Strap in. This is going to be a long one. I've always had mixed feelings about The Who. Generally, I think they're overrated. The first time I heard the song "Bargain" from "Who's Next" was during a pick-up truck commercial. Their band name is a pun. They're not the only band to do that, (the BEATles...) but they kept trying to make it funny like that idiot who doesn't know when the joke is over. The album "Who's Next", the song and album "Who Are You". For fuck's sake. But I digress. There are plenty of things I like about The Who. They sing "Cello Cello Cello" instead of hiring someone to play cello in "A Quick One". I revel in the exquisite irony of stadiums packed with Boomers in $200/person seats singing along with "I hope I die before I get old" while the band plays "My Generation". I love Keith Moon (his batshit drumming and he DID die before he got old). And I LOVE this album. Pete Townshend tried to elevate Rock and Roll to "High Art" throughout The Who's lifespan. Before this album, there was "A Quick One, While He's Away", a multi-suite story song. After this album, there's "Tommy", the double-album "Rock Opera". Later there's Quadrophenia, another Rock Opera. Both Tommy and Quadrophenia were made into movies. Zooey Deschanel says to the young Cameron Crowe character in the movie Almost Famous to stare at a candle while listening to "Tommy" and see your future. Whoa...deeeep. "A Quick One" kicks ass. The aforementioned "cello cello" part is endearing. The story is about a girl who is sad because her boy is away, and then he comes back, and she forgives him for kissing other girls and sitting on Iver the Engine Driver's lap and napping with him (weird wacky nonsense I know). The Who are reaching for something grand, but they are young scrappy lads, and they can't quite reach, and that's why it's great. Then, we get The Who Sell Out. This is a concept album. As a general rule, these don't really work. Usually, the "concept" is placed on the album after the fact (Songs for the Deaf comes to mind. This album has to be one of the 1001, I'll have way too much to say about this later) because setting out to make a concept record can be an exercise in futility, or it can drive you insane (see Brian Wilson). More often than not, concept records fail because they are trying way to hard to be smart and end up lacking with a cohesive record of great songs. Sell Out avoid all of these pitfalls, and it has all of the things I love about The Who. The Who really wanted to write radio jingles, and in-between song snippet bits for the BBC. Somehow, it didn't work out, so we got this record instead. This record plays like you're listening to the radio. There are ads for baked beans, deodorant, guitar strings, and acne cream. In between, there are Who songs that range from raucous, sweet, goofy, beautiful, strange, and epic, and you're never really sure what's coming next. The whole thing sounds effortless, and you don't have to think to hard about what the "concept" is. It's just there. It drifts by, you enjoy it. Look at that! Roger Daltry is in a bathtub full of Baked Beans! So two years after this comes "Tommy". And you know what? Fuck "Tommy"! I've tried with this record. I own a copy, I've listened to it many times. Is this The Miracle Worker but the Rock version? With Pinball? And a creepy uncle? The songs aren't great, it's too long, and it ends, and I couldn't tell you what the FUCK the story was about or why everyone loves this record or why they made a movie out of this and why Pete Townshend went back to the studio and made another "Rock Opera" and whew I need to breathe. The Who hit oil, and they kept digging. TL;DR: This is the best Who album, Tommy can fuck off. Fight me.

One of the many solid albums R.E.M. albums. I’m glad I have this LP in my collection. I was happy to give this one a spin again; I didn’t catch their cover of “Strange” the first time around. It’s pretty good, but I still prefer the original Wire version. “The One I Love” still slaps. I tried to find some sort of relevance in the lyrics to “It’s the End of the World as We Know It” in relation to you know, everything being terrible, but no such luck. It’s a fun song! The lyrics are straight stream-of-consciousness nonsense. This is basically all I have to say about this record, but it’s making me think about this band in general, so follow me off on a tangent if you will. I like R.E.M. They have a lot of great albums (and some not so great), but I can’t quite decide if they’re a “Greatest Hits Band”. Let me give you an example of what I mean by this- Tom Petty. I fucking love Tom Petty, but pick up his Greatest Hits. It’s all you really need.* He’s got a couple of really good albums, like Damn the Torpedoes and Full Moon Fever, but that Greatest Hits comp is perfect. You’re not missing out on anything by just having the greatest hits. *Later on, after Greatest Hits was released, Petty got together with Rick Ruben and made Wildflowers. This album is perfect, and is essential listening. I’ll give you an opposite example- Bob Dylan. He’s got Greatest Hits records, but if you just stick to those you’re missing out on SO much. This is an artist with a fascinating multi-faceted career with so many changes and phases and multitudes of style and sound. You need to dig deep. Where does R.E.M. fall here? I can’t decide. There are people out there who are 5 or 10 years my senior who revere this band for how groundbreaking they were, and I feel like I’m missing something. I’ve got 3 of the early records that are considered some of their best, and I like them, but I still haven’t had that epiphany moment with them yet. Well, I’ll keep listening. That’s what this whole thing is all about.

First listened in High School, got me through some angst for sure. Still a classic. It’s no Siamese Dream, but it’s a great ridiculous mess with so many classic Pumpkins tracks. I’ve got the box set on vinyl and it’s one of the best purchases I’ve ever made.

First heard this in my car in high school, it must have been junior or senior year. I had heard that this was a punk rock masterpiece, but this did not sound like punk rock at all. This is reggae, this is soul, this is (Jimmy) jazz, this is revolution rock.

Not the first Dylan record I heard, not my favorite Dylan record, but unfucking deniable. The cliche is that the first snare hit at the beginning of “Like a Rolling Stone” is the sound of the door of your mind being kicked open. Not sure if that song blew my mind, but I still love it regardless of how many times I hear it. “Queen Jane Approximately” and “Just Like Tom Thumbs Blues” are two of my favorite Dylan songs. They capture a perfect combination of melancholy, sarcasm, and drugged out poetry that he does so well in this phase of his career. It’s a perfect record, but it’s no Blonde on Blonde. But hell, what is?

Some good tracks, but plenty that I skip. Still haven’t picked it up on vinyl for this reason. Better than most of White’s solo stuff, but that’s a pretty low bar.

Arguably the best solo McCartney record. Seeing the cover makes me hear the first little guitar lick play in my head, then the ear worm wakes up, and now I have to listen to the whole fucking thing. This record is unstoppable.

Haven’t listened, but it’s been on my list

Perfect, just perfect. Probably 2nd favorite after Blonde on Blonde. The “topical” songs were never really topical, they expressed universal truths that ring just as true today as they did then. This is the quintessential timeless record. It spins like it’s always been and always will be.

Goddamn, been too long since I’ve given this one a spin and listen to Crazy Horse blow doors down. Cinnamon Girl/Down By the River/ Cowgirl in the Sand make this record, the rest of the record is solid, but it doesn’t waste time with a lot of filler. It breathes easy and leaves plenty of room for just the right amount of jamming when necessary.

Never heard it, s’posed t’be good. On my list!

I’ve heard some of Pet Shop Boys, but not much past the well known stuff. I’ll give a listen!

The only record I stole from my mom. My #2 favorite Boss. Haunting, but not creepy, sad, but not depressing. It’s a record that you can’t always throw on, and it’s weird, but I somehow always forget that it exists, because it’s such an oddball Springsteen record. That’s it. It’s a ghost.

First afrobeat album I ever heard! Wish I had stumbled upon this on my own, but this is why we make friends with people cooler than ourselves. Simple and powerful message, funky and primal as fuck.

I spun this record a lot when I was living in Greeley, CO, working at the Windsor Finest Record Store, and deep in my Dilla obsession. This record totally slaps. I would say it ranks with one of Common’s best. If I was a professional critic, I wouldn’t give it a 5, because Resurrection is the zenith for Common Sense, and this record can’t really match up to that. But personally, LWFC had just as much of an impact on me if not more.

Tapestry, aka Carole Kings Greatest Hits. Perfect record, great Christmas gift for Mother’s Day, spin it when the family is around, or anytime really. Sunday morning, sipping coffee, petting a cat, feeling the morning sun. Keep an eye out for this at your local thrift store or see if you can sneak it out of your Mom’s collection if it’s not already totally worn out.

If I saw this in a bin at a record store for a reasonable price, I’d pick it up, and I’d consider my AC/DC collection complete. I know it’s a great record, but I don’t see myself spinning it anytime soon, and if I do I’ll probably be shit-faced on Aussie beer or something.

Don’t need to say much about this. All killer, no filler, one of the many 5-star Zep records. I skip Stairway most of the time, but that’s just a personal preference (denied!). Damn, trying to find something nit-picky to say about this record, but I’m coming up with nothing.

Your dad was on drugs, bro. Liked it! Will for sure pick up a copy if I see one.

By Brian Eno only? We’re leaving out David Byrne? Either way, this is a fun album. Throw this on late in the evening in the background at your party and hear strange skronks and sermons drift across the room as drum loops play. I would give this a 4.5, I don’t really re-visit this that often, not the best work for either artist, but 4 stars seems too low. Ah well. These global scores seem too low already.

Okay, now I’ve listened once. Definite 60s Woodstock vibes. I’m sure these dudes jammed the fuck out live, and there was much mud covered lysergic free love swaying and damn can that Carlos play man and pass that over here cough. It’s cool, I enjoyed the overplayed stuff more in the context of the album, but I don’t see myself revisiting this one much. I’d pick this one up at an estate sale or out of a dollar bin.

I had never heard of this band or this album. The first thing I thought when I saw this record cover was "New Jack Swing"? I was 100% right. This album asks and answers a couple questions. Can you judge an album by it's cover? Sometimes. In this case, yes. Do raps REALLY need to rhyme? Yes. Yes they do. What is New Jack Swing? It's like Trip Hop, but really lame. Why is this album on this list? That song "Back to Life"? I really don't know. Were the pop charts in 1989 full of straight garbage? For the most part, yes. This must have seemed super innovative at the time. Was Ice Cube Right? .....um about what? "And you can New Jack Swing on my nuts" Yes, truer words have never been spoken.

Strap in. This is going to be a long one. I've always had mixed feelings about The Who. Generally, I think they're overrated. The first time I heard the song "Bargain" from "Who's Next" was during a pick-up truck commercial. Their band name is a pun. They're not the only band to do that, (the BEATles...) but they kept trying to make it funny like that idiot who doesn't know when the joke is over. The album "Who's Next", the song and album "Who Are You". For fuck's sake. But I digress. There are plenty of things I like about The Who. They sing "Cello Cello Cello" instead of hiring someone to play cello in "A Quick One". I revel in the exquisite irony of stadiums packed with Boomers in $200/person seats singing along with "I hope I die before I get old" while the band plays "My Generation". I love Keith Moon (his batshit drumming and he DID die before he got old). And I LOVE this album. Pete Townshend tried to elevate Rock and Roll to "High Art" throughout The Who's lifespan. Before this album, there was "A Quick One, While He's Away", a multi-suite story song. After this album, there's "Tommy", the double-album "Rock Opera". Later there's Quadrophenia, another Rock Opera. Both Tommy and Quadrophenia were made into movies. Zooey Deschanel says to the young Cameron Crowe character in the movie Almost Famous to stare at a candle while listening to "Tommy" and see your future. Whoa...deeeep. "A Quick One" kicks ass. The aforementioned "cello cello" part is endearing. The story is about a girl who is sad because her boy is away, and then he comes back, and she forgives him for kissing other girls and sitting on Iver the Engine Driver's lap and napping with him (weird wacky nonsense I know). The Who are reaching for something grand, but they are young scrappy lads, and they can't quite reach, and that's why it's great. Then, we get The Who Sell Out. This is a concept album. As a general rule, these don't really work. Usually, the "concept" is placed on the album after the fact (Songs for the Deaf comes to mind. This album has to be one of the 1001, I'll have way too much to say about this later) because setting out to make a concept record can be an exercise in futility, or it can drive you insane (see Brian Wilson). More often than not, concept records fail because they are trying way to hard to be smart and end up lacking with a cohesive record of great songs. Sell Out avoid all of these pitfalls, and it has all of the things I love about The Who. The Who really wanted to write radio jingles, and in-between song snippet bits for the BBC. Somehow, it didn't work out, so we got this record instead. This record plays like you're listening to the radio. There are ads for baked beans, deodorant, guitar strings, and acne cream. In between, there are Who songs that range from raucous, sweet, goofy, beautiful, strange, and epic, and you're never really sure what's coming next. The whole thing sounds effortless, and you don't have to think to hard about what the "concept" is. It's just there. It drifts by, you enjoy it. Look at that! Roger Daltry is in a bathtub full of Baked Beans! So two years after this comes "Tommy". And you know what? Fuck "Tommy"! I've tried with this record. I own a copy, I've listened to it many times. Is this The Miracle Worker but the Rock version? With Pinball? And a creepy uncle? The songs aren't great, it's too long, and it ends, and I couldn't tell you what the FUCK the story was about or why everyone loves this record or why they made a movie out of this and why Pete Townshend went back to the studio and made another "Rock Opera" and whew I need to breathe. The Who hit oil, and they kept digging. TL;DR: This is the best Who album, Tommy can fuck off. Fight me.

One of the many solid albums R.E.M. albums. I’m glad I have this LP in my collection. I was happy to give this one a spin again; I didn’t catch their cover of “Strange” the first time around. It’s pretty good, but I still prefer the original Wire version. “The One I Love” still slaps. I tried to find some sort of relevance in the lyrics to “It’s the End of the World as We Know It” in relation to you know, everything being terrible, but no such luck. It’s a fun song! The lyrics are straight stream-of-consciousness nonsense. This is basically all I have to say about this record, but it’s making me think about this band in general, so follow me off on a tangent if you will. I like R.E.M. They have a lot of great albums (and some not so great), but I can’t quite decide if they’re a “Greatest Hits Band”. Let me give you an example of what I mean by this- Tom Petty. I fucking love Tom Petty, but pick up his Greatest Hits. It’s all you really need.* He’s got a couple of really good albums, like Damn the Torpedoes and Full Moon Fever, but that Greatest Hits comp is perfect. You’re not missing out on anything by just having the greatest hits. *Later on, after Greatest Hits was released, Petty got together with Rick Ruben and made Wildflowers. This album is perfect, and is essential listening. I’ll give you an opposite example- Bob Dylan. He’s got Greatest Hits records, but if you just stick to those you’re missing out on SO much. This is an artist with a fascinating multi-faceted career with so many changes and phases and multitudes of style and sound. You need to dig deep. Where does R.E.M. fall here? I can’t decide. There are people out there who are 5 or 10 years my senior who revere this band for how groundbreaking they were, and I feel like I’m missing something. I’ve got 3 of the early records that are considered some of their best, and I like them, but I still haven’t had that epiphany moment with them yet. Well, I’ll keep listening. That’s what this whole thing is all about.

For those of you at home keeping score, I've had 2 by Dylan, and now the score is tied with 2 by The Boss! Previously on the Springsteen Files, we found The Boss working on "Nebraska". He recorded demos to play for the E-Street band to make the album, then just released the demos AS the album. It's stripped down, beautiful but spooky and sad; critically acclaimed, but doesn't exactly top the charts like "Born to Run". The door to the world-famous recording studio The Hit Factory swings open, and in walks a man smoking a long cigar. Our Hero dreads seeing this visage yet he pays close attention as this man speaks: "C'mon, Bruce my boy, let's give the people what they want! You're a Rock Star! These people need something to play at their July 4th block party BBQs! There's a cowboy running for president, and he needs a campaign anthem, cheer up, will ya?" Bruce Springsteen is a true artist. He's a poet who writes about the struggle of the everyman. But hell, he's no fool. This is music, but it also business, so he releases one of the top selling records of all time. ******* This is an excerpt from my failed pitch for a Netflix movie about the life of Bruce Springsteen. It never got off the ground. Apparently Warren Zanes already wrote a book about this time period of his life, and they already made a movie starring Jeremy Allen White as The Man Himself. Oh well, I guess I'll get back to work on my Bob Dylan biopic pitch. Nobody's done that yet, right? Okay, seriously folks, review time. Funny thing about records, sometimes you can judge them by their cover, sometimes you can't (see my Soul II Soul review, coming soon). I remember knowing nothing about this record, and seeing the cover of the CD in high school. Bruce's ass, standing in front of the stripes of an American flag, give me a break! Born in the USA? So fucking lame. Karma police, arrest this man. This is another record that I love so much because people still think "Born in the USA" is patriotic, that "Glory Days" is a Jock Jam, and "Dancing in the Dark" is a party song. This record sold 17 million copies in the US alone. It's so subversive, yet so commercial, and 40 FUCKING YEAR LATER, it still flys under the radar. Suck it, American Idiot. Here are the words Ronald Reagan used for his presidential campaign song: Born down in a dead man’s town The first kick I took was when I hit the ground You end up like a dog that’s been beat too much Till you spend half your life just covering up Got in a little hometown jam So they put a rifle in my hand Sent me off to a foreign land To go and kill the yellow man Come back home to the refinery Hiring man says “Son if it was up to me” Went down to see my V.A. man He said “Son, don’t you understand” I had a brother at Khe Sanh fighting off the Viet Cong They’re still there, he’s all gone He had a woman he loved in Saigon I got a picture of him in her arms now Down in the shadow of the penitentiary Out by the gas fires of the refinery I’m ten years burning down the road Nowhere to run ain’t got nowhere to go "Born in the USA" was a cry of anger and pain, not a declaration of pride. This is the first song on the record, and it lays out the exact theme of the record. The American Dream is bullshit. From here, we head to paranoia "Cover Me", lost love, "Downbound Train", "I'm Goin' Down", "Bobby Jean", and trying to find work but getting arrested instead "Darlington County", "Working On The Highway". Then there's feeling trapped in a rut and doing something, anything, to get out "I'm On Fire", "No Surrender", "Dancing In The Dark". And we've got "Glory Days", the anthem for peaking in high school and mild alcoholism. We've got all of these songs about how bad everything is, but the music itself is jaunty and anthemic, and sounds readymade to be blasted from stadium speaker towers and car radios at the same time. It's the E Street Band in full force, sax solos and bouncy organ stabs. "Darlington County" has a "sha la la" chorus. "Working On The Highway" has this chugging, exciting beat and it makes you feel like this guy is gonna make it! You he's just moving on man, we don't need to hear how it ends. "No Surrender" sounds like a valiant champions anthem! "Glory Days" and "Dancing In The Dark", no explanation needed. Pure pop radio gold. If the sound of these songs matched the subject matter, it would still be a great record. Hell, it'd be Nebraska part 2, and I'd fucking love it! But it wouldn't be Born in the USA, because this is exactly how the American Dream comes packaged. It's sold in this bright shiny wrapper, but it's broken on the inside. The exception here is "My Hometown". it closes out the album. It's as if Bruce can't keep up the facade any longer. This song was one of the 7 Top-Ten Billboard hits! I cannot believe a song this devastating was on the radio and MTV and was in the Top Ten. I was eight years old And running with a dime in my hand To the bus stop to pick Up a paper for my old man I'd sit on his lap in that big old Buick And steer as we drove through town He'd tousle my hair And say, "Son, take a good look around" This is your hometown In '65 tension was running high At my high school There was a lot of fights Between the black and white There was nothing you could do Two cars at a light on a Saturday night In the back seat there was a gun Words were passed in a shotgun blast Troubled times had come To my hometown Now Main Street's whitewashed windows And vacant stores Seems like there ain't nobody Wants to come down here no more They're closing down the textile mill Across the railroad tracks Foreman says, "These jobs are going, boys And they ain't coming back To your hometown" Last night me and Kate we laid in bed Talking about getting out Packing up our bags, maybe heading south I'm thirty-five, we got a boy of our own now Last night I sat him up behind the wheel And said, "Son, take a good look around This is your hometown" We've followed these characters as they grew up. They were Wild, Innocent, they were doing the E-Street Shuffle out in Asbury Park with Rosalita, and Sandy, and Kitty, and Wild Billy. They looked around and decided that they wanted more. Come on, Mary, take hold, let's hit Thunder Road, let's step out into the Night, we'll take the Backstreets. We'll Run as fast as we can, maybe this Meeting Across the River will pay off, I'll do this one last job and we'll get out of this town. Now we head to the sea to wash these sins off our hands. Racing in the Street was fun back then, but now there's a shadow cast over the whole thing. Tomorrow it's back to the Factory. The Promised Land is now the Badlands. Then finally, its up the hill, towards the Darkness at the Edge of Town, where dreams are found and lost. This is the dream, found and lost at the same time.

This is the second album that has popped up so far that not only have I not listened to it, but it’s not on my radar whatsoever. I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect, but I was pleasantly surprised. As soon as I heard the opening riff of the first track of this record, I was down for the ride. Then I started reading the lyrics, reading about the title “The Age of Pamparius”… Where the FUCK has this record been all my life?! So you think you had an Opera? Well not like this! So you think you had a Napoli? Well not like this! So you think you had a decent pizza? Well not like this! So you think you had a real good pizza? Well not like this! [Chorus] You got nothing to lose at Pamparius Gonna wear them happy shoes tonight You got nothing to lose at Pamparius Gonna bake a motherfucking pizza tonight! If a cursory internet search is to be believed, the keyboard player owns a pizza parlour in a suburb of Oslo called Pamparius. Yes, Norwegian punk/metal/glam rock. Anthems for pizza like you’ve never fucking had before, rocking for and against Ass (aren’t we all pro-ass, yet anti-ass at the same time?), denim, and getting it on (whatever “it” it may be). Are you ready for some darkness? Yes you fucking are. Step into the night. That’s where the fun is. Put your denim jacket on, let’s go asshole.

What’s this? A punk record from 1979 I’ve never heard? It’s like Christmas morning! I’ve only heard the first Damned record, there’s absolutely no reason I didn’t dig in further. This record is excellent. I’ll probably end up revisiting this one more often than the first one. This is such a badass name for an album.

I remember reading about Big Black in “Our Band Could Be Your Life”. I never got around to listening to them, but I remember their M.O. Loud guitars and a drum machine (His name is Roland). This record is dark and punishing, so brutal, it threatens to crush you. This isn’t heavy metal posturing or machismo, it’s a sound that matches the grim reality of songs about sexual abuse, alcoholism, ptsd, domestic violence, arson…things most folks in Steve Albini’s hometown in the Mid-West would rather just sweep under the rug and not talk about. This is industrial punk rock. Nine Inch Nails used this sound to sing about emotional nihilism? Ministry used this sound for…goth creepiness? (Okay I really don’t know that much about Ministry take this with a grain of salt) Big Black are using this sound in the best way possible.

What do you think of when you hear the genre "Jazz Fusion" mentioned? ***** I open my eyes, and I'm either in Dentist's office, or a suburban "jazz"bar. I see framed dorm-room posters of Billie Holiday, for that college freshman who was too cool for the Bob Marley and Pink Floyd posters. I hear music in the distance. It's smooth, but that's not exactly the right word...it's more slimy...or moist. Eww. And, is that a horn? No, it can't be. I swear that's coming from the keyboards. I hear an electric guitar, but they removed everything cool about it, and it's impossibly lame and limp. Where is this music coming from? I turn the corner and...oh god. Oh god no. I see...Kenny G! That's when I wake up. Thank god, it was just a nightmare. ****** Smooth Jazz and the hacky crackers that have perpetrated this musical travesty have piled dogshit over the legacy of musical visionaries like Miles Davis. Jazz Fusion is not a bad word. Forget all the negative connotations you may have about this genre. It's okay, you're safe now. Shhh, Peaceful. Miles Davis went electric in the late 60s. John Coltrane had passed away, and he was listening to Jimi Hendrix, James Brown, and Sly and the Family Stone. He got a new group together that could bring his new direction in jazz to life. Chick Corea and Herbie Hancock on electric piano, Joe Zawinul on organ, Wayne Shorter on sax, John McLaughlin on guitar, Dave Holland on bass, Tony Williams on drums. This is the first of a string of records that Miles Davis recorded with producer Teo Macero. The record is 2 tracks, but these tracks are comprised of multiple jam sessions edited and spliced together masterfully by Macero and Davis. The music blends together so perfectly that it feels like no editing was needed. The music flows by in this ethereal way that's calming yet exciting. Jazz Fusion by definition is Jazz with different genres thrown in the mix. Miles would fuse Jazz with Rock, Funk and Psychedelia on future records. What genre did he fuse to Jazz on this record? I honestly don't know. That's what's so special about it. It's hard to pin down what's going on here, it just sounds good. It's complex but it isn't challenging. You can just lay back, and ease into this sweet dream of a record.

I just finished writing my review of "In a Silent Way" by Miles Davis, so I won't get into Contemporary Country and "I like all music except for Country", one pretentious rant per day is all I can handle. Instead, I'm going to talk about the first time I heard the name Buck Owens. It was in a Creedence Clearwater Revival song, "Looking Out My Back Door". I re-listened to this album, then I listened to this song. I thought, this will all come full circle! Let's see why ol' John was feelin' such a chill vibe while he was "Listenin' to Buck Owens" and Doot Doot Doo looking out his back door! The song starts off well enough: "Just got home from Illinois, lock the front door, oh boy Got to sit down, take a rest on the porch Imagination sets in, pretty soon I'm singin' Doot, doot, doo, lookin' out my back door" A relatable scenario I suppose, locked out of the house, it's the time before smart phones, and all you can do is chill on the porch and daydream and sing. "There's a giant doin' cartwheels, a statue wearin' high heels Look at all the happy creatures dancin' on the lawn Dinosaur Victrola, listenin' to Buck Owens Doot, doot, doo, lookin' out my back door Tambourines and elephants are playin' in the band Won't you take a ride on the flyin' spoon? Doot, doo doo Wondrous apparition, provided by magician Doot, doot, doo, lookin' out my back door" Uhh...John? What happened in Illinois? Did they lock you out of the house on purpose? Just what kind of "apparition" did the "magician" provide? Does it help you ride the "flying spoon"? Good god! Okay, so John Fogerty was listening to Buck Owens and then tripped the gibberish fantastic. Got it. On to the review- any mention of this record gets the title track stuck in my head. It's great, it's the first track, and it's 2 minutes long. Listen to that song, and if you like it, you'll like this record. Not every song is as perfect as that song, but damn close. It's been so rewarding digging into classic country. There's a goldmine of classic country vinyl out there and it's cheap as fuck if you find it used! I feel a rant coming on....grrr...farmers field....sexy tractor...Toby Keith...LEE GREENWOOD.... okay breathe....think of Kacey Musgraves...think of Waxahatchee...phew. That was close.

Check it out, Mom's got a new favorite cassette. I did my best to listen to this record out of context. Look past the album cover with Ms. Raitt posing in front of a Sears photo studio backdrop. Listen past my general dislike of Blues Rock. Listen past the Don Was production and his cringe inducing keyboard sounds. Hoo boy, 1989 popular music. Sigh. My feelings about this album can be easily summed up by describing the first two tracks. I listened to the first track, "Nick of Time". It's a kind of understated song about people at different stages in their life making difficult choices. She's reflecting about aging, and how even though one may be wiser, the realization that there is so much less life to waste makes it much harder to risk making mistakes. I thought, "Okay! Style is not there, but the substance is here. This song is not what I expected, I'm in". Then, the next track, "Thing Called Love" comes on in. We got the quiet opener out of the way, let's rock! Are you ready for the thing called love? Don't come from me and you, it comes from up above I ain't no porcupine, take off your kid gloves Are you ready for the thing called love? Bonnie...you had me! Then...porcupines held by kid gloves? What the fuck are you even talking about? Love from above? Are you bringing God into this weird mixed not even a metaphor? Bonnie Raitt is a great guitar player, and a great singer. She can write great lyrics too! When she is writing about characters from the third person, it's so good! "Nick of Time" and "Nobody's Girl", are great examples of this. They're clever, nuanced songs. But they are few and far between on an album full of radio-ready cliches. By the time this album came out, Bonnie Raitt had really paid her dues, and she finally made a record that was a big hit. This also won the Grammy for Album of the Year! Hey, good for her. And good for all those jilted divorced moms out there in 1989 that were over that no-good dirtbag that hurt them, that just had their hair done, and were ready to find a real man who wasn't afraid to love a porcupine without his gloves on. Or something.

I was ready to write very little about this album, give it a "Led Zepplin IV" review, classic, 5-stars, weird, funky, perfect. Then, I started thinking about how critical I was about Bonnie Raitt's lyrics. I don't think I was wrong to be critical. But I think it's important to establish something- I think style is much more important than substance. Ideally, style and substance should be equally important, and they should both be merging and reaching for greatness hand in hand; lyrics revealing universal truth or soul-baring emotion without sacrificing brevity while the music breaks new ground with such skill and deft that it re-defines the genre. But lacking that, if the music is there, the lyrics get a pass for me. "Nick of Time"'s style was definitely NOT there, so the substance had to do the heavy lifting. It was not up for the task, at least not completely. When it comes to "Remain in Light", I've never really bothered to think critically about the substance. With other Talking Heads albums, you can hear most of the lyrics, and the songs for the most part have traditional structures. This album, not so much. There are choruses, sort of, but the words don't necessarily repeat. Or there are layers of vocals over vocals singing different words. So does Remain in Light get a pass substance-wise because the style is so mind-blowing? The production and the instrumentation on this record really is pretty groundbreaking. Talking Heads were progressing album after album, getting a little more complex, getting a little more funky and a little more strange with each record, and this is sort of the zenith of their experimentation. They layered on more synths, more guitars, more vocals, some horns, and DRUMS. Fela Kuti and afrobeat was obviously a huge influence on this record. There are also tape loops in the mix, as David Byrne and Brian Eno were working on (or already finished, I'm too lazy to Google this right now) "My Life in the Bush of Ghosts" an album comprised of lots of samples. And then there's Adrian Belew's guitar. It's kind of hard to describe. If there's a strange but wonderful sound that pops up that sort of sounds like it came from space, it's probably him. So the style is there, what about the substance? What are these songs about? I'm going to do my best to ignore other people's theories about what David Byrne is trying to say with these lyrics. Well, I might tell what other people have said and give you my two cents on that also. 1. Born Under Punches Someone, a government man, is trying to squeeze in, find some space, breathe. The heat goes on, and on, and on. He's a tumbler. Look at his hands. That's basically it. This is about Watergate they say? Before my time. 2. Crosseyed and Painless Struggling to define the squishy parts of one's identity, getting confused, trying to find solace in the rigidity of facts, but facts don't work either. The facts make it worse? 3. The Great Curve "Sometimes the world has a load of questions Seems like the world knows nothing at all The world is near, but it's out of reach Some people touch it, but they can't hold on" True, so true. What do you think? "The world moves on a woman's hips The world moves, and it swivels and bops The world moves on a woman's hips The world moves, and it bounces and hops" This song has LOTS more lyrics than this. Lyrics on top of lyrics. The goddess of light is going to open our eyes up to the definition of the divine. (So let's all Remain in Light?) 4. Once in a Lifetime Oh, middle class life, so fascinating! Those precious common folks! Water=time 5. Houses in Motion Walking a line, digging my own grave forever, divide/disolve, making enough to be living. Some say this is about Capitalism. I guess I could see it. I just now heard Eno's vocal on this song. 6. Seen and Not Seen These are classic Byrne lyrics. Focusing on an ideal face in his mind, and wondering if doing so would change his facial features. 7. Listening Wind Wind and Dust and my heart and head...wait, this song is about a terrorist? Damn. Yeah, it took someone else pointing this out. 8. The Overload The lyrics and the music don't sound a thing like Taking Heads. Why? They decided to make a song that sounded like Joy Division without ever hearing Joy Division, just reading about Joy Division. They kind of nailed it. So yeah, these lyrics are kind of stream-of-consciousness, derived from some book you've never read, some weird paranoid delusion, or abstract thought dreams. But they fit so well in this sonic landscape that it's perfect. These songs are chaotic and complex and simple concepts would just be weird here. This is not to say that I'm totally following what the fuck Byrne is getting at, but any lack of substance totally gets a pass because of this style. No one was making music like this in 1980. "Once in a Lifetime" was not a hit when it came out. This album was ahead of it's time. So yeah, as I was saying, 5 stars. Weird, funky, perfect.

Bjork has quite a few perfect or damn near perfect records, but this is probably the one I’ve been re-visiting the most lately. This record came out in 1993, which is shocking, because it does not sound dated, at least compared to the majority of other popular records released this year, the Collective Counting Pearl Pumpkins Fumbling Towards the Ecstatic Verve in Guyville’s Last Splash on the River of Dreams of Flaming Lenny Kravitz. This is Bjork with the least amount of artifice and affectation, the most genuine. She’s curious, playful, sweet, and even seductive at times. When she sings about sneaking off to an island and bringing her little “jetto-blaster”, it kills me. Bjork goes on to experiment further, push the envelope, get wonderfully weird(er). It’s great, don’t get me wrong, there’s just something about this one. Maybe it’s that sweater.

Still kicking myself for not snagging this record when it came in used while I was working at a record store. I wasn’t hip to it, I don’t know what I was thinking. Maybe I thought it was one of those post-Muswell Hillbillies records. Who knows. This doesn’t have any of the big radio hits, or any of the songs you’ve heard in a Wes Anderson movie (so far), so enjoy! A hidden gem! The Kinks were just cranking out the great songs at breakneck speed in the 60s, and this is the sound of them hitting their stride. The only reason I wouldn’t rate this a 5 is that there’s no 4.5, and Something Else and Village Green are coming around the bend at some point.

My new Halloween Jam. Been meaning to familiarize myself more with Siouxsie, glad this came up. 80’s post-punk is always welcome in these ears. This album is solid, this band is tight, a little creepy without trying too hard to be shocking and gross. Today I learned that the drummer in this iteration of the Banshees is named Budgie (love it, plus his drumming is great). Also learned that the original Banshees used to include Sid Vicious and a member of Adam and Ants. Siouxsie, Adam Ant, punks with “Mohawk” haircuts, what’s with the Native American pseudo-cultural appropriation? Do these young white kids see themselves as oppressed as victims of genocide? Or are they just ignorant and think, I like the face paint, I want an X in my name, the hair looks cool? But I digress. Here’s the bottom line. Next Halloween, put this on the stereo, don’t dress up as a stereotype of an oppressed minority. We can separate the art from the artist and not feel like liberal hypocrites! Wait, what’s the title of this album again? Juju? Jesus Christ, Siouxsie.

********** When I was telling when of our recent inductees to this group about this website, she asked, “how many women?”. I was sad to report that so far it’d been a fucking sausage fest as far as reviews went, there had been 2 records by female artists at the time, but there had been a White Stripes record, and we went on to discuss how underrated Meg White is as a drummer. Anyway, I’m happy that this is the second record in a row by a female artist! I hope this streak keeps going. ********** I first heard Gillian Welch on the “O Brother Where Art Thou?” soundtrack. I expected this to be new stuff trying to sound like old stuff, which usually causes me to recoil, especially when it comes to Bluegrass. I don’t know what it is, I just find any roots/bluegrass released after 1990 inauthentic and liberal boomer radio bait. But this record is certainly not that kind of thing! This is mostly 2 guitars (one song has a banjo), it’s Gillian and her partner in music, David Rawlings, playing and singing, and it’s more personal in nature, not singing about a time and place in Appalachia that neither of them lived in or experienced. The songs are mostly slow and contemplative. Time, not John, is the Revelator. Time is revealing visions of highways, past lovers, red clay halos, Elvis, and the Civil War. I recognize the value of this record. It’s good for the most part. I like the songs “Elvis Presley Blues”, and “My First Lover”, but in general, I just don’t think it’s for me. It doesn’t really excite me. The song “I Want To Sing That Rock and Roll”, is about just that. It’s well…dumb. Some may find it charming, but it’s like something you’d hear Daniel Johnston sing in full blast earnest yowl, and he’d pull it off, but it sounds out of place here. Gillian could play rock and roll! She could play anything she wants to. Her talent is obvious. Instead, there’s this “aww shucks” song about being drowned out by the loud rock n’ roll and not being able to participate. Gag me with Grammy. Then there’s the last song, “I Dream a Highway”. It clocks in at 14 and a half minutes. It is at least 9 minutes too long. I swear to God the tempo gets slower as it goes along. As much as I was dreading listening to bluegrass revival, by the end of this song I was praying for a hootenanny to break out. I’ll put this song on the next time I have a bout of insomnia. This is a decent record, but not much of Revelation. I don’t see myself revisiting this record any time soon, but I will keep any eye out for Gillian’s cameo in the general store asking for the Soggy Bottom Boys record the next time I watch my favorite movie of all time.

This record is excellent, and so is the documentary about it, so I won't go into too much detail talking about it. Listen to this, watch that. Buena Vista Social Club is a collective of a score of musicians, most of them elderly Cubans who were in their prime during the 40s and 50s. The group gets its name from a long gone social club/night club in Havana from the old days, before most night clubs were shut down after Fidel Castro took power. These musicians sound vital despite their advanced age, and the music sizzles like a hot Havana afternoon. The clubs closed down long ago, but the music never went away. It all sounds very natural and free. The album cover shows Ibrahim Ferrer walking through the streets of Havana, and that's where he was recruited to join the group. He was on his daily constitutional, where he would shine shoes for extra cash. Within a span of 5 years, he's performing at Carnegie Hall, winning a Grammy, performing for Puff Daddy and Jennifer Lopez (he dedicates a song called "Mami Me Gusto" to her, the old smooth talker that he is), and he's recording a track for the first Gorillaz album. It blows my mind, that if some exec from a "World" music label didn't recruit Ry Cooder to come to Havana to record an album (not this album mind you) the world outside of Cuba would never have heard of this guy. Ibrahim Ferrer was very talented (he died in 2005), but it's not like he was the best singer in Cuba, he was just the dude around the way! What other musical gems are just hanging out in Cuba? Summer's just about here, so put this record in your ears, and take a stroll through the neighborhood and imagine Ibrahim is walking by tipping his hat.

I first heard my buddy Ryan Ellison play this record at his place at the Camfield apartments in Greeley. There was a lot of Eno geeking out going on in that friend group around that time. It's about 15 years later, and I still love this record. Brian Eno has made a lot of experimental music, and sort of invented ambient music, but there are 4 records that he made in the 70's that are more accessible and straight-forward "pop/rock". This is the 4th one. He famously recorded a trilogy of albums with David Bowie in Berlin in the 70s ("Low", "Heroes", and "Lodger") that followed a format of Side A being energetic pop songs, and Side B being more experimental ambient songs, and this record follows that format as well. I love those Bowie records, but I think this record is the best version of that template. When I say this record is "straight-forward", that's a relative term. Side A has lots of energy, but it is weird. "No One Receiving" and "Kurt's Rejoinder" have the oddest rhythms and the bass guitar(?) sounds like a bullfrog with indigestion. "Backwater" and "Kurt's Rejoinder" seem to talk about death and decapitation in abstract ways, but just kind of jauntily bounce along and don't dwell on it. Then there's the slinky creep of "Energy Fools the Magician". The side ends with "Kings Lead Hat". This song absolutely slaps. Eno pulls out all the stops. This is a four-on-the-floor beat, a catchy chorus, and he does this falsetto thing at the end of the third verse that sounds like he's trying his darnedest to sing his heart out. Why? "Kings Lead Hat" is an anagram for Talking Heads. This is his audition to join the band- which he does, as producer on their next record, "More Songs About Buildings and Food". Then on to Side B. This side is so beautiful and serene. It starts with "Here He Comes", a song that feels like it could have been a #1 hit single on a distant planet. It's ready for that mixtape you're making for that cool person you're trying to impress. The next three tracks flow together smoothly, like the bodies of water described in "Julie With..." and "By This River". Then there's "Spider and I". Just like the title track from Eno's album "Another Green World", this song feels like a peaceful moment. It's perfect, you want it to last forever, but it's over a little too soon. Every time I hear this song I always have to hear it a second time. It's said that Eno was worried about repeating himself after "Another Green World". Instead he was able to pull together many of the sounds he had developed over the past 5 years and make a succinct statement. I know there was much more that went into the making of this record (100 songs edited down to 10; Oblique Strategies- don't get me started!), but here's how I see it. Although "Low" and "Heroes" were released before this record, he had this album concept in his mind 2 years prior. This record seems like a state of the union, you're hearing where he's been, the best version of what he's doing now, and where he's going.