Wrinkle made it perferrable over their debut. Of course it helps when some of the guys in the band are related to The Kentucky Headhunters as well (John Fred Young is the son of the guitar playing Richard Young). It also helps when you have a singer in Chris Robinson (no relation to Black Crowes' Robinson mind you) who can belt them out like a younger Chris Cornell. It will be interesting to see what their next album takes them although if they continue to hang with Marlette, will get them some much needed airplay but Marlette seems to make every band he produces sound like Nickelback knockoffs (Saliva for example, did wonders for Blood Stained Love Letter but hindered them on Cinco Diablo and Lynyrd Skynyrd's last album which sounded more N.back then Sweet Home Alabama). But BSC has enough originality to overcome that. We shall see.
The Darkness-Come on, you have to admit that you haven't heard anything this over the top since Queen or Spinal Tap and Justin Hawkins put the fun back into rock and roll. But the overhype and rock and roll excessness they were living got to the point that the wheels fell off and the band broke up after getting Queen's producer Roy Thomas Baker to produce One Way Ticket To Hell And Back. Perhaps their shining moment came when they rerecorded Permission To Land and took the f bombs out for subsitute words. Black Shuck (We Don't Give A Duck) or Get Your Hands Off My Woman (replacing CSer for Coconut) so The Darkness had a sense of humor in the way of a Spinal Tap so to speak. Modern rock has forsaken them which is a joke in itself but The Darkness had such a great love for classic rock that their records have actually held up a lot better than Godsmack or Linkin Park sotospeak. I heard rumblings of a reunion so who knows.
Len Price 3-Thank God for Little Steven who continues to seek and find the garage rockers that still get their influences from The Who when The Who had Keith Moon and anything goes and Something Else Kinks. These guys were so hard core about that Shel Talmy sound that Chinese Burn was recorded in mono and was a half hour tops. While the naysayers bitch about this method of music, The Len Price 3 wore their Creation, Kinks, Who sound on their sleeve and better that way than becoming another Radiohead knockoff or the aforementioned Nickelback. Rentacrowd was better, with a hit single tailored for 1966 in Doctor Gee, to which Little Steven signed them up to his Wicked Cool label. The latest Photographs I have yet to hear, or even see if fucking Best Buy will stock it have been getting rave reviews and hopefully I'll score a copy of that. It's nice to see a actual british band doing the original mod sound and if that isn't original enough for you, perhaps the feeble minded should stick to their Radiohead albums and Radiohead knockoffs. It's no shame to be influenced by The Who Sing My Generation, Face To Face Kinks, The Creation and Nuggets.
Secret Machines-Kinda Pink Floydish at the beginning and then threw some Neu!/Hawkwind influences on Now Here Is Nowhere, which made its way to the cutbins, but a bit more Prog pop than Prog Rock and then a EP titled after a single The Road Is Leads Where Its Led. Next album 10 Silver Drops added some U2 and an attempt for radio airplay but that album bombed and Ben Curtis left soon after. Their 2008 S/T return to the independent labels really didn't do much for me, it was a bit more noisier and Bob Ezrin didn't help much either. But for that fleeting moment in 2004, seems like Now Here Is Nowhere would have broke them and I still play that album a lot more than the rest of what they put out.
Porcupine Tree-Looking for the next great prog rock band (it isn't The Mars Volta) Porcupine Tree goes back into the early 90s but they caught fire on In Absentia and getting a great drummer in Gavin Harrison and combining Floyd trance like rock and hard metal Steven Wilson finally made something that could be a classic rock staple 20 or 30 years from now. But then again Atlantic Records didn't do them much favors since they couldn't market PT to the modern rock audience. While their fans perfer Deadwing, I enjoyed their third and final Atlantic effort Fear Of A Blank Planet (Featuring cameos from Robert Fripp and Alex Lifeson) and even more their 2009 The Incident to which they moved over to Roadrunner Records, a label that's more clueless than Atlantic if you can believe that. But one thing that keeps Porcupine Tree going is a very dedicated fanbase that will continue to support them through their sold out tours and modest selling albums. Overall my favorite band of the 2000's. If that means anything.
Friday, February 19, 2010
Thursday, February 18, 2010
On The Subject Of-Cranky Critics, OGERNET, etc.
I gotta kick out of this recent blog by my west coast bud TAD on his creation of the Old Guys Exchange Review NET or OGERNET. Had to admit I got a real good chuckle out of it when I was at work today. http://tadsbackupplan.blogspot.com/2010/02/proud-member-of-ogrenet.html
BTW TAD, I got a cease and destest order from The Nice about changing over to The Thoughts Of Emerlist Davjack ;-) TO which is a better album then what Mr. Derogatis said about them in the book Kaleidoscope Eyes to which I bought in the clarence bins at Barnes & Noble in Madison around 2002 I think and forgot that I even had it till TAD brought that book up in a blog and I'm spot reading through some of it. I tend to avoid the rap section since rap doesn't qualify as Psychedelic Music whatsoever. But nevertheless please do consider me to be a part of this up and coming next big thing.
After 2009 I threw my hands up in the air and simply retired from reviewing new albums from new bands, simply of the fact that most of these new bands that SPIN or Rolling Stone touted sucked big time. Just can't get into them anymore. Upon reading of the readers who voted in Mark Prindle's top 73 albums of all time, I come to find that even I didn't know who most of the bands that people wrote in. I did try to get into the bands of Jack White (The Racontuers and The Dead Weather) but after a couple plays I simply traded the CDs in for something else or sold them and got part of my investment back. Mark Prindle remains one of the two critics that do keep in touch with me and basically he might be rude and crude sometimes but he has taught me to throw more reason into why I didn't like such and such band. He called me out last year when I was saying that there was much more great new music in 2009 and asked me why that most bands I pointed out have been around longer than 2000. To which maybe I didn't know so much about new music anymore and that I pretty much still listening to the dinosaurs of yesterday. We did agree that the Editors were pretty good but we disagreed on Miranda Lambert (I liked her music, he didn't) and most of the time his Bands the Kids Dig was dead on 89 percent of the time. At least Mark Prindle continues to review the new bands, me I could care less about Animal Collective or The Yeah Yeah Yeahs or Owl City or whatever the major labels puke out to the world and call it the next big thing.
While some people complained that music died around 1985 or after Husker Du broke up, I still think that 1998 was the final decent year for music till Limp Bizkit caught fire, Marilyn Manson was the second coming of Alice Cooper's shock rock and the infamous Polygram buyout to which Edgar Broftman bought that as a birthday present for his son sotospeak, then the bottom fell out. But I still held on for another 12 years, trying to find something worthwhile and once in a while I did but whoever I picked for the next big thing (Idlewild, Secret Machines, Long-View, The Coral) the public ignored and then 2005 the copy protected and OVERLOUD Cd killed the buying public and CD sales have been freefalling ever since.
When I started music blogging in 2003, I was trying to share my love of forgotten bands by coming up with a top ten of songs of that week and ever since that cold January morning of the 1st, every week I threw up a batch of songs worth noting, some known, some overplayed but most came from memory and cds at the pawnshop that sold for three bucks. Cheap pawnshop CDs did introduce me to bands that I wouldn't buy for 15 to 20 bucks new. That's how I came to known The Coral or Blue Rodeo or Peter Himmelman or King's X to name a few. Or breeze into Wherehouse Music (RIP) to find their clarence bins to which I discovered Caravan's For Girls Who Grew Plump In The Night or The Dream Synicate stuff, which commands big bucks on EBAY but back then, it wasn't hard to find Medicine Show for 3 bucks. But even then, the pawnshops were cutting back on buying Cds since most of the cds found were crap one album rappers or flavor of the month pop or country stars. But along the way, in the seven years leading up to the new decade we lost most music stores along the way, Wherehouse Music got bought out by FYE, Tower Records went belly up, so did Sam Goody and all the local stores as well here (Relics, Rock n Bach, Cd's Plus, CD Warehouse, Hastings in Ames). Even FYE started closing down the stores around here (Waterloo 2 years ago, Coral Ridge this year) to which the compulsive cd buyer now had to drive out of town or order from the net. Which leaves us only Best Buy and the incredible shrinking CD collection at Wal mart or take our chances at the local Half Priced Books or Goodwill. I hope and pray that what remains for music here (Record Collector, Real! in Iowa City, Moondog Music and CD's 4 Change in Dubuque, Co Op in Quad Cities, Mohair Pear in Cedar Falls) but as I push fifty years, they may have to go on without me. I decided that after I turn 50, that I wasn't going to push myself driving God's half acre to try to find cds and albums only to be stuck with crappy Matchbox 20 and Mantovani albums at the local Salvation Army.
When I first started blogging I would try for the shock and awe, bashing everything in sight and have email fights with fans of bands that I didn't like or care. Don't try to convince me about how significant Kid A is, because it's not going to work; I didn't like that then, I don't like it now. There's gotta be more reason then just screw Radiohead they stink, when I heard Kid A, I thought it had to be the biggest piece of crap that I heard and Bruce Stanley called it the end of rock and roll. I gave in and listened to In Rainbows and I did like most of that but I'm not a Radiohead fan, so therefore I let somebody else review that. Perhaps that Radiohead influence may have something to do with my lack of interest of any new bands. The Radiohead comparison. So any band with a Radiohead sound was passed over. I did enjoy Black Rebel Motorcycle Club's First album and the much criticized Howl but Take them on and Baby 81, made me fall asleep or revisit the Jesus And Mary Chain's albums. And I did follow The Secret Machines up to their S/T album of a couple years ago, they may have been my favorite band of the 00's. But the reason why I liked their Now Here Is Nowhere since they have a bit of Neu! and Hawkwind in their influences. Then they started adding more U2 and Radiohead and got less interesting but if they do have a new album out this year, I'll go seek it out, that is IF Best Buy even has it stocked.
It's agreed that new music today sucks, of the majority of it. Whatever is on top forty is bad rap, bad r and b and this crazed shit called the autotuner to which one would love to shove up Lil' Wayne's ass sideways, or Kanye West. Or Mariah Carey. Music today is too much Pro tools, too much autotune, too much cliche and too much bullshit for the music lover to listen to. When OK GO did a song featuring a auto tuner, I turned it off and donated it to the Salvation Army. Back in the 50s and 60s and so on, music was played for a feeling, mistakes were involved and in fact gave the songs that distinct personality. Which made the Mott The Hoople Island albums fun to listen to. Or Louie Louie, ya think The Kingsmen's would have gotten that away if they had pro tools back in 1983?
Look, it's simple: I was born into perhaps the best era of music, grew up when AM radio gave us Dean Martin, The Beatles, Motown and Buck Owens on the same station. And FM gave us the underground and the prog rock and longer song selection past the three minite edited 45. Alas, the majority of folks want the overplayed while the music lover has go to the net or satellite radio or pawnshop records and cds to hear that forgotten classic that THE FOX won't play. I still believe in word of mouth or what a music blogger from the other side of the country grew up listening to or remember hearing it at the local head shop back in the late 70s. The music simply doesn't hold up because it music that's for the bottom line. Will anybody remember Kei$hia's autotuned crap song of this year? Hell no. What does it mean when my best friend's son would rather listen to Pink Floyd or The Beatles over Radiohead or Fall Out Boy? A Beatles song from 1963 still sound vital today than anything Mariah Carey or Lil Wayne will slop out. And I can guarantee you, that The Beatles sure in the hell would never need a freaking Autotuner.
I don't know if I really have mellowed all that much since my first blog way back in the dark ages, there are some things will make me blow a nerve and throw a few F Bombs along the way and I have done that a few times over at My Space or the old MSN Groups (RIP) and sometimes here but I try to keep a open mind on things. But sometimes I do point out what's wrong with music or life and we go with that. And I try to be a bit more objective over here, comments are fine and encouraged. But there's more to just Fuck you, or What Do You Mean by so and so. Things are expressed in my point of view but there's some (espeically those who are Christian Conserative Native Texans) that simply lack the know how to do constructive argumental viewpoints. After a while, I simply say "you don't get it go back to watching Hannrity on FOX news and piss off". Kinda like music. I want three chords and the truth or good boogie or good mindless fun like The Godz (of The Gods Are Rock And Roll Machines Fame) or Foghat.
I like good country and good jazz too. That's why my top ten of the week is varied. There's way too much forgotten songs that need to be addressed so that you the reader can seek it out via music store or the internet.
So, in short sign me up for OGERNET then. I'm ready for the good life ;)
BTW TAD, I got a cease and destest order from The Nice about changing over to The Thoughts Of Emerlist Davjack ;-) TO which is a better album then what Mr. Derogatis said about them in the book Kaleidoscope Eyes to which I bought in the clarence bins at Barnes & Noble in Madison around 2002 I think and forgot that I even had it till TAD brought that book up in a blog and I'm spot reading through some of it. I tend to avoid the rap section since rap doesn't qualify as Psychedelic Music whatsoever. But nevertheless please do consider me to be a part of this up and coming next big thing.
After 2009 I threw my hands up in the air and simply retired from reviewing new albums from new bands, simply of the fact that most of these new bands that SPIN or Rolling Stone touted sucked big time. Just can't get into them anymore. Upon reading of the readers who voted in Mark Prindle's top 73 albums of all time, I come to find that even I didn't know who most of the bands that people wrote in. I did try to get into the bands of Jack White (The Racontuers and The Dead Weather) but after a couple plays I simply traded the CDs in for something else or sold them and got part of my investment back. Mark Prindle remains one of the two critics that do keep in touch with me and basically he might be rude and crude sometimes but he has taught me to throw more reason into why I didn't like such and such band. He called me out last year when I was saying that there was much more great new music in 2009 and asked me why that most bands I pointed out have been around longer than 2000. To which maybe I didn't know so much about new music anymore and that I pretty much still listening to the dinosaurs of yesterday. We did agree that the Editors were pretty good but we disagreed on Miranda Lambert (I liked her music, he didn't) and most of the time his Bands the Kids Dig was dead on 89 percent of the time. At least Mark Prindle continues to review the new bands, me I could care less about Animal Collective or The Yeah Yeah Yeahs or Owl City or whatever the major labels puke out to the world and call it the next big thing.
While some people complained that music died around 1985 or after Husker Du broke up, I still think that 1998 was the final decent year for music till Limp Bizkit caught fire, Marilyn Manson was the second coming of Alice Cooper's shock rock and the infamous Polygram buyout to which Edgar Broftman bought that as a birthday present for his son sotospeak, then the bottom fell out. But I still held on for another 12 years, trying to find something worthwhile and once in a while I did but whoever I picked for the next big thing (Idlewild, Secret Machines, Long-View, The Coral) the public ignored and then 2005 the copy protected and OVERLOUD Cd killed the buying public and CD sales have been freefalling ever since.
When I started music blogging in 2003, I was trying to share my love of forgotten bands by coming up with a top ten of songs of that week and ever since that cold January morning of the 1st, every week I threw up a batch of songs worth noting, some known, some overplayed but most came from memory and cds at the pawnshop that sold for three bucks. Cheap pawnshop CDs did introduce me to bands that I wouldn't buy for 15 to 20 bucks new. That's how I came to known The Coral or Blue Rodeo or Peter Himmelman or King's X to name a few. Or breeze into Wherehouse Music (RIP) to find their clarence bins to which I discovered Caravan's For Girls Who Grew Plump In The Night or The Dream Synicate stuff, which commands big bucks on EBAY but back then, it wasn't hard to find Medicine Show for 3 bucks. But even then, the pawnshops were cutting back on buying Cds since most of the cds found were crap one album rappers or flavor of the month pop or country stars. But along the way, in the seven years leading up to the new decade we lost most music stores along the way, Wherehouse Music got bought out by FYE, Tower Records went belly up, so did Sam Goody and all the local stores as well here (Relics, Rock n Bach, Cd's Plus, CD Warehouse, Hastings in Ames). Even FYE started closing down the stores around here (Waterloo 2 years ago, Coral Ridge this year) to which the compulsive cd buyer now had to drive out of town or order from the net. Which leaves us only Best Buy and the incredible shrinking CD collection at Wal mart or take our chances at the local Half Priced Books or Goodwill. I hope and pray that what remains for music here (Record Collector, Real! in Iowa City, Moondog Music and CD's 4 Change in Dubuque, Co Op in Quad Cities, Mohair Pear in Cedar Falls) but as I push fifty years, they may have to go on without me. I decided that after I turn 50, that I wasn't going to push myself driving God's half acre to try to find cds and albums only to be stuck with crappy Matchbox 20 and Mantovani albums at the local Salvation Army.
When I first started blogging I would try for the shock and awe, bashing everything in sight and have email fights with fans of bands that I didn't like or care. Don't try to convince me about how significant Kid A is, because it's not going to work; I didn't like that then, I don't like it now. There's gotta be more reason then just screw Radiohead they stink, when I heard Kid A, I thought it had to be the biggest piece of crap that I heard and Bruce Stanley called it the end of rock and roll. I gave in and listened to In Rainbows and I did like most of that but I'm not a Radiohead fan, so therefore I let somebody else review that. Perhaps that Radiohead influence may have something to do with my lack of interest of any new bands. The Radiohead comparison. So any band with a Radiohead sound was passed over. I did enjoy Black Rebel Motorcycle Club's First album and the much criticized Howl but Take them on and Baby 81, made me fall asleep or revisit the Jesus And Mary Chain's albums. And I did follow The Secret Machines up to their S/T album of a couple years ago, they may have been my favorite band of the 00's. But the reason why I liked their Now Here Is Nowhere since they have a bit of Neu! and Hawkwind in their influences. Then they started adding more U2 and Radiohead and got less interesting but if they do have a new album out this year, I'll go seek it out, that is IF Best Buy even has it stocked.
It's agreed that new music today sucks, of the majority of it. Whatever is on top forty is bad rap, bad r and b and this crazed shit called the autotuner to which one would love to shove up Lil' Wayne's ass sideways, or Kanye West. Or Mariah Carey. Music today is too much Pro tools, too much autotune, too much cliche and too much bullshit for the music lover to listen to. When OK GO did a song featuring a auto tuner, I turned it off and donated it to the Salvation Army. Back in the 50s and 60s and so on, music was played for a feeling, mistakes were involved and in fact gave the songs that distinct personality. Which made the Mott The Hoople Island albums fun to listen to. Or Louie Louie, ya think The Kingsmen's would have gotten that away if they had pro tools back in 1983?
Look, it's simple: I was born into perhaps the best era of music, grew up when AM radio gave us Dean Martin, The Beatles, Motown and Buck Owens on the same station. And FM gave us the underground and the prog rock and longer song selection past the three minite edited 45. Alas, the majority of folks want the overplayed while the music lover has go to the net or satellite radio or pawnshop records and cds to hear that forgotten classic that THE FOX won't play. I still believe in word of mouth or what a music blogger from the other side of the country grew up listening to or remember hearing it at the local head shop back in the late 70s. The music simply doesn't hold up because it music that's for the bottom line. Will anybody remember Kei$hia's autotuned crap song of this year? Hell no. What does it mean when my best friend's son would rather listen to Pink Floyd or The Beatles over Radiohead or Fall Out Boy? A Beatles song from 1963 still sound vital today than anything Mariah Carey or Lil Wayne will slop out. And I can guarantee you, that The Beatles sure in the hell would never need a freaking Autotuner.
I don't know if I really have mellowed all that much since my first blog way back in the dark ages, there are some things will make me blow a nerve and throw a few F Bombs along the way and I have done that a few times over at My Space or the old MSN Groups (RIP) and sometimes here but I try to keep a open mind on things. But sometimes I do point out what's wrong with music or life and we go with that. And I try to be a bit more objective over here, comments are fine and encouraged. But there's more to just Fuck you, or What Do You Mean by so and so. Things are expressed in my point of view but there's some (espeically those who are Christian Conserative Native Texans) that simply lack the know how to do constructive argumental viewpoints. After a while, I simply say "you don't get it go back to watching Hannrity on FOX news and piss off". Kinda like music. I want three chords and the truth or good boogie or good mindless fun like The Godz (of The Gods Are Rock And Roll Machines Fame) or Foghat.
I like good country and good jazz too. That's why my top ten of the week is varied. There's way too much forgotten songs that need to be addressed so that you the reader can seek it out via music store or the internet.
So, in short sign me up for OGERNET then. I'm ready for the good life ;)
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Top Ten Of The Week-Six Pack EP
FYE in Coral Ridge remains open if you can believe that. I thought they would have closed at the end of January but I guess they still got some stuff to sell. Only problem is that there's not much of good cds left. They have been picked apart clean but who knows? Maybe they will return with some fresh inventory and they're start up like they did before in March. Or maybe not.
The biggest joke I have read comes from the burned out light bulbs at Warner Music Group to introducing something called the six pack. Which is actually a 6 song EP of sorts. Coming soon will be Blake Shelton's Hillbilly Bone with five other tracks. It's still an EP idiots, you think Edgar Broftman would be a bit smarter than that. Broftman also thinks people should spring five dollars a month just to hear Warner Music artists in the great net jukebox in the sky. Doesn't work that way for me Edgar bro. I think people hate the cd since you folks can't seem to master it right or give us 70 minites of crap, meaning one good song and 13 others that nobody wants.
Anyway, this week's top ten songs of note on my player. Not yours.
1. Wicked World-Black Sabbath 1970 And it was forty years ago that Black Sabbath came out of nowhere and gave us their first album, to which is was recorded in six hours and sounds like it. But that quick recording is also been noteworthy of giving us the first true heavy metal album. I remember hearing this on a bootleg 8 track that my nephew had when I visited them in Lincoln around 1971. Hard to believe it was forty years ago........
2. Bluff City Rukus-Porch Ghouls 2003 Not a lot is known about this band who managed to record one album for Columbia with Joe Perry co producing. A cross between The White Stripes and Primal Scream comes to mind but the rest of world could have cared less or if they did they went with the original sources.
3. Glamour Boys-Living Colour 1988 How do you expect me to remember the words of a song made 200 fucking years ago says Corey Glover on the 2005 live version and you gotta laugh about that. They still have a sense of humor that they do. But Living Colour may have been the last truly great black rock and roll band who struck gold with Livid and got Mick Jagger to produce two tracks off that album including this top ten number. I have yet to hear the CBGB's live album but will get around to it this weekend.
4. Long Long Time-Vufcup 2010 New track from my good friend Diggy Kat and can be found on the new Songs That Made An Impact 2010 CD that just came out with includes a track from The Townedgers and 25 other bands of note. This might well be the best song that Diggy has come up to date and that's saying something.
5. Asteroid-Killing Joke 2003 Also found on their 2006 2 Record set XXV Gathering-Let Us Prey. I tend to favor the KJ that reunited in 1994 and preceded to get better with each recording, rather then their gothic dance trance of the mid 80s. Dave Grohl guest starred on their 2003 S/T album to which was picked up by Epic Records and they couldn't quite figure out how to sell it. Jaz Coleman's bellows isn't for everybody but damn when he does that bellow I enjoy it a lot.
6. Killer-Van Der Graaf Generator 1970 Never heard anything off this till TAD did a write up about them in his blog and so being the music head that I am, decided to check it out once I found a copy of their stuff. Peter Hamill has a voice like David Bowie and Robert Fripp guests on one track of H To E Who Am The Only One album. One of the earliest prog rock albums known but Jim DeRogatis hardly mentions them in his Kaleidoscope Eyes book to which I have been reading off and on the past week. Could have swore I heard this track off an underground FM station in the 70s.
7. Why I Am-Dave Matthews Band 2009 Never been much of a DMB fan and the best quote came from Futurama when somebody mentioned that they don't rock. Found a pawnshop copy of their latest CD for 3 bucks and it wasn't scratched up so decided to chance it. Surprisingly good. Might be this generation's version of prog rock ya think?
8. Do The Bane-The Stablilisers 2007 Dedicated to my good friend Tim that I ran into Best Buy last weekend and we talk about what was good music in this decade which is not much. Tim used to be into punk rock and all that but as he's getting older he's getting wiser. He was looking for the first Little Feat album. Times have changed indeed.
9. Never Enough-KISS 2009 Yeah I still listen to KISS what about it? After years of dicking around, the guys actually went back to their silly rock and roll of the early years and made a pretty good album in the silly rock and roll vein called Sonic Boom. Sure it's cheesy but it's got the riffs and words to remember those good old high school years when a few folk in my class dressed up like KISS and lip sync to Shout It Out Loud. Too bad they didn't have You Tube back then to see that ;-)
10. House That We Used To Live In-The Smithereens 1988 Before they became a tribute band to The Beatles and The Who, they actually scored some hits of their own. Used to get played a lot on MTV when they were showing music videos. Remember that? Remember 120 minites? I do but that may have been long before some of you were even born. I think they called it alternative prog rock ;-)
I made that one up.
The biggest joke I have read comes from the burned out light bulbs at Warner Music Group to introducing something called the six pack. Which is actually a 6 song EP of sorts. Coming soon will be Blake Shelton's Hillbilly Bone with five other tracks. It's still an EP idiots, you think Edgar Broftman would be a bit smarter than that. Broftman also thinks people should spring five dollars a month just to hear Warner Music artists in the great net jukebox in the sky. Doesn't work that way for me Edgar bro. I think people hate the cd since you folks can't seem to master it right or give us 70 minites of crap, meaning one good song and 13 others that nobody wants.
Anyway, this week's top ten songs of note on my player. Not yours.
1. Wicked World-Black Sabbath 1970 And it was forty years ago that Black Sabbath came out of nowhere and gave us their first album, to which is was recorded in six hours and sounds like it. But that quick recording is also been noteworthy of giving us the first true heavy metal album. I remember hearing this on a bootleg 8 track that my nephew had when I visited them in Lincoln around 1971. Hard to believe it was forty years ago........
2. Bluff City Rukus-Porch Ghouls 2003 Not a lot is known about this band who managed to record one album for Columbia with Joe Perry co producing. A cross between The White Stripes and Primal Scream comes to mind but the rest of world could have cared less or if they did they went with the original sources.
3. Glamour Boys-Living Colour 1988 How do you expect me to remember the words of a song made 200 fucking years ago says Corey Glover on the 2005 live version and you gotta laugh about that. They still have a sense of humor that they do. But Living Colour may have been the last truly great black rock and roll band who struck gold with Livid and got Mick Jagger to produce two tracks off that album including this top ten number. I have yet to hear the CBGB's live album but will get around to it this weekend.
4. Long Long Time-Vufcup 2010 New track from my good friend Diggy Kat and can be found on the new Songs That Made An Impact 2010 CD that just came out with includes a track from The Townedgers and 25 other bands of note. This might well be the best song that Diggy has come up to date and that's saying something.
5. Asteroid-Killing Joke 2003 Also found on their 2006 2 Record set XXV Gathering-Let Us Prey. I tend to favor the KJ that reunited in 1994 and preceded to get better with each recording, rather then their gothic dance trance of the mid 80s. Dave Grohl guest starred on their 2003 S/T album to which was picked up by Epic Records and they couldn't quite figure out how to sell it. Jaz Coleman's bellows isn't for everybody but damn when he does that bellow I enjoy it a lot.
6. Killer-Van Der Graaf Generator 1970 Never heard anything off this till TAD did a write up about them in his blog and so being the music head that I am, decided to check it out once I found a copy of their stuff. Peter Hamill has a voice like David Bowie and Robert Fripp guests on one track of H To E Who Am The Only One album. One of the earliest prog rock albums known but Jim DeRogatis hardly mentions them in his Kaleidoscope Eyes book to which I have been reading off and on the past week. Could have swore I heard this track off an underground FM station in the 70s.
7. Why I Am-Dave Matthews Band 2009 Never been much of a DMB fan and the best quote came from Futurama when somebody mentioned that they don't rock. Found a pawnshop copy of their latest CD for 3 bucks and it wasn't scratched up so decided to chance it. Surprisingly good. Might be this generation's version of prog rock ya think?
8. Do The Bane-The Stablilisers 2007 Dedicated to my good friend Tim that I ran into Best Buy last weekend and we talk about what was good music in this decade which is not much. Tim used to be into punk rock and all that but as he's getting older he's getting wiser. He was looking for the first Little Feat album. Times have changed indeed.
9. Never Enough-KISS 2009 Yeah I still listen to KISS what about it? After years of dicking around, the guys actually went back to their silly rock and roll of the early years and made a pretty good album in the silly rock and roll vein called Sonic Boom. Sure it's cheesy but it's got the riffs and words to remember those good old high school years when a few folk in my class dressed up like KISS and lip sync to Shout It Out Loud. Too bad they didn't have You Tube back then to see that ;-)
10. House That We Used To Live In-The Smithereens 1988 Before they became a tribute band to The Beatles and The Who, they actually scored some hits of their own. Used to get played a lot on MTV when they were showing music videos. Remember that? Remember 120 minites? I do but that may have been long before some of you were even born. I think they called it alternative prog rock ;-)
I made that one up.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
2-10-10 Top Ten Of The Week-Who Dat
In celebration of The New Orleans Saints winning the Super Bowl I thought I take this chance to congratulate them on that. I'm very happy for Drew Brees who got ran out of San Diego by the odious A J Smith, to which the AJ stands for Ass Jack. I always thought the Chargers gave up too early on Brees and although Phil Rivers is a good QB, he still can't control his emotions and his leadership was questioned in the one and out against the Jets. But don't count out Peyton Manning and company for next year. Only one team can win it all. And the Saints did.
Who Dat doing the Top Ten this week?
1. One Of These Days-Ten Years After 1971 Boogie bands of the 70s are so much laughing stocks forty years later and I can't understand why. Real guitars, real keyboards, real drums can it get any better than that? Columbia had their contract but Chrysalis got the CD rights and managed to put out all the TYA before deleteing some of them. But in my wild youth, once I started having a real job, I could go out and buy albums that I couldn't afford and Space In Time was one of those early albums that I bought. 10 Years After still tours to this day and had put out a album in 2008 but Alvin Lee doesn't play with them anymore. Such a shame really.
2. I'm No Angel-Greg Allman Band 1987 He had a monster hit with this back in the late 80s and I found the vinyl album at CDs 4 Change in Dubuque, which is a better vinyl store than CD. I find myself listening and seeking out more vinyl for what reason I don't know outside of the fact that I don't like downloading MP3's. I perfer the actual album myself Bob Lefsetz and if you remind me one more time about the future of the virtual jukebox on the internet, I'm going to puke.
3. I Wanna Go Back-Eddie Money 1986 From The Sound Of Money, which I found it on Vinyl if you can believe that. The Sound Of Money aka Eddie Money's Greatest Hits was on CD only but I guess there was vinyl copies made for the outdated radio stations that didn't play CDs. Never seen it before on vinyl but CD's 4 Change had it in the 2 dollar record section. Also seen REM's Dead Letter Office in the 2 dollar bins but the guy said that was there by mistake and offered it to me for 10 bucks. Passed on it, it was a CRC record club album and their value is lesser than the A & M/IRS copy. I really didn't need that but I will give a shout out to CDs 4 Change for being a great place for finding records. It's on Asbury Rd on the left side of JF Kennedy Blvd coming from Kennedy Mall. Question is why does Dubuque still have 2 record stores and Cedar Rapids has none?
4. Strange Conversation-Ted Hawkins 1994 Legendary folk/soul singer who made a living singing around the Los Angeles area did made two albums for Rounder before scoring a contract with Geffen and putting out The Next 100 Years but never did enjoy the rewards since he suffered a stroke and died on New Year's 1995. Rhino put out a very good overview called Suffer No More for those who are interested.
5. March From The River Kwai-Mitch Miller 1957 Say what you want about the great goatee wonder but his invention of the echo chamber made his recordings interesting to listen to. I remember when I was with my late Uncle Clint in Arizona, he loved to go to the Greyhound Park and do some betting and having ice tea and everytime they do the next race, they played March every time. Uncle Clint came from Rhode Island, married my mother's older sister and his east coast ways and means made it impossible to hang with him very long. I could tolerate him for about 10 minites tops but I got to drive his Cadillac out to the park and we chat a bit. He was always on my case to get married or find somebody to settle down with. He died about five years ago, too bad he didn't get to meet my GF. That would have shut him up for about five seconds.
6. It Ain't Going To Save Me-Jay Reatard 2009 Another vinyl album I bought was Watch Me Fall, Jay's Matador debut to which got good reviews and I do like that garage rock vibe that he had on this album. Too bad that he had to OD on drugs and booze and meds. The guy had a bright future I think.
7. Love Is What You Make It-The Grassroots 1973 I found a lotta vinyl albums in my trip to Dubuque last weekend before the snows hit and this comes off the forgotten Lotta Milage album that The Grassroots put out for ABC Dunhill and I think it was their last before they moved on to Haven/Capitol. This hit top 20 on the KCRG Super 30 in late spring of 1973 and I still have the 45 to this song. But you don't hear it on oldies at all.
8. Male Chouvinist Pig Blues-Roy Harper 1974 The lineup of this recording was Jimmy Page on Guitar, Ronnie Lane on Bass and Keith Moon on drums! Roy Harper is a legend in the UK, highly regarded by every musician over there but over here he's a cult artist at best. The Right Stuff complied a sampler in 2000 to which this song comes from. Side note, when I was sit there rocking away on my piece of shit rocker recliner, i broke yet another screw that holds the chair together. So far I had replaced the screws there three times. Time to get a wider screw or get a better rocking recliner that's not going to break when Crabb rocks out. GD you Anamosa Furniture Store Mart for crap.
9. Jump They Say-David Bowie 1993 Black Tie White Noise aka Let's Dance 10 years later. Nile Rodgers returned to produce it. Bowie moved over to an upstart label Savage Records to promote it. Savage Records went bankrupt a few months later and the album never did much on the charts due to lack of promotion. It's more dance music than rock I think. You can still find cut out copies of this at thrift stores across the country. Arguably his best album from the 90s.
10. Uncloudy Day-Willie Nelson 1976 Originally part of his Atlantic output and supposed to be released in 1974 but Atlantic gave up on country music and Willie moved over to Columbia. The sessions were released in 1976 as The Troublemaker and it was basically a Willie Gospel Record but it had such a good vibe and goove that it did very well on the country charts and even this managed to crack the top 100 rock if you can believe that. The late Sammi Smith and the late Doug Sahm helped out on vocals and the still alive Larry Gatlin added his vocals too. Gospel never gets this good as The Troublemaker and remains one of Willie's definite albums ever. The man simply just can't do no wrong.
And neither do I.
Who Dat doing the Top Ten this week?
1. One Of These Days-Ten Years After 1971 Boogie bands of the 70s are so much laughing stocks forty years later and I can't understand why. Real guitars, real keyboards, real drums can it get any better than that? Columbia had their contract but Chrysalis got the CD rights and managed to put out all the TYA before deleteing some of them. But in my wild youth, once I started having a real job, I could go out and buy albums that I couldn't afford and Space In Time was one of those early albums that I bought. 10 Years After still tours to this day and had put out a album in 2008 but Alvin Lee doesn't play with them anymore. Such a shame really.
2. I'm No Angel-Greg Allman Band 1987 He had a monster hit with this back in the late 80s and I found the vinyl album at CDs 4 Change in Dubuque, which is a better vinyl store than CD. I find myself listening and seeking out more vinyl for what reason I don't know outside of the fact that I don't like downloading MP3's. I perfer the actual album myself Bob Lefsetz and if you remind me one more time about the future of the virtual jukebox on the internet, I'm going to puke.
3. I Wanna Go Back-Eddie Money 1986 From The Sound Of Money, which I found it on Vinyl if you can believe that. The Sound Of Money aka Eddie Money's Greatest Hits was on CD only but I guess there was vinyl copies made for the outdated radio stations that didn't play CDs. Never seen it before on vinyl but CD's 4 Change had it in the 2 dollar record section. Also seen REM's Dead Letter Office in the 2 dollar bins but the guy said that was there by mistake and offered it to me for 10 bucks. Passed on it, it was a CRC record club album and their value is lesser than the A & M/IRS copy. I really didn't need that but I will give a shout out to CDs 4 Change for being a great place for finding records. It's on Asbury Rd on the left side of JF Kennedy Blvd coming from Kennedy Mall. Question is why does Dubuque still have 2 record stores and Cedar Rapids has none?
4. Strange Conversation-Ted Hawkins 1994 Legendary folk/soul singer who made a living singing around the Los Angeles area did made two albums for Rounder before scoring a contract with Geffen and putting out The Next 100 Years but never did enjoy the rewards since he suffered a stroke and died on New Year's 1995. Rhino put out a very good overview called Suffer No More for those who are interested.
5. March From The River Kwai-Mitch Miller 1957 Say what you want about the great goatee wonder but his invention of the echo chamber made his recordings interesting to listen to. I remember when I was with my late Uncle Clint in Arizona, he loved to go to the Greyhound Park and do some betting and having ice tea and everytime they do the next race, they played March every time. Uncle Clint came from Rhode Island, married my mother's older sister and his east coast ways and means made it impossible to hang with him very long. I could tolerate him for about 10 minites tops but I got to drive his Cadillac out to the park and we chat a bit. He was always on my case to get married or find somebody to settle down with. He died about five years ago, too bad he didn't get to meet my GF. That would have shut him up for about five seconds.
6. It Ain't Going To Save Me-Jay Reatard 2009 Another vinyl album I bought was Watch Me Fall, Jay's Matador debut to which got good reviews and I do like that garage rock vibe that he had on this album. Too bad that he had to OD on drugs and booze and meds. The guy had a bright future I think.
7. Love Is What You Make It-The Grassroots 1973 I found a lotta vinyl albums in my trip to Dubuque last weekend before the snows hit and this comes off the forgotten Lotta Milage album that The Grassroots put out for ABC Dunhill and I think it was their last before they moved on to Haven/Capitol. This hit top 20 on the KCRG Super 30 in late spring of 1973 and I still have the 45 to this song. But you don't hear it on oldies at all.
8. Male Chouvinist Pig Blues-Roy Harper 1974 The lineup of this recording was Jimmy Page on Guitar, Ronnie Lane on Bass and Keith Moon on drums! Roy Harper is a legend in the UK, highly regarded by every musician over there but over here he's a cult artist at best. The Right Stuff complied a sampler in 2000 to which this song comes from. Side note, when I was sit there rocking away on my piece of shit rocker recliner, i broke yet another screw that holds the chair together. So far I had replaced the screws there three times. Time to get a wider screw or get a better rocking recliner that's not going to break when Crabb rocks out. GD you Anamosa Furniture Store Mart for crap.
9. Jump They Say-David Bowie 1993 Black Tie White Noise aka Let's Dance 10 years later. Nile Rodgers returned to produce it. Bowie moved over to an upstart label Savage Records to promote it. Savage Records went bankrupt a few months later and the album never did much on the charts due to lack of promotion. It's more dance music than rock I think. You can still find cut out copies of this at thrift stores across the country. Arguably his best album from the 90s.
10. Uncloudy Day-Willie Nelson 1976 Originally part of his Atlantic output and supposed to be released in 1974 but Atlantic gave up on country music and Willie moved over to Columbia. The sessions were released in 1976 as The Troublemaker and it was basically a Willie Gospel Record but it had such a good vibe and goove that it did very well on the country charts and even this managed to crack the top 100 rock if you can believe that. The late Sammi Smith and the late Doug Sahm helped out on vocals and the still alive Larry Gatlin added his vocals too. Gospel never gets this good as The Troublemaker and remains one of Willie's definite albums ever. The man simply just can't do no wrong.
And neither do I.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
On the subject of.....Mingles, The Who etc.
Here in Blogspot, I'm still setting up shop and although my postings are not as many as they used to be in My Space I still do read some of what y'all send my way. Blogging is fun and although I wish I can get enough followers to earn a paycheck and quit my job, I still like to keep things to a workable minimum. But this is a work in progress so bear with me.
On the subject of Mingles.....That would be Mingles.com.
After 11 years of being The Townedger in there I decided to cancel my membership. It's simply of the fact that I've outgrown the single dating sites (since I found that special somebody) and most of my good friends who were there have moved on to their real time life or found significant others. The first four years there they had Mingles party and I went to three of them (St. Louis 2000, Las Vegas 2004 and 2005). It got to the point that when Mingles improved their chat room (in our situation made it worse since the damn control getting in there never worked and XP would never delete those annoying I have winked at you emails or Lonely Russian or Nigerian Bride seeks green card notes) I could not get in there at all. But my final decision was when the usual suspects were spewing out their right wing nut job propaganda crapola and when I email hunter Rep about this year's Vegas event, he never did get back to me about the final details. I'll miss the wit and wisdom of Rollo Quarters and the friends that moved on but the ones who remain there are not the type you wanna go hang with. Plus they got too many cranky old men who long for the days of Bush & Cheney and the ones you rather not see naked anyway. If nothing else, thank you Mingles for introducing me to my GF, you came through a helluva lot better than E Harmony and without paying 29.95 a month either.
On the subject of... Christian Conservative Woman Republicans from Texas.
On twitter the other night while making my usual observations of Sarah Palin trying to get us into a war with Iran, I made a comment that the US are in wars with Iraq and Afganastan and trying to help Haiti, some nut job by the name of Jennie Taliaferro gave me three emails all going "what are you talking about?" So I ask her to convince me what is the good of Sarah Palin and she couldn't grasp that answer. Turns out I was dealing with an Christian Conservative Republican native Texan. They have the answer for everything but don't want to reveal it. I think that's what got this country into a tizzy for 8 years last decade that we had a Christian Conservative Republican that got us into another recession and two wars and the paranoia after 9/11. Ms. Taliaferro doesn't get the fact that the voters voted for Obama and neither her and her legion of RWNJs can't handle that. Or that they hang on every word of Rush and Beck and Dingbat Palin promising us the good old days if there was any in the last decade. I am about 30 percent Conservative myself but I'm also a 100 percent in common sense to which Palin doesn't seem to have. But then again I might be a judgemental in terms that most of who follows me in Twitter are from the left and although I don't agree with them all the time, they seem to have better ideas than Ms. Taliaferro in terms of getting this country back on the right track. I don't have a problem with right wingers and their rhetoric, I would like to believe that there's a conservative that has a solution to Health Care and the loss of jobs every month. But so far nobody here in congress, namely the worthless Steve King or past his time Charles Grassley has yet to address that issue. If you have a alternative to Health Care Reform, tell it. Looks we going to have another three years of do nothing congress since Republicans don't like Obama and don't want to work with him, just like Democrats hated W and didn't want to work with him either. And the country got nowhere back then and I'm sure this year the Republicans will take over congress again since Pelosi and company are not doing nothing either. As for Scott Brown, I'll hold my judgement, at least he's not a total waste of time like King or Grassley, Brown is pro choice..... If I had to deal with Christian Conservative Republican native Texans such as Jennie T, then I remain a stranch supporter of birth control, mastrabation and gay marriages to combat hypocrites such as Christian Conservative Republican women from Tex-ass.
On The Subject Of The Who at The Super Bowl.
I thought as senior citizen rockers they did all right although Bob Lefsetz and the dood from the sun times thought otherwise. But really they haven't been The Who, not since the death of Keith Moon in 1978 and John Entwistle in 2002. Even on their final 1978 performance captured on The Kids Are Alright Keith Moon had trouble keeping up but a off Keith Moon still provide surprises galore and John's being the straight guy and throwing those bass lines, they were two reasons why The Who was THE GREATEST ROCK BAND EVER. You can't replace those guys although Pino Palladino and Zak Starkey hold their own (in fact Zak would have been the perfect replacement after Keith's OD but he was a child back then) and they did what I thought they would for songs. Surprised they didn't dusted off Can't Explain or My Generation. Yeah, Pete might have looked a little creepy onstage (reminded me of Uncle Ernie from Tommy) and Roger may not been the screamer he was once, but they are alive and they did a good workmanlike performance. The thing is, the 60s are over, they are 4 decades removed and whoever is still alive are no longer the young and hungry smashing drums and guitars and playing loud. The ones who didn't die from drugs or liver failure are survivors right now and one shouldn't be raking them over the coals for still rocking and rolling, although it's more about the money than the fun of playing. If nothing else, The Who at the Super Bowl is Roger and Pete as survivors, a tribute band. They're not going to make another memorable album (how many still play Endless Wire?) in their lifetime and Who's Next and Live At Leeds are all you need to know how great they are at making music. And as for Mr Lefsetz and Mr. DeRogatis at the Sun Times....music critics can be such bitter old men.....................................
On the subject of Mingles.....That would be Mingles.com.
After 11 years of being The Townedger in there I decided to cancel my membership. It's simply of the fact that I've outgrown the single dating sites (since I found that special somebody) and most of my good friends who were there have moved on to their real time life or found significant others. The first four years there they had Mingles party and I went to three of them (St. Louis 2000, Las Vegas 2004 and 2005). It got to the point that when Mingles improved their chat room (in our situation made it worse since the damn control getting in there never worked and XP would never delete those annoying I have winked at you emails or Lonely Russian or Nigerian Bride seeks green card notes) I could not get in there at all. But my final decision was when the usual suspects were spewing out their right wing nut job propaganda crapola and when I email hunter Rep about this year's Vegas event, he never did get back to me about the final details. I'll miss the wit and wisdom of Rollo Quarters and the friends that moved on but the ones who remain there are not the type you wanna go hang with. Plus they got too many cranky old men who long for the days of Bush & Cheney and the ones you rather not see naked anyway. If nothing else, thank you Mingles for introducing me to my GF, you came through a helluva lot better than E Harmony and without paying 29.95 a month either.
On the subject of... Christian Conservative Woman Republicans from Texas.
On twitter the other night while making my usual observations of Sarah Palin trying to get us into a war with Iran, I made a comment that the US are in wars with Iraq and Afganastan and trying to help Haiti, some nut job by the name of Jennie Taliaferro gave me three emails all going "what are you talking about?" So I ask her to convince me what is the good of Sarah Palin and she couldn't grasp that answer. Turns out I was dealing with an Christian Conservative Republican native Texan. They have the answer for everything but don't want to reveal it. I think that's what got this country into a tizzy for 8 years last decade that we had a Christian Conservative Republican that got us into another recession and two wars and the paranoia after 9/11. Ms. Taliaferro doesn't get the fact that the voters voted for Obama and neither her and her legion of RWNJs can't handle that. Or that they hang on every word of Rush and Beck and Dingbat Palin promising us the good old days if there was any in the last decade. I am about 30 percent Conservative myself but I'm also a 100 percent in common sense to which Palin doesn't seem to have. But then again I might be a judgemental in terms that most of who follows me in Twitter are from the left and although I don't agree with them all the time, they seem to have better ideas than Ms. Taliaferro in terms of getting this country back on the right track. I don't have a problem with right wingers and their rhetoric, I would like to believe that there's a conservative that has a solution to Health Care and the loss of jobs every month. But so far nobody here in congress, namely the worthless Steve King or past his time Charles Grassley has yet to address that issue. If you have a alternative to Health Care Reform, tell it. Looks we going to have another three years of do nothing congress since Republicans don't like Obama and don't want to work with him, just like Democrats hated W and didn't want to work with him either. And the country got nowhere back then and I'm sure this year the Republicans will take over congress again since Pelosi and company are not doing nothing either. As for Scott Brown, I'll hold my judgement, at least he's not a total waste of time like King or Grassley, Brown is pro choice..... If I had to deal with Christian Conservative Republican native Texans such as Jennie T, then I remain a stranch supporter of birth control, mastrabation and gay marriages to combat hypocrites such as Christian Conservative Republican women from Tex-ass.
On The Subject Of The Who at The Super Bowl.
I thought as senior citizen rockers they did all right although Bob Lefsetz and the dood from the sun times thought otherwise. But really they haven't been The Who, not since the death of Keith Moon in 1978 and John Entwistle in 2002. Even on their final 1978 performance captured on The Kids Are Alright Keith Moon had trouble keeping up but a off Keith Moon still provide surprises galore and John's being the straight guy and throwing those bass lines, they were two reasons why The Who was THE GREATEST ROCK BAND EVER. You can't replace those guys although Pino Palladino and Zak Starkey hold their own (in fact Zak would have been the perfect replacement after Keith's OD but he was a child back then) and they did what I thought they would for songs. Surprised they didn't dusted off Can't Explain or My Generation. Yeah, Pete might have looked a little creepy onstage (reminded me of Uncle Ernie from Tommy) and Roger may not been the screamer he was once, but they are alive and they did a good workmanlike performance. The thing is, the 60s are over, they are 4 decades removed and whoever is still alive are no longer the young and hungry smashing drums and guitars and playing loud. The ones who didn't die from drugs or liver failure are survivors right now and one shouldn't be raking them over the coals for still rocking and rolling, although it's more about the money than the fun of playing. If nothing else, The Who at the Super Bowl is Roger and Pete as survivors, a tribute band. They're not going to make another memorable album (how many still play Endless Wire?) in their lifetime and Who's Next and Live At Leeds are all you need to know how great they are at making music. And as for Mr Lefsetz and Mr. DeRogatis at the Sun Times....music critics can be such bitter old men.....................................
Monday, February 8, 2010
Dubuque Bargain Hunts
Winter here in the great midwest can be one big suckathon. The last three winters I haven't done much of getting out since we get snowstorms in Novemeber and then the snow sticks around till April. And every week we get at least one snowstorm but when the last snowstorm stayed south and east of here, dumping three feet out in the eastern coast, the sun came out just enough for me to wander up to Dubuque and check out our friends at Moondog Music and CDs 4 Change, which is a better record store than they advertised. Imagine my surprise of finding REM's Dead Letter Office in the 2 buck bin and thought it was too good to be true to which it was. Guy offered it to me for 10 bucks, I passed. It was a record club album and besides I didn't need it that bad when the CD can be found for half that much in the pawnshop. But I don't hold it against the guy and I'm sure I'll venture back up there in about 3 months if I get bored.
As I get older I get less tolerant with bratty kids and their do nothing parents and this came to a head at the Goodwill store where Brat 1 and 2 were playing throw the keys across the room while their stupid mother was busy not watching them. Personal to Miss Snatch, Goodwill is not Romper Room and you deserved the snotty comments directed toward you for not watching your future teen age pregnant kid when they hit 14. Problem of the world today is too many people having too many children and not supervising them properly. And then going to Wally World and three black brats running up and down the aisle. I guess these are the things that make me a cranky old man anymore, the lack of consideration by these idiots who don't supervise their kids. No, I don't have kids, but I don't want kids. I don't want to contribute to the dumbing down of America by these idiots who take Be Fruitful and Multiply. Mother Nature is getting ticked off at us for this, that explains why we are getting more major storms and earthquakes. The process of elimation and here's hoping that you are one of them.
Borders had some CDs of note in the 5.99 6.99 bins, Flatt & Scruggs Foggy Mountain Jubilee (which when it came out in 2005 had that crap copy protected BS that got Sony Music into trouble) and Allman Brothers' Brothers & Sisters with the overplayed Ramblin Man.
Stuff found at CD's 4 Life (on record)
Law-Hold On To It (MCA 1977) Never seen this record till today, this band featured Roy Kenner from The James Gang and they had a 45 of Hold On To It which I had but nobody knows much about this band. Your run of the mill boogie and white R and B.
Smithereens-Green Thoughts (Capitol 1988) By the time I started buying CDs in the late 1980s I quit buying vinyl albums around 1988 since CDs was the wave of the future. But now that the CDs are being extinct, I been searching for the late 80s albums that I didn't buy. Part of the problem was that vinyl in the late 80s was shitty sounding (they all seem to be made by some company name EAST, must have been made in China or Mexico). Anyway had this on CD and although I liked some of the songs, Green Thoughts only was a straight B album. May have been the recording itself. A second listen on vinyl hasn't covinced me otherwise although it good to revisit The World We Used To Know featuring the late great Del Shannon on backing vocal.
Eddie Money-The Sound Of Money (Columbia 1989) Out on CD for years but this is the first and only time that I seen it on vinyl. Yes Baby Hold On is overplayed on classic rock and so is Two Tickets To Paradise but I always like Wanna Go Back.
From Moondog Music
Jay Reatard-Watch Me Fall (Matador 2009) Too bad that he wanted to kill himself on drugs and booze but his debut for Matador turned out to be a garage tour de force. Sounds a bit more wilder than what Jack White would put out. One of the few albums of new stuff that I have bought (the other was Mudcrutch) and if I so dire I can download the MP3 version free. I like the physical product myself.
Tommy Keene-Run Now (Geffen EP 1987) The rare EP that Keene recorded between albums for Geffen and I consider his Geffen years to be best of his stuff. Includes an OTT version of Kill Your Sons. Later Geffen would reissue Songs From The Film on CD and added this EP as a bonus.
The Grassroots-Lotta Mileage (Dunhill 1973) If memory serves me well this was their final vinyl for ABC records before moving to Haven/Capitol the next year, and then returned to MCA in 1981 for a one off. Another album that I have never seen before now (even in their hit years I don't recall ever seeing Lotta Mileage at any store) this had two minor hits with Love Is What You Make It (have the 45 to this although it's very scratchy and I played it a lot) and No Smoke Without Fire.
Gregg Allman Band-I'm No Angel (Epic 1987) He had a big hit with the title track and Anything Goes got some airplay on KUPD in Phoenix when I lived down there but this is mostly highly polished AOR MOR, featuring some of the lesser known members of The Allman Brothers Band (Dan Toler). Includes Don't Want You No More/It's Not My Cross To Bear which led off side one of the first Allman Brothers album. Kinda like the Arista ABB years. Good but not something you would play all the time.
CD finds
Jefferson Airplane Takes Off (RCA 1996 2nd reissue) Adds Running Through The Country (the 1st generation CD didn't have that song) and adds a stereo/mono mix. Some great songs (Blues From An Airplane, Come Up The Years), Signe Anderson tears through Chuffear Blues and a early version of Get Together (later a big hit for The Youngbloods). Their most folk sounding album although Let Me In does hint of their future.
U2-Zooropia (Island 1993) Four guys tearing down The Joshua Tree, Bono apes Jagger on Lemon and oversings on Stray but the second half gets much better with Some Days Are Better Than Others and gets points for the enternal Johnny Cash on The Wanderer.
Ted Hawkins-Suffer No More (Rhino 1998) A selection of the late folk soul singer best known songs. Starts out as the great lost soul singer then becomes more more folk and sparse. Hawkins made it to DGC to record The Next Hundred Years and then suffered a stroke and died New Years's 1995. Takes the 2 best songs off that album (Strange Conversation and The Good And Bad) and adds Biloxi, which goes on a bit too long. He sounded a bit like Sam Cooke but Who Got My Natural Comb? he sounds like Otis Redding.
As I get older I get less tolerant with bratty kids and their do nothing parents and this came to a head at the Goodwill store where Brat 1 and 2 were playing throw the keys across the room while their stupid mother was busy not watching them. Personal to Miss Snatch, Goodwill is not Romper Room and you deserved the snotty comments directed toward you for not watching your future teen age pregnant kid when they hit 14. Problem of the world today is too many people having too many children and not supervising them properly. And then going to Wally World and three black brats running up and down the aisle. I guess these are the things that make me a cranky old man anymore, the lack of consideration by these idiots who don't supervise their kids. No, I don't have kids, but I don't want kids. I don't want to contribute to the dumbing down of America by these idiots who take Be Fruitful and Multiply. Mother Nature is getting ticked off at us for this, that explains why we are getting more major storms and earthquakes. The process of elimation and here's hoping that you are one of them.
Borders had some CDs of note in the 5.99 6.99 bins, Flatt & Scruggs Foggy Mountain Jubilee (which when it came out in 2005 had that crap copy protected BS that got Sony Music into trouble) and Allman Brothers' Brothers & Sisters with the overplayed Ramblin Man.
Stuff found at CD's 4 Life (on record)
Law-Hold On To It (MCA 1977) Never seen this record till today, this band featured Roy Kenner from The James Gang and they had a 45 of Hold On To It which I had but nobody knows much about this band. Your run of the mill boogie and white R and B.
Smithereens-Green Thoughts (Capitol 1988) By the time I started buying CDs in the late 1980s I quit buying vinyl albums around 1988 since CDs was the wave of the future. But now that the CDs are being extinct, I been searching for the late 80s albums that I didn't buy. Part of the problem was that vinyl in the late 80s was shitty sounding (they all seem to be made by some company name EAST, must have been made in China or Mexico). Anyway had this on CD and although I liked some of the songs, Green Thoughts only was a straight B album. May have been the recording itself. A second listen on vinyl hasn't covinced me otherwise although it good to revisit The World We Used To Know featuring the late great Del Shannon on backing vocal.
Eddie Money-The Sound Of Money (Columbia 1989) Out on CD for years but this is the first and only time that I seen it on vinyl. Yes Baby Hold On is overplayed on classic rock and so is Two Tickets To Paradise but I always like Wanna Go Back.
From Moondog Music
Jay Reatard-Watch Me Fall (Matador 2009) Too bad that he wanted to kill himself on drugs and booze but his debut for Matador turned out to be a garage tour de force. Sounds a bit more wilder than what Jack White would put out. One of the few albums of new stuff that I have bought (the other was Mudcrutch) and if I so dire I can download the MP3 version free. I like the physical product myself.
Tommy Keene-Run Now (Geffen EP 1987) The rare EP that Keene recorded between albums for Geffen and I consider his Geffen years to be best of his stuff. Includes an OTT version of Kill Your Sons. Later Geffen would reissue Songs From The Film on CD and added this EP as a bonus.
The Grassroots-Lotta Mileage (Dunhill 1973) If memory serves me well this was their final vinyl for ABC records before moving to Haven/Capitol the next year, and then returned to MCA in 1981 for a one off. Another album that I have never seen before now (even in their hit years I don't recall ever seeing Lotta Mileage at any store) this had two minor hits with Love Is What You Make It (have the 45 to this although it's very scratchy and I played it a lot) and No Smoke Without Fire.
Gregg Allman Band-I'm No Angel (Epic 1987) He had a big hit with the title track and Anything Goes got some airplay on KUPD in Phoenix when I lived down there but this is mostly highly polished AOR MOR, featuring some of the lesser known members of The Allman Brothers Band (Dan Toler). Includes Don't Want You No More/It's Not My Cross To Bear which led off side one of the first Allman Brothers album. Kinda like the Arista ABB years. Good but not something you would play all the time.
CD finds
Jefferson Airplane Takes Off (RCA 1996 2nd reissue) Adds Running Through The Country (the 1st generation CD didn't have that song) and adds a stereo/mono mix. Some great songs (Blues From An Airplane, Come Up The Years), Signe Anderson tears through Chuffear Blues and a early version of Get Together (later a big hit for The Youngbloods). Their most folk sounding album although Let Me In does hint of their future.
U2-Zooropia (Island 1993) Four guys tearing down The Joshua Tree, Bono apes Jagger on Lemon and oversings on Stray but the second half gets much better with Some Days Are Better Than Others and gets points for the enternal Johnny Cash on The Wanderer.
Ted Hawkins-Suffer No More (Rhino 1998) A selection of the late folk soul singer best known songs. Starts out as the great lost soul singer then becomes more more folk and sparse. Hawkins made it to DGC to record The Next Hundred Years and then suffered a stroke and died New Years's 1995. Takes the 2 best songs off that album (Strange Conversation and The Good And Bad) and adds Biloxi, which goes on a bit too long. He sounded a bit like Sam Cooke but Who Got My Natural Comb? he sounds like Otis Redding.
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
2-3-10 Top Ten Of The Week-It's The Youngster's Music Now
A week hardly ever passes when Bob Lefsetz continues to broadcast that the CD is dead and the album format is on the way out and that nobody buys albums no more but they'll download a single. But no bitching about it because that's the wave the future.
Again, if that's the wave of the future, then I'm comitted to be stuck in the past till the day I die. But I also have given up on new music and the new artists that are on the radio or what public radio tauts. I cannot get into Beach House and don't even ask me about half the bands that SPIN or Rolling Stone reviews anymore. Don't ask me about the rappers, don't care don't like them case closed. Even No Depression has thrown up a list of bands that I don't have a clue of who they are.
It seems to me that at some point in one's life there is a cut off point. Mine was 2009. After that year and that sorryassed decade, I retired from reviewing new artists or bands that you should know about but don't care. The ones that I cared nobody listened to. Most you can find for a penny at Amazon. Plus three dollars shipping and handling.
The CD time is drawing to the end. Wal Mart has now rearranged their selection to one aisle of everything. Used to be fun seeing what I could find for music, now they hardly have anything anymore. Best Buy, shit. They still don't have the new Len Price 3. There are stuff coming out on the wish list. In April Killing Joke will return with their first album as the original lineup in over 25 years. Collector's Choice has reissued some quality Tommy James albums. And I'm sure Wounded Bird or American Beat will tempt us with mail order gotta have it. Outside of that, I don't care. Animal Collective is for the young generation. Lil Wayne for the Autotune heads. Like my Grandma Ambrose said, it's the youngster's music, it's not mine. And my Grandma was wise beyond her years too.
The Top Ten Of The Week.
1. Same Old Song & Dance-Aerosmith 1974 Aerosmith remains Steven Tyler although he's becoming more harder to work with and more harder to listen to as he channels his inner Mick Jagger. The other guys want to keep going but with other vocalists filling in (Paul Rodgers said no, Billy Idol and Lenny Kravitz are up next). Tyler was the only constant when Joe Perry went to do his project in the early 80s, and Brad Whitford hooked with Derek St Holmes for a one off before everybody came back for Done With Mirrors. But perhaps after forty years, their time has come and gone, even Tyler tried out for Led Zeppelin as we found out. That doesn't make sense either. Is the magic gone for Aerosmith, it looks that way and it's been that way since I Don't Want To Miss A Thing. Perhaps it's time to retire boys. Cause all we're getting from this soap opera is The SAME OLD SONG AND DANCE.
2. I Wonder What She's Doing Tonight-Russell Smith 1989 Former lead singer of The Amazing Rhythm Aces went for a country solo career in the late 80s but never did sell enough copies of his album to maintain a career although This Little Town was a fine album and did made a few critics best of 1989 albums. Camelot Music had a few copies of this CD in the 3 dollar bins but it has become a collector's item via Amazon. Smith later came up a country curio band called Run C & W which made two novelty albums for MCA but I never heard them.
3. Here Is Gone-Goo Goo Dolls 2002 Funny how this band of Replacement wannabes became a big selling outfit in the late 90s and good for them. I always been a Goo Goo Dolls fan since Superstar Car Wash and then followed them up to the crappy 2007 Glen Ballard farce Let Love In. Didn't buy 2002's Gutterflower till I saw it at the pawnshop for a couple bucks. This album had more in common with Boy Named Goo than Dizzy Up The Girl which became their biggest selling album. Gutterflower kinda flopped but it's too bad, it is a really good album and Robby sings twice as many songs as he did on Dizzy Up The Girl. Hard to believe that in the first three albums that it was Robby rather than Johnny doing the majority of the vocals. Supposely a new album is in the works.
4. Day Of The Locust-Bob Dylan 1971 From New Morning, one of the lesser known Bob songs out there. He caught a lotta flack for Self Portrait and I think I liked that one better than I did of New Morning.
5. Nite Klub-The Specials 1980 Terry Hall has rejoined this band and they will tour the US for the first time in 30 years but they still won't have Jerry Dammers on board. Basically, The Specials have been mostly hit and miss although their first and second album remain ska punk classics. Always thought that The English Beat was a bit more pop friendly than the hard reality punk ska of Nite Klub but gotta agree that the beer that they served at the local pub down here tasted like piss too. (It was Bud Light)
6. Dreams-The Allman Brothers 1969 Their first album defined that classic ABB sound more than Ramblin Man ever did and Dreams remains a very dreamy jazz like jam vibe to it.
7. Come In Number 51, Your Time Is Up-Pink Floyd 1970 From Zabriskie Point. You know I really don't understand why The Flaming Lips would redo Dark Side Of The Moon but then again The Smitereens did Tommy as a tribute too so it's up to the listener to decide if it's worth the download or the money to get the tribute. Me I can live without the Flaming Lips. Too bad somebody out there won't do Ummagumma as a tribute album. Side Note: Come In No. 51 sounds like a alternative version of Careful With That Axe Eugene, although Come In sounds slower and more creepier.
8. I'm Alive-Mach Five 1998 Another band that made a one and one album for Island before the Polygram takeover by Universal, Mach Five sounded a lot like Del Amitri and why this song didn't become a hit remains a mystery to me. You can find their album in the dollar bins all across finer pawnshops or Amazon (plus 3 dollars shipping n handling). I think 1998 was the cut off date for good music cuz anything after 1998 either sucked or got done in by the CD Loudness issue. It's one thing to be good and loud, another to be LOUD AND TOO DISTORTED. Anyway I'm Alive got a good write up in Billboard and predicted it would have the potential to be a hit. Unfortunly the radio stations never played it. Except the the solitary car with the discman playing the song.
9. Hand Clapping-Link Wray 1959 This wasn't a hit, it was a forgotten album cut that managed to get on a compliaton called Rockabilly Stars Volume 2 that CBS put out in 1982. Kinda hard to believe that Link Wray was on a label that had Mitch Miller overseeing things. It's also hard to believe that Mitch Miller has outlived Link Wray too.
10. Baby, Don't You Do It-The Who 1972 B Side to Join Together and supposely availble on Greatest Hits Live (which is only availble as a download) and played on Beaker Street this weekend. This track was supposed to be on a followup album to Live At Leeds but got scrapped and parts of that concert made it to various compliations and box sets. But as far as I know this live track hasn't been availble in the US since the 45 single (remember forty fives Bob Lefsetz?) Which that Universal would quit fucking around with the continual greatest hits of The Who and give us something that we don't have or have wore out the grooves on our 45s. Side note: Polydor gave us a truincated version of said song. Nevertheless I'm sure this song will be longer than the Medley Pete and Roger are going to come up on Super Bowl Sunday. Can't wait to hear that one.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)