9 Years?!?!

It was somewhere around this time nine years ago that I started blogging about music.
My first review (on a site my son set up for me) was about the Hollies' ROMANY album. My second was on Al Stewart's MODERN TIMES. Within a week I had two-dozen reviews posted. A week later I'd added another dozen. Then I contacted Internet-rock-review legend Mark Prindle (I'd made a few comments at his huge review site), he posted a link from his site to mine, and I kept on rolling.
That first year I posted pieces on everything from made-up music history (What would have happened if the Beach Boys' SMILE album had been released on time?: World peace, and Brian Wilson winning the Nobel Peace Prize), to how CNN became the Michael Jackson Network after MJ died.
After nine months I had 225 reviews posted. I wrote six posts in a day, once. I wrote all of them in shorthand "text English," like most people use on their cellphones and Twitter -- I was striking a blow against illiteracy or something, I thought. Besides, as an extra bonus, writing that way seemed to annoy some people. Every post I did before #666 on King Crimson is still in text -- I was going to put them all in Real English once, but ... you know, life's too short.
Then the old website started having trouble. Posts disappeared for no reason, and I had trouble accessing the site. So I gave up and moved here to Blogger, and everything's been great ever since.
I was surprised for awhile by how much the blog has meant to me. It's been a way to blow off steam about work, whine when I'm lonely, work through issues when I'm angry or depressed, rant about politics and modern life, etc. After 950 posts, it's really been the best diary I've ever had.
The rash of posts this month has also helped me avoid thinking about other things that have been going on. The Girlfriend was in the hospital for a couple days back in November, after she was having increasing trouble breathing. She was diagnosed with COPD and the beginnings of congestive heart failure. She's doing much better now after being on oxygen 24/7 for awhile. Her spirits are good, and she has more energy than I do, most days.
My car got back-ended on the way to work a couple weeks ago. Almost $7,000 in damage. I wasn't hurt -- and I was grateful the woman who hit me wasn't hurt either. She was nine months pregnant and had her four-year-old daughter in her SUV. So it could have been a lot worse. I just want my old car back. And now I REALLY hate to drive here.
But enough. Thanks for reading here. And as a special Christmas gift, I was going to post a list of the 40 worst Beatles songs I could actually remember. But then (after typing the list out) I discovered I'd already posted that list -- back in July of 2016. And that list is better and funnier than what I was going to post this morning. Alzheimer's is an amazing thing....
See ya next year!

My 900th post??!!

Yeezus. If you count the 225 posts I wrote at my old vanished website at the end of 2008 and through most of 2009, this is my 900th post since I started doing this stuff a little over eight years ago.
I'm averaging about two posts a week since I started doing this. That's surprising enough, considering the long gaps and breaks I've taken over the last few years. But I'm still here.
And though I'm more into it now than I have been in awhile -- it's still the gift that keeps on giving -- what I'm mainly thinking about lately is how many bloggers are no longer posting.
Check out that list of "Followers" down at the lower right. Except for one, every single one of those people has "retired" from blogging, moved on with their lives, have stopped talking, or maybe have moved to Facebook full-time. This bugs me, because I like to read about how people feel about things, how music fits into their daily lives -- I like knowing I'm Not The Only One, sometimes.
My buddy Crabby is still crankin' em out, Ghod bless him. He threatens to pack it in occasionally, but he keeps going despite his disgust with current music ... and almost everything else.
2000 Man has been busy with other things and posts every few months or so, which I think is a loss to music-blog fans.
But everybody else has disappeared. Gardenhead was off writing novels, last I heard. Rastro has vanished without a trace. Groove Sandwich went off to be a gigging musician. Layla/Barbara was blogging about things other than Classic Rock for awhile. Vegas Linda Lou has officially retired, though she may still be doing her standup comedy act -- she urged me to publish my first memoir through Amazon/Kindle. Lex Dexter was depressed a couple years back, then went quiet. Drew seems to have a happy family life.
And there are others who've been and gone. I miss them. If I could find someone to replace them, I'd let you know.
The Girlfriend started writing a blog back in December. I think she does good, but if politics and current issues isn't your thing ... well, she hasn't written about music yet. The best music blog I've found lately stopped posting in 2010.
This is all probably normal. Blogging is so 2007. But hey, I'd like to read more good new folks. I just can't find them.
Plus lately I've been a little more ... uh ... politically involved than usual.
Anyway, thanks for your support. I've got more planned -- more Prog reports as I continue slowly to try to get that Strange Music Guide finished. I actually did an hour's worth of work on the book yesterday....
And for tomorrow, I plan to play at least a couple hours of totally new-to-me Strange Music. This Sunday no-coffee reviewing thing is still working for me.
Thanks again to my son for giving me the best Christmas present ever. He got this thing rolling more than nine years ago, and I'm still having fun with it.
More soon....

Invasion from within!

Sounds like a David Cronenberg movie title, don't it?
OK, after the last invasion by the Russians a month ago, things have just gotten weirder here at the Back-Up Plan. This seems a very small thing to complain about, but....
Clearly influenced by that notorious world-grabbing international terrorist conspiracy Procol Harum, a group of misguided underemployed Americans has been bombing this blog every three or four hours, 30 or 40 simultaneous "hits" at a time, for the last four days.
It seems they only stop to sleep. And maybe not even then.
God Only Knows what they're looking for, but it ain't here. Probing for weaknesses, perhaps? Trying to dig out hidden debit-card information? Trying to empty my already pathetically-empty bank account? Trying to catch a look at my gorgeous girlfriend? Dream on.
Are there really Americans who are so bored all they can find to do is bomb lame and harmless music blogs in search of hidden weaknesses that might (dream on) somehow let them get their hands on more cash? If it was me, I'd be out enjoying life. While I'm young.
What they HAVE been doing is bumping up my "pageview" numbers, so now I really DON'T know how many people visit this blog to read every day. Thought I was averaging about 15 to 30 looks at each new blog post. Now I have to take whatever total Blogger gives me, divide by 20, subtract 10, add 15, cross my fingers, spit into the wind, and take a guess.
According to Blogger, I'm now getting more than 200 visits a day here. That's wonderful, but I'm sure it's not because all those new folks who are visiting are all such big Van der Graaf Generator fans. Maybe they just can't wait to read my deathless prose about VdGG's 1971 cult classic PAWN HEARTS? Right....
Blogger has never responded to my paranoid e-mail about the last attempted Russian takeover, so clearly they're not too worried.
Guys, there's nothing here other than me ranting and babbling. With the 200 hits a day and all, I'm flattered. Really.
But I'm not really this good. Or this popular.
Gimme a break.

TAD's Top 11, once and for all

After a bad experience at a "Make your own Top 10 list" website (which shall go nameless here), I've decided to post my All-Time Top 11 Albums here and invite y'all to join in by posting your faves and criticizing mine, because criticizing each other's musical taste is one of the great un-taxed joys of life.
If you survive this list, feel free to submit a list of your favorites in the "Comments" section below. I don't care about format, toss in all the commentary you want. The more, the merrier. Because this is all supposed to be about discussion, community, sharing, communication. You can all join in. Don't be shy. Don't be lurking, now. Here we go.
TAD'S TOP 11 (this week):
1. Beach Boys: PET SOUNDS. Best pop album ever. Even if half the first side drags. The second side's almost pure gold. Timeless magic.
2. Beach Boys: SMILE SESSIONS. Gorgeous, amazing song fragments, sketches, even completed songs! Brian Wilson was a friggin musical genius. He shoulda been composing movie soundtracks. Too bad about some of those deadheads he hung out with....
3. Gryphon: RED QUEEN TO GRYPHON THREE. Best instrumental rock album ever. "Lament" itself will change your life ... if you can sit still long enough to hear all of it.
4. Go-Go's: TALK SHOW. More great pure pop for then people. Their best, punchiest, rockiest album. Much more than cheery good times, some stress and heartbreak too. And amazing tunes that will stay with you forever.
5. Bangles: DIFFERENT LIGHT. Still more pure pop. I admit I'm a sucker for women singing catchy songs. The second side's just about perfect.
6. Moody Blues: THE PRESENT. Their best, most consistent album ever. Mellow, nostalgic, reflective, gorgeous. They should have retired after this.
7. Pretenders: (First album.) Got me through 1980 alive! Great lyrics, amazing guitar, and the Attitude! "Lovers of Today" and "Mystery Achievement" will change your life.
8. Nick Drake: BRYTER LAYTER. Gorgeous folk-rock mood-music. Almost every song works its amazing magic. And it's not dark and it's not depressing.
9. Beatles: ABBEY ROAD. Well, what can I say?
10. Yes: YESSONGS. Best live album ever. So great you can throw almost half of it away and not miss a thing.
11. Providence: EVER SENSE THE DAWN. A kinder, gentler Moody Blues album full of great, unforgettable songs. Put it on and fool your Moodies-fan friends.
RUNNERS-UP:
* Fleetwood Mac -- TUSK. Perfect to do housework by.
* Caravan -- FOR GIRLS WHO GROW PLUMP IN THE NIGHT. Swingin', rockin' big-band arrangements, sweeping melodies, great vocals, hilarious lyrics.
* Happy the Man -- CRAFTY HANDS. Gorgeous progressive rock.
* Group 87 -- (First album.) The second-greatest instrumental rock album ever. Soundtracks for your dreams.
* Gryphon: TREASON. A kinder, gentler Jethro Tull album for the punk-rock era.
* Renaissance -- LIVE AT CARNEGIE HALL. Stuck-up, snobby classical-rock with beautiful tunes.
* Illusion -- OUT OF THE MIST. Modest, quiet classical-rock with beautiful tunes.
* Sky -- SKY2. Two discs of virtuoso progressive rock that could have used a sense of humor. But check out the hilarious liner notes....
* The Who -- WHO'S NEXT. "Lifehouse" could maybe have been better than this, but the charge and punch and melodies and playing are all unbelievably great. If you're not sick to death of hearing it all over and over on Classic Rock radio....
* King Crimson -- THE YOUNG PERSON'S GUIDE TO KING CRIMSON. Two-record set of most of their best from the '60s and '70s. Screeching, rocking, powerful, out-of-control guitar and twisted intellectual lyrics. This stuff will Change Your Life. And some of their very best work ISN'T HERE....
* King Crimson -- THE GREAT DECEIVER (LIVE 1973-74). Second-best live album ever, with some amazing playing. They weren't always inspired, but they were always powerful. And whatta sense of humor....
OK, there's a 22-item "Top 11" list for you to think over. Now it's your turn. I know this will require a little thinking, but no more than a minute or two. After all, why do we do this stuff if it isn't to strain our brains and show off a little?
I'll be looking forward to your lists....
(This means more than just you, Crabby. But you're invited too, of course....)

The next invasion

Well, Thank Putin, the Russians have finally backed off.
But now it's the Arabs.
On Wednesday morning at precisely 6 a.m. Pacific Time, this blog had 90 visits from some unidentified peoples in Saudi Arabia, all at the same time. And they haven't been back.
I'm pretty sure they didn't visit because they're such big ELP fans and were dying to read my just-in stream-of-consciousness views on "Tarkus."
This on top of the hundreds of views from Russia a couple of weeks ago, and I'm starting to think I'm more popular overseas than I am in America. If only they were paying me.
What does it mean? What's it all about? What are they looking for?
And can I somehow make some money from this?
Did Donald Trump cause this? Do they think this is where Hillary Clinton's hidden e-mails are buried?
I don't get it. I sent Blogger an e-mail about this -- about the Russians, actually. So far, I've received no response. Maybe they're not concerned about it. Or maybe they're still investigating.
But as someone who recently had a fraudulent $35,000 loan application started on-line under my real name, I'm a little concerned.
What do they think they're gonna find here?
I'm sure it's not about me or my ravings.
Somehow in my head I see a room full of 90 little Arab teens (all boys, of course) in robes and turbans -- and somehow each of them has dunce caps on their heads -- sitting in front of a bank of computer screens. And at the front of the class, a very tall, skinny, bearded Arab man in robes and a turban is shouting (with a German accent, somehow): "We destroy The Great Satan now! One music blog at a time! Starting with TAD! Then we attack Crabby's!"
This might explain why Rastro's "La Historia de la Musica Rock" Tumblr site suddenly disappeared last week. Or why Groove Sandwich suddenly vanished a couple of years back. He claimed he was going to try to become a Serious Working Musician, but you never know. And if you're into conspiracy theories (which I have been lately), it isn't hard to see the dark, nefarious hand of ... well, who knows?
My girlfriend thinks this long-armed conspiracy also explains why a Best Of Chi Coltrane CD has been unconscionably delayed in arriving from Somewhere In Europe, while Amazon keeps telling us not to worry, that the CD isn't "officially" Overdue until the middle of next month.
This on top of the fiendish U.S. Postal Service shutting off the mail here for No Known Reason, just so some petty bureaucrat can exercise her limited amount of power....
You can see how this stuff piles up.
Of course, Crabby's still cranking out the posts -- a long one on the Beach Boys' classic PET SOUNDS earlier this week. I think Crabby'll still be doing this stuff after the rest of us are long gone. SOMEBODY has to. And Crabby's had to deal with the Russians before. Several times. And he doesn't know what it all means, either.
I think it is well past time for someone -- a weak link in the Arab or Russian cabals -- to Confess All. But I ain't holdin' my breath.
I think Donald Trump is somehow to blame for all this. I'll figure out HOW later. And if it's not him, it's GOT to be Hillary. Right?

Live blogging without a clue!

Here's what I played from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. --
* Nick Drake -- River Man. I always start slow. I love Nick Drake, but this is very laid back and mournful, even more low-key than Nick usually is, and Harry Robinson's strings-and-horns arrangement is a little more intrusive than Drake's usual arranger Robert Kirby. On first listening, not Nick's best. But pleasant enough. From FIVE LEAVES LEFT.
* Happy the Man -- Starborne, Stumpy Meets the Firecracker in Stencil Forest. From their first album. "Starborne" is a nice spacey keyboard-and-sax instrumental with some bubbly synth later. "Stumpy" is heavier and more complex, and has more great, soaring Stan Whittaker guitar and the mechanical sound of their second album, CRAFTY HANDS. They sound like a wind-up-toy band.
* Happy the Man -- Knee Bitten Nymphs in Limbo. With a title like that, who needs a song? Also from their first album. Bouncy, jumpy, hyperactive, this could be the theme song for some current TV cartoon show. Not that there's anything wrong with that. Did you know producer Ken Scott recorded these guys playing at half-speed so they could actually PLAY their complex compositions? Forceful, driving, with plenty of great guitar from Stan Whittaker. The sound they got was worth the price.
* Alan Parsons Project -- A Dream Within a Dream, The Raven. "Dream" is a nice keyboard-driven instrumental with a catchy piano section in the middle. "Raven" is a vocoder-led almost-rocker, spooky and atmospheric. Not as heavy as they would have tried later, but punchy enough. Both from TALES OF MYSTERY AND IMAGINATION/EDGAR ALLEN POE.
* Alan Parsons Project -- What Goes Up. I'm sure I heard this when their album PYRAMID came out in '78 or whenever. It sounds better now. Nice vocals and good guitar. Wow, horns? Pretty smooth, overall.
* Jethro Tull -- Jack-a-Lynn, Pussy Willow. From the Tull best-of with the swirly song titles on the back that I can't read. "Jack-a-Lynn" is a mushy acoustic love ditty. Delicate and sweet enough. Goes on kind of long, though. Is Ian serious? ...Oh, never mind. The heavy beat just kicked in.... OK, but is that all? Decent, but. "Pussy Willow" is gutsier from the start. Like this better already.
* Jethro Tull -- Broadsword, Under Wraps II. "Broadsword" is moody and atmospheric, with horn-like synths and some nice Martin Barre guitar in the middle. Almost sounds like Tull's answer to Zep's "Immigrant Song." About the only thing "Under Wraps" has to boost it is the way Ian Anderson sings it. It's not much.
* Jethro Tull -- Minstrel in the Gallery. Man, sometimes don't you wish Ian would just GET TO THE POINT? There's WAY better stuff than this on Side 2 of MINSTREL IN THE GALLERY. But there's some nice Martin Barre guitar in the middle....
* King Crimson -- Doctor Diamond. From THE GREAT DECEIVER/LIVE 1973-74. OK, I'm cheating on this one, but it's been a few years since I've heard it. Sorta a subway horror story. Nice slurred John Wetton vocal, eerie, jagged Bob Fripp guitar in the middle, and do I have to mention how awesome a drummer Bill Bruford is? Best new track on the whole box-set. Why was a version of this never on any Crimson studio album? Couldn't they have fit it onto STARLESS AND BIBLE BLACK? Maybe in the first half of Side 2...?
* King Crimson -- The Law of Maximum Distress Parts 1 and 2. More from the GREAT DECEIVER box. This is the improv where the tape runs out just as the band gets really cookin'. Thus proving Fripp's maxim that things fall apart at the worst/best possible time.... Wow, pretty noisy, even for KC.
* Pink Floyd -- Sorrow. Lots of very heavy guitar at first, then a heavy beat and Dave Gilmour's tired voice. Oh wait, finally got to the chorus.... OK, kind of a dirge, but the guitar is good....
* Pink Floyd -- See Emily Play. Nice loopy keyboards, great vocals, catchy choruses. Psychedelic! Very nice. I predict a big future for these kids.
* Rush -- 2112 Overture, The Temples of Syrinx. Man, they sound so YOUNG. Overly-heavy, self-consciously melodramatic drumming and guitar in the Overture. Lots of sound and fury signifying nothing. And the "singing"!? No future for you....
* Rush -- The Trees. Sorry, this is just silly. Yeah, man, I know it's a metaphor. Nice keyboards. A little good guitar later on. If you get there.
* Rush -- La Villa Strangiato. OK, this is a little more like it. An instrumental. Let the music do the talkin'. Not too flashy, good guitar runs, moves nice. No silly lyrics to get in the way. These guys could have a future after all.
* Beatles -- Good Morning Good Morning. Wow, sounds like Pink Floyd.... Better than I expected. Lotsa fun if you like John in his Silly mood.
* Beatles -- Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite! Well, this is Different. Great production. Tune's nothing much.
* Beatles -- Fixing a Hole. Nice, pleasant, airy ditty about Paul's mind wandering....
* Who -- Melancholia. This is nice, but I think Pete Townshend's demo of it on SCOOP is better. At least Pete sings it better, more convincingly....
* Pink Floyd -- Pigs on the Wing Parts 1 and 2. This is the nice acoustic-ditty frame for ANIMALS. Very compassionate, not angry. No time in today's format to play "Sheep," which is worth it all just for Dave Gilmour's raging guitar riff at the end.
* Elvis Costello -- Radio Radio. Whiny skinny snot-nosed punk sounding like an English Joey Ramone complaining about how he gets no radio airplay in this country. If I had a voice like THAT I wouldn't expect to get on the radio either. Plus the organ and production are so 1956 that no one's gonna listen 'til the end anyway.
* Led Zeppelin -- Going to California. What IS this hippy shit? Sounds like Neil Young before he went electric. Next!
* Don McLean -- Everyday. Has-been geezer tries to bring back a dated vocal approach from the '50s. Who does he think he is, Buddy Holly? No more yodeling! Next!
* Lynyrd Skynyrd -- Workin' for MCA. Spelling-challenged wild-eyed Southern boys. Great guitars. Hilarious lyrics. Good stuff. Why have I never heard this before?
* Procol Harum -- Whaling Stories. Some good guitar (by Robin Trower?) and good organ, but some of the lyrics are pretty silly. And such melodrama....
* Spirit -- Mechanical World. This was a single? Hopeless dirge. Goes nowhere, slowly. A real downer. Jazzy in spots, but I gave up after 3 minutes.
* Spirit -- Uncle Jack. Better. More upbeat, a little bit of energy. Sounds like 1967.
* Spirit -- Dark-Eyed Woman. Well, they were certainly in touch with their sensual side. Starts promisingly, with a bluesy feel and some driving guitars, but the long instrumental midsection drags.
* Spirit -- Silky Sam. Where they turn into the Firesign Theater. Pretty self-indulgent. Enough.
* Beatles -- Flying, Blue Jay Way, Your Mother Should Know. "Flying" is a brief, gentle surf-tinged instrumental with silly group vocals. The last thing you'd expect from these guys. "Blue Jay Way" is a seemingly endless, foggy George Harrison dirge. George, please don't be long. "Your Mother Should Know" could have been charming, but Paul tries to get too far with just one verse and a chorus. Let's face it, it's finally all clear to me now -- the Beatles were a tremendous hype.
* Led Zeppelin -- The Ocean. Speaking of hypes.... Why did Robert Plant so often sing in that silly squinched-up voice? That has nothing to do with the blues. This isn't bad at all, but the vocals certainly don't help it.
* Led Zeppelin -- The Song Remains the Same. Wow, sounds like Rush!
* Florence + the Machine -- Lover to Lover, Heartlines, All This and Heaven Too. There isn't much on Florence's album CEREMONIALS (2011) that isn't a thundering, booming, high-impact anthem. But it's been a few years since I've heard more than the first three songs on it. So, just to re-confirm -- these are all pretty exhausting. Maybe you could listen to the CD in small doses.
* Poco -- You Better Think Twice, Pickin' Up the Pieces. Light country-rock pickin' and grinnin' from the band without whom the Eagles wouldn't exist. Like a breath of fresh air.
* The Church -- Myrrh, A Month of Sundays. Propulsive guitars, murmuring vocals. Nice stuff. I'm still trying to figure out the name of a guitar-heavy instrumental of theirs that got played on the radio once in Cheyenne, Wyoming back around 1988.... I KNOW it wasn't on their STARFISH album.
* Fairport Convention -- The Hexamshire Lass. Short, fun, bouncy traditional tune with good lively vocal by Dave Swarbrick.
* Rush -- Mission. Pretty smooth. Don't know why you don't hear more of their '80s stuff on the radio. Don't know how anybody could think their earlier work is better. Their later songs are stronger, more smoothly constructed, more memorable. Stuff doesn't stick out so much -- they seem to have a better idea of what they're trying to do. And they never embarrass themselves. Or did they just calm down and get dull? Different views on this, but I prefer the songs from MOVING PICTURES and after to their earlier albums. Might depend on when I first heard them, I guess....
* Genesis -- Unquiet Slumbers for the Sleepers ... In That Quiet Earth. Some nice ghostly Steve Hackett guitar at the start; the rest of the band joins in later. OK 7-minute instrumental, pleasant enough, not stunning.

Live blogging without a net!

Here's what I played from noon to 8 p.m. --
* Rickie Lee Jones -- We Belong Together, Living it Up. When I'm playing stuff for myself I always start out slow. I'm a softie from way back. RLJ does some real heartbreaking stuff, and I don't even know what some of it means, or why it hits me so hard. "We Belong Together" is gorgeous and heartbreaking, clearly about holding a relationship together against all odds. Amazingly, it was released as a single and got no airplay at all. "Living it Up" is MUCH happier, and I haven't heard it in years. Sounds pretty great. But does anyone know what "On Saturday Afternoons in 1963" is about? I don't know, but it's SO SAD.
* Bee Gees -- Spirits Having Flown. Best thing they ever did, shoulda been a huge hit. And I can't stop myself from singing along with the choruses.
* Neil Diamond -- Walk On Water. My girlfriend would love this. Soon after we met, she walked into the store where I work while I was playing Neil's silly "Crunchy Granola Suite," and she said "I've SEEN Neil Diamond. I wasn't impressed." And thus a wild love affair began. But I've always loved Neil's quirkier stuff. However, this is off of a budget-priced 3-disc ND best-of, and they ALWAYS cut off the gorgeous 2-minute piano instrumental "Theme" that closed the original single back in '72! Why? BASTARDS! Onward.
* Left Banke -- She May Call You Up Tonight, Pretty Ballerina, Desiree. My Ghod, this stuff is gorgeous! The great group vocals! The piano! And the sound jumps right out of the CD player! "Desiree" is a bit cluttered, there's a LOT going on there, but if you're a fan of "baroque rock," WOW! I don't understand why two of these weren't big hits. "Desiree" peaked around Number 99.
* Fifth Dimension -- Carpet Man. Hey, I know they're WAY out of style, but wow. This freakin' sounds amazing, and Ghod knows I can relate....
* Lighthouse -- Sunny Days, One Fine Morning. Ghod, this is SO 1972. But it sounds great. I prefer "OFM" in the original edited single version -- the long version shows all the stuff they wisely cut out. But still pretty cool.
* Moody Blues -- You and Me. My favorite MB song ever. And why wasn't THIS a huge hit?
* Can -- Mother Upduff, Uphill. First a gentle little travelogue. Hilarious monologue, squalling noise, and it never lets up. "Uphill" is relentless, grinding noise. And how 'bout Jaki Leibezeit's drumming? Love it. How can you NOT move to those rhythms?
* Gong -- Master Builder, Eat That Phone Book Coda. "Master Builder" opens with spacey synthesizer and airy wordless vocals. Nice tribal drums. And Didier Mahlerbe's sax is freakin' phenomenal. Wow, and Steve Hillage burns up that guitar, too. I thought I'd heard this before, but maybe I was wrong, or wasn't paying attention. Clearly from some other planet. "Phone Book" is the slightly earlier, sillier Gong that I've always gotten annoyed with. I still do.
* Mike Oldfield -- Incantations Part 4 excerpt, Ommadawn excerpt, Tubular Bells opening theme. Wow, a best of Mike Oldfield. Who woulda thunk? It's called ELEMENTS. His INCANTATIONS album has a hypnotic, driving first side that I think is the best thing Mike ever did, but this isn't it. This is pretty, though. And pretty mellow. They picked the wrong part of OMMADAWN to feature here; it's pretty, but the section it LEADS INTO is what they shoulda picked. A REAL anti-climax. Folks who've heard that album KNOW what I mean. "Tubular Bells" sounds just like itself, only clearer than in the olde vinyl days. And THEN they FADE IT OUT before the dramatic closing section from the old hit single! Well, Mike never liked the single anyway.... Frustrating. Oh, and his sweet cover of Abba's "Arrival" ain't on here, either. What do friggin' record companies know?
* Aerosmith -- Big Ten Inch Record. OK, let's clear the air. This is hilarious. It's played great, too. How could I ever have thought it was CRUDE? I was a whole different person way back then. This one's for you, Jeff Mann, wherever you are....
* Aerosmith -- Seasons of Wither. This is the first Aerosmith song that ever really grabbed me. I still love the dark moodiness of it. I thought the band was kind of a hype way back then. Of course, now I think they're great. It just took me 20 years to get there. Jeff, you were right all along.
* Gordon Lightfoot -- Seven Islands Suite, High and Dry. This guy was amazing when at his best. "Seven Islands" is spacey yet laid back, great lyrics, nice atmospheric synth from Nick DeCaro. And how'd Gordy sneak in that line about being "shit out of luck"? Pretty ballsy for 1974. I love all of it, the way it flows together -- guess it was the B-side of "Sundown." Too bad. "High and Dry" is a nice frustrated love ditty.
* Nektar -- Fidgety Queen, Oops (Unidentified Flying Abstract). "Fidgety Queen" is a screaming rocker that should have been a huge hit. Great choruses, great horns, brilliant! "Oops" is a live jam with vocals. Kinda shapeless, but it rocks. Nice keyboards. And I like the way guitarist Roye Albrighton yelps. And he burns up that guitar, too.
* Pink Floyd -- High Hopes. Is this not The Son Of DARK SIDE OF THE MOON? Why do all the late/Dave Gilmour-era Pink Floyd albums get bad-rapped by fans? This is gorgeous and moody, and the choruses are freakin' great!
* Pink Floyd -- Bike. Maybe THIS is why. This is bouncy and silly and disjointed and disturbing and very alive. And it sounds like nothing else. Love those duck calls at the end. Whatta guy, that Syd Barrett....
* Pink Floyd -- Keep Talking. More excellent Gilmour-era stuff, with Stephen Hawking on lead vocals! Is later Floyd considered disappointing just because Dave sounds so TIRED? Listen to the lyrics.
* Pink Floyd -- The Great Gig in the Sky. A PAUSE now for five minutes of friggin' Godlike genius....
* Spirit -- Taurus, Fresh Garbage, 1984. OK, so "Taurus" is a brief guitar-and-orchestra instrumental, pleasant but not earthshaking. Not a miniature "Stairway to Heaven." Defense rests. "Fresh Garbage" is a lot of fun, with nice spacey keyboards from John Locke. "1984" is heavy, riffing, spooky fun, banned as a single in America back in 1969. Now it's all come true.
* Gong -- Tropical Fish: Selene, Flute Salad, Oily Way, Outer Temple, Inner Temple. More crazy stuff from Gong. I'd like to like this. The musicianship is amazing, especially Didier Mahlerbe on sax and flute. "Oily Way" is actually almost good, nice tune on the choruses. My problem's the singing and the lyrics -- it's so druggy-silly. I'm too sober for it. And I like to think I'm open-minded....
* Yes -- Every Little Thing. This is awesome. They're so young, they have such ENERGY, they're all OVER the place. And how 'bout that Peter Banks on guitar? And that sly little riff they throw in from "Day Tripper" at the end of the introduction?
* Yes -- No Opportunity Necessary No Experience Needed. If you survive the wild orchestral opening, you might have a pretty good time. Interesting that one of the least-funky rock bands of all time had the nerve to cover a song written by Richie Havens (of course they covered The Beatles on "Every Little Thing"). The orchestra's pretty awful -- that middle-break is straight out of some schlocky '50s Hollywood western. But there's some kind of soul here -- singer Jon Anderson sounds great through most of this, especially on the "Tell your mama" choruses. Whatta trip.
* Quiet Sun -- Mummy Was An Asteroid Daddy Was a Small Non-Stick Kitchen Utensil. Twisted, fiendish noise. Is Phil Manzanera really on here? And Eno?!
* Hatfield and the North -- Let's Eat (Real Soon). Nice vocals from Richard Sinclair, nice organ from Dave Stewart. Mildly funny. Nice. Pleasant. Not stunning.
* Faust -- It's a Rainy Day Sunshine Girl. This is kinda nice -- very minimalist, constantly-marching drums, little bit of keyboard, some harmonica toward the end, repeated chanting of the title. And some nice gruff sax at the very end. They were from Germany, right? I wouldn't be surprised if they were really Canadian. Very well-behaved.
* Alan Parsons Project -- The System of Doctor Tarr and Professor Fether, You Don't Believe, Days are Numbers (The Traveller), Old and Wise. "Tarr and Fether"'s always been one of my faves, almost a rocker about good times and gettin' what you need. A perfect surface as always, marvelous production, great vocals. Shoulda been a bigger hit. "Believe" is supposedly about the clashes in the Parsons-Woolfson songwriting partnership, and it includes some bitter lines Eric Woolfson must have been happy to get on the record. Dated disco-ish beat, but good stuff. "Days" is pure ear candy -- I think the sound of it was more important than the lyrics. "Old and Wise" is beautifully sung by former Zombie Colin Blunstone, but it's never moved me that much.
* Fairport Convention -- Stranger to Himself. This brief, stark funeral march is Sandy Denny's last great performance with Fairport.
* Fairport Convention -- Mr. Lacey, Book Song, Chelsea Morning, Crazy Man Michael. "Mr. Lacey" is a sly blues, very funny. "Book Song" could be any '60s American West Coast folk group -- very soft and foggy. "Chelsea Morning" could almost be Joni Mitchell's original -- but it's rocked up just enough, and original Fairport singer Judy Dyble punches the lyrics just hard enough to make it stick, better than Joni did. "Crazy Man Michael" is the kind of tragic tale Fairport were so good at, beautifully sung by Sandy Denny.
* Magma -- Ghost Dance. My Ghod! Gremlins have taken over the CD player! It's a Gremlin opera! This shit will rot your brain.
* Argent -- Lothlorien. I haven't heard much by these guys, other than "Hold Your Head Up" and the stuff on their best-of. They were a long-lived second-string Prog Big Deal back in the early '70s. But Rod Argent's keyboards are really lively here, there's a nice light-symphonic sound. Best, most melodic new song I've heard all afternoon.
* Savage Rose -- Dear Little Mother. The piano's OK, but I can't take Annisette's baby-voice. Next!
* Amon Duul II -- Mozambique. No, not the Bob Dylan song. This matches up pretty well with Savage Rose. Why do Europeans think rock somehow descended from opera? Next!
* Comus -- Diana. I've played this before, and thought it was Something Different, and not without charm. But I can't take it in this context. Too much weirdness. Time to clear the air again. Wait -- some nice screechy violin. No, too many elves and gremlins singing here. Onward!
* John Denver -- Rocky Mountain High. Yes, John, exorcise those demons! Flash those whiter-than-white teeth! You can do it! Far out! I feel so much better now....
* Beatles -- I'm Down. Worth it all for that great line about Paul keeping his hands to himself.... And who plays the loopy organ?
* Fleetwood Mac -- Why? Oh Ghod, why wasn't THIS a hit? It's freaking GORGEOUS!
* Bangles -- Manic Monday. Here we go, something kinda mainstream to help me reel things back in. Gorgeous vocal harmonies, great keyboard hooks, terrific song construction, an '80s classic. They deserve a spot in the R&R Hall of Fame. ... Whaddaya mean Prince wrote it?
* Lucinda Williams -- Six Blocks Away, Something About What Happens When We Talk, Which Will. Williams wrote my favorite Mary-Chapin Carpenter song ever, "Passionate Kisses." Williams is a little country, a little rock. "Six Blocks Away" is a charming countryish album-opener. (The album is SWEET OLD WORLD, 1992.) "When We Talk" slows it down, but it's still sweet. "Which Will" is a slow, gentle live cover of a Nick Drake song. Williams has a sweet country voice. I thought she rocked more. And if she did, her songs might hit me harder.
* John Fahey -- The Assassination of Stephan Grossman. Wow, this is the shortest thing on Fahey's BEST OF VOLUME 2. I don't have time tonight to listen to a 13-minute Fahey "Sampler," no matter how good it is. This is nice finger-pickin' stuff. I've been told he's great, hypnotic, good trance music. I'll have to investigate more.
* The Move -- Tonight. Charming not-too-heavy Roy Wood song from the early '70s. I'm sorta reminded of The Kinks. Why wasn't ELO ever this good? And whatever happened to Roy?
* Sandy Denny -- The Quiet Joys of Brotherhood. Amazing, stark, almost a-capella performance of a Richard Farina song. This and "Listen, Listen" are Sandy's best solo works, I think.
* Talking Heads -- Road to Nowhere.

#748: Submit!

I just sent a really silly horror-comedy short story to website Tor.com, who pay 25 cents per word if they publish your short story. This is the first piece of fiction I've submitted to a professional publication since about 2001. I'm a little shaky.
The story's called "The Coffee Maid," and it's a silly, awful piece about a haunted coffeemaker, and there's not a chance in hell that Tor will publish it. But it makes me laugh, so what the hell.
Tor says they'll get back to me in 3 to 4 months. Hey, if they'll pay me 25 cents a word, I can wait. The story's just over 5,500 words long. How much is that in real money?
I'll keep you posted, but I'm not holding my breath. I don't think the story's quite funny enough or scary enough. Definitely weird enough, though -- and I've read lots of horror short stories that had LESS reason to live. So.... Here we go again.

Hey, my blogging buddy R.S. Crabb over at Crabby's Record World has decided to hang this blogging stuff up, at least for now. I'm bummed by this -- Crabby has been one of the greats to follow since I started doing this stuff 5-1/2 years ago, plus he's made more comments here than ANYBODY ... in addition to turning me on awhile back to some of the strangest music I've ever heard (Cromagnon's CAVE ROCK, etc). So swing by Crabby's place, check out his latest stuff and beg him not to quit, like I already have. And then eat your heart out 'cause you didn't give him enough feedback before.
2000 Man, looks like it's just you and me, now....

Must be something in the air. All the late-night talk-show hosts are giving up, and last night my hero Craig Ferguson announced he's hanging up THE LATE LATE SHOW at Christmas. He's the only one of 'em I'll miss! The man is NUTS! That's why he's worth watching -- you never know what the hell you're gonna see. Perfect for night owls like me. So if you haven't checked out the crazy Scotsman yet, you've only got eight months left to get with the program, you cheeky monkeys! And see that you do!
Craig says he's hanging it up before he gets stale. Maybe Crabby feels the same way.
Course I'm more from the school of Do what you can until you can't do it no more.
I'm not goin' anywhere....

#727: Book 2 update

Counting the notes I've bashed into the laptop so I don't I forget stuff, I'm 37,500 words/about 120 pages into Book 2, the newspaper-reporting memoir I'm calling THE CONFESSOR. The writing hasn't been hard. I've been feeling guilty that I haven't been able to work on the book every day -- there's all these jobs and relationships that get in the way, don't ya know.
Have made it all the way through recounting my 10-year Air Force public-affairs career and am now about to tackle life on newspapers out here in the Real World, where the fun really begins.
I'm estimating this book will be longer than my record-store memoir, GUARANTEED GREAT MUSIC! I'm not so worried about getting EVERYTHING down this time, though I am of course doing my best. There are enough outrageous high points that I trust a minute-by-minute recap of my 20 years as a reporter won't be necessary....
A few blog posts from here will be recycled and thrown into this book as well -- so far, bits and pieces from "Facing Dr. Pagan," "The Smallest Air Force Base in the World," "The Boogie Monster and Other Adventures," "Three years in Tay-jazz!," "Two years in Turkey," "The Apneac," and some other bits have been used -- usually at a shorter length than the version that appeared here.
Full Disclosure rules force me to warn You Out There that "The poster-child for stressing-out," "The worst Prom date EVER," and "My worst moment" will also be recycled and tossed in. Can't help it if I've written about a lot of this stuff before, and I doubt if I can improve much on the versions that have appeared here. Though I'll try, of course. And I still think it will be worth your time when it's all done....

Speaking of GUARANTEED GREAT MUSIC!, the sales figures haven't improved since the last time I posted here, though there are some holiday sales specials coming up, and I'm trying to get a sample section of the book posted at Amazon.com's Kindle Store so you can read the opening 10 pages or so -- stuff you've never read anywhere else before. Hopefully that will entice some of you into giving the book a shot. Hope so, anyway. I think it's pretty good, and if you've enjoyed my nostalgia pieces here you'll probably like it....
A stunning 4 people have bought the book so far, and I have NO IDEA who the fourth person is, so that's something.... Anybody out there who's read the book and doesn't mind the work -- feel free to post what you thought of GGM on the book's page at Amazon's Kindle Store. Might help me sell a few books. And I'll remember you in my will....

I've been neglecting the Guaranteed Great Music! blog, and I regret that. I haven't always been close to the Internet lately and it was a LONG holiday week at work. But I will do my best to get back to it soonly, with a review of Split Enz's goofy 1981 album WAIATA....
Also will have a new post up soon at THE GAS NAZI! -- it will be called "Trust me...?," referring to a lecture I got from a customer a couple of weeks ago. Should be fun. And just in time for the holidays....

Meanwhile, Good Ghod it's COLD here -- 30s during the day, and down in the teens and 20's at night -- pretty freaking cold for western Washington. So I'm keeping warm by typing my fingers off and dreaming of having enough income from writing to retire with. Dream on....

Have been making notes for the 4th Annual TAD Awards, my annual round-up of the best and worst stuff I read or heard over the past year. It might be a little thin, due to my recent extracurricular activities, but there'll be some shockers in there anyway. That'll be coming before the end of the month....
By the way, I started blogging five years ago this week....

Have been listening to some new music while at work, though not much. Lots of Van Morrison, from his STILL ON TOP best-of. Have really started enjoying Van's "Wavelength," "Saint Dominic's Preview," "In the Garden," "Real Real Gone," "Gloria," and "Stranded" -- along with the other great stuff that's on there, like "Jackie Wilson Said," "Wild Night," "Into the Mystic," "Domino," "Cleaning Windows," "Wonderful Remark," etc.
Even the songs that aren't really that great as songs have wonderful little moments in the singing and playing that are worth waiting for -- like the playing and vocals on "In the Garden," or the synthesizer and backing vocals on "Wavelength." It's also sort of interesting how out-of-it Van sounds on "Real Real Gone," which is a very basic, simple song....
My only real complaint about this LONG (3-CD) collection is that "Sweet Thing" isn't on here -- it's the only song from Van's acclaimed ASTRAL WEEKS that I've ever been able to get into. On it he sounds positively ecstatic, absolutely transported by love. That's a vision anybody could spend a career chasing.
Also had a great time hearing syndicated music-news-and-reviews radio show SOUND OPINIONS' choices for the best rock songs about the music business -- the show aired last Sunday night. Almost everything they played was pretty great. Hadn't heard Patti Smith's version of "So You Want to be a Rock and Roll Star" in years. And I have GOT to track me down some Graham Parker -- his grudge tune "Mercury Poisoning" is GREAT!
Course my favorite rock song about the music biz is Badfinger's masterful, dramatic "In the Meantime/Some Other Time" off of their WISH YOU WERE HERE album. Go track it down, it's well worth it....

By the way, that post I did for Halloween about dressing up in women's clothing and hanging around in bars has attracted more views (73) then anything else I've done in quite awhile. Glad you liked it. Might have to toss that into the new book too, if I've got any room left....
More soon....

#726: Book 2

I'm 18,000 words/somewhere around 40 pages into a new book, another memoir -- this time about the 20 years I wasted in the newspaper-reporting business -- to be called THE CONFESSOR. Don't know if anybody will care, my last book ain't exactly makin' me RICH, but what the hell -- I've got to get this stuff down while I can still remember it.
The problem this time will not be GETTING to 60,000 words/200 pages -- the problem will be keeping the book from getting too long for anyone to bother reading. I've got a lot of great/outrageous stories to cram in there -- only a couple of which you've seen here.
Just as in my last book, there will be a ton of embarrassing personal details to show what a putz I was back in the day -- and still am. You all know I have no shame.
I'll keep you posted on how this goes. So far I'm up through about 1988, most of the way through my second Air Force assignment and first REAL AF base-newspaper experience. Should be a scream when I'm finally finished.
So far the writing hasn't been tough -- couple days in a row I've cranked-out around 6,000 words. Again, the problem's going to be eventually deciding which details to DROP OUT so readers will be able to actually get through the book while they're still young.
This book-writing stuff's become as compulsive for me as blogging, and way easier than I expected -- and it's too late to turn back now....
Meanwhile, my record-store memoir GUARANTEED GREAT MUSIC! has sold a massive four copies, and the playlist that goes with it, RECORD STORE DAZE, was snapped up by 50 folks when it was available free a couple weeks back.
Both are still available at Amazon.com's Kindle Store for $2.99. In the spirit of the season, those of you Out There who are as broke as I am will want to know that more sale deals are Coming Soon. I'll keep you posted....

Also recently had pop into my head another song that should have been in the playlist and isn't, 999's "Inside Out," which I haven't heard in almost 35 years. As I remember, the choruses were pretty great -- driving New Wave/Punk Rock -- but I can't remember anything about the verses. The album it's from, THE BIGGEST PRIZE IN SPORT, IS included in the playlist, so I didn't completely blow this one....

A new post about Split Enz's great overlooked 1981 album WAIATA will be posted soon at Guaranteed Great Music!, along with reviews of some "one-sided wonders" like Spider, The Records, Tarney/Spencer Band, New England, Holly and the Italians, and etc., and that will all be coming along soon.
But right now I've got to take a break and warm up. It's 35 degrees and foggy outside, the house has no central heat, and my fingers are about to turn blue and break off. More eventually....

#724: A few new additions....

Hey there. Been doing most of my on-line writing lately over at Guaranteed Great Music!, where there are 4 posts up so far with more coming soon.
Posts so far include a little bit about my book, some of the stuff I forgot to get into the book, a dozen items I somehow left out of the playlist/discography that goes with the book, and one album review (of The Shoes' great PRESENT TENSE). Coming soon will be reviews of albums by Split Enz, Spider, The Records, The Headboys, Tarney/Spencer Band, New England, Grace Slick, Group 87, Sky, and many more overlooked albums from back in the day.
As of 17 November, 39 folks have picked up free copies of RECORD STORE DAZE, my 20-page detailed record-store-era playlist, and that's flattering. But only three folks have bought copies of my 190-page record-store memoir GUARANTEED GREAT MUSIC!, which I think is the more important part. If you think the playlist is intriguing, please check out the real book, available now at Amazon.com's Kindle Store for a measly $2.99 -- where you'll get the stories BEHIND the playlist....

I'm already started on my next book, which I hope will be a longer memoir about the 20 years I wasted in the newspaper-reporting business. I'm already 4,000 words into it, and I'm aiming to call it THE CONFESSOR. I'll keep you posted....

Meanwhile, on my last "weekend," I hit my favorite local second-hand store, Jen's Attic in Bremerton, and scooped up a few things. On vinyl I grabbed Cream's HEAVY CREAM best-of (so I can hear "Deserted Cities of the Heart" and "Those Were the Days" again -- and "Badge," of course), Dave Edmunds' TWANGIN', Teena Marie's STARCHILD (is this her album with all the heavy guitars on it? Hope so), and Van Morrison's SAINT DOMINIC'S PREVIEW.
Looked at Lou Reed's NEW YORK so I could get some idea what all the fuss about him was, but it was warped BAD. So he'll have to wait 'til later.
Haven't had a chance to test-out any of these yet.
On CD I was able to score some stuff I've wanted to get in the house for years, like the Eagles' "Outlaw Man" and Paula Abdul's "Blowing Kisses in the Wind." Hadn't heard "Outlaw Man" since about 1974, and it still sounds great, not a letdown at all. And I don't even like the Eagles much....
Also grabbed Split Enz's HISTORY NEVER REPEATS best-of, for the title song and "Hard Act to Follow," "Six Months in a Leaky Boat," "Message to My Girl," "I Hope I Never," and the cosmically silly classic "Poor Boy."
Also bagged Don Henley's ACTUAL MILES best-of, mainly for "The Heart of the Matter," which strikes me as the most human thing he's ever done. Though it's a little long, I love The Message. Always was a sucker for his "Boys of Summer." And when I'm in a really grumpy mood I almost like "Dirty Laundry," the theme song for reporters and former-reporters all over the world. Other than those, I never liked Henley that much....
Also: Bruce Springsteen's best-of, for "Brilliant Disguise" and "Born to Run" of course, and "Born in the USA" and "Dancing in the Dark." Just one question: Why isn't the marvelous "Rosalita" on here?
Oh, also grabbed ... SOME old Garth Brooks CD, just so I can hear the great "Ireland" again.
I've been inflicting all of these on customers at work ever since. Junior Walker and Booker T and the Temptations and Stevie Wonder and old Motown hits are still working too, and getting good responses from customers. Plus they keep me moving on nights when I'm draggin', which is most nights....

Hey, my thanks to Crabby, who put up a link to my e-book at his blog, RS Crabb's Music Review and Top Ten Site. Crabby has been one of my most-regularist readers and commenters since back in the day, and you should be reading him if you aren't already. Thanx, Crabbster!

Have a new post for THE GAS NAZI! about half-written in my head, so that should be coming along in the next day or so....
...So, if I'm not around here I'll be busy posting overlooked 1979-1981 music greats over at Guaranteed Great Music!, or working on my next book. I've discovered that this book-izing stuff is as obsessive as blogging -- even if it's not as fast or as immediately gratifying. Too bad I wasted so many years before I figured this out....
I'm not done here. I'll be around. So until next time, be good to yourself and grab a copy of GUARANTEED GREAT MUSIC!, would 'ya? Help a feeble old man gather some funds for his fast-approaching Retirement....

#721: Book update 2

Hey there. The Book is "cooling off" while I look at publishing options. I spent a few hours last week burning my eyes out, looking through Amazon/Kindle's publishing-contract/guidelines/content-requirements. It's COMPLICATED.
Amazon's book-publishing arm seems mainly geared toward Making Money through editing/consulting/cover-art, but the Kindle end seems pretty reasonable, and FAST -- though I'm still not sure how much to charge to let y'all Out There read this "masterpiece." Will be consulting with my Official Unpaid Publishing Consultant on all this and will keep you posted.
Will note that reading Kindle's content-guidelines made me re-think and tone-down a couple scenes in The Book -- I dropped a total of maybe five sentences that made me uneasy in terms of privacy issues, etc. Nobody needs that much detail.
Even after all this "work," assuming Kindle even looks at The Book, they could still reject it for any number of reasons. Been over a decade since I've had to worry about anything like that....
I'll keep y'all posted. Worst possible outcome is I'll serialize The Book here and see what you all think. Wow -- 60+ blog posts already written and ready to go! In Real English! Ghod help us all....

Meanwhile, I'm feeling pretty useless because I'm not Writing Seriously and I'm not blogging here and I've heard No New Music in over a month. Some correspondent....
Ah well. At least the sun is out today for the first time in two weeks....

I don't have much to say about Lou Reed, who died Sunday at age 71. This is probably just my ignorance -- I'm sure in a few months or years I'll be kicking myself because I didn't realize what a genius he was. I can see that he was massively influential, but I just haven't heard enough of his work, and he was the other direction away from most of what I listened to for a lot of years.
I liked "I Love You Suzanne," and my favorite Velvet Underground song is "All Tomorrow's Parties," and I liked "Sweet Jane" -- but the Cowboy Junkies' version, not Lou's. Heard a bit of his TAKE NO PRISONERS live album and thought it was OK, for a stand-up comedy routine. Haven't even "heard" METAL MACHINE MUSIC.
I'm sure there'll be lots of overviews of Lou's work out there in the blogiverse. I think Lou was just one of those guys I Didn't Get....

#633: What it is

Getting a little frustrated here. Mainly because I'm pretty bored with just about everything, both musically & bookishly. It's been awhile since anything has really JOLTED me -- possibly since my buddy Crabby sent me a copy of Cromagnon's disturbing CAVE ROCK.
I'd welcome a break from the same-old same-old, from those widely-accepted classic hits we all grew up on. I'd love a POSITIVE jolt of new music. But, if you're gonna make recommendations, PLEASE, nothing as jolting as CAVE ROCK, OK...?
I have a stack of barely-touched CD's in the house that I've been hauling to work every nite 4 weeks, but it just seemed like 2 much work 2 put them on -- & once I did, they mostly failed 2 keep me motivated. (DID make some woeful new discoveries 4 another post about Really Bad Prog, however -- that 1 will B Coming Soon....)
Fell back on the almost-always-reliable Motivational Stuff -- & then failed 2 put that on the CD player, either. Not sure what's wrong with me -- might B that it's Winter & only just barely showing signs of Spring coming, that I was sick 4 a week, that the Old Reliables might finally B running out of charm & oomph 4 me.
Which doesn't mean I don't still think they'd work wonders 4 you, if you've never heard them.
Here's the thing -- I can post lists of great music I think you should check out, but I can't force you 2 go find them -- all I can do is post the info & hope 4 feedback.
I also can't -- at least so far -- seem 2 tell you specifically why I think this stuff is great or overlooked, why it might help hold your world together in the way it's helped me for so many years. I can sorta dance around it, but.... A list isn't the same thing as hearing something. & you can't really DESCRIBE music, only its effects -- you can only play it & listen. Anything more would be The Thing Itself.
Which doesn't mean I'm not gonna TRY....
& none of this Xplains my theory that the world might be a better, happier place if more people listened 2 Caravan or Gryphon or Happy the Man or Group 87 or Nick Drake. I don't know if those folks would work 4 everybody. I just know they work 4 me.
But getting at the essence of WHY they work ... well, it's been awhile since I've even TRIED that.
I can tell you that, 4 me, something is "great" or "brilliant," but that doesn't even describe the territory. I can tell you that my world would be a lesser place without...
...Caravan's gorgeous vocals, unique bubbly keyboard textures, big-band-style swing & dramatic instrumental sweep, great pop songwriting, & silly obsession with fat women.
...Happy the Man's beautiful interweaving washes of keyboard, sax, flute & guitar, & their disconnected high-tech lyrical outlook.
...Illusion's gorgeous, timeless rural-England placidity.
...The Moody Blues' perfect pop songwriting, gorgeous vocal blend, & the siren wail of the mellotron.
...Nick Drake's smoky voice, beautiful folk melodies, & his melancholy.
...Gryphon's wind-up-toy-horn sound.
...Sandy Denny's haunted voice.
...Yes's cosmic vision, & their freshness & enthusiasm in their younger days.
...ELP's confidence & bombast.
...Renaissance's gorgeous classically-influenced keyboard melodies, their poetic lyrics, & even their stuck-up prissiness at times.
...King Crimson's stunning, overwhelming presence & mood -- & their icy intelligence.
...The Beatles' insane enthusiasm up through about 1966.
...Bob Dylan's screechy, whiny voice, & his at-times hilarious lyrics. If he hadn't become a folk singer, he coulda been a stand-up comic.
...Fleetwood Mac's gorgeous, lighter-than-air group vocals in their later years ("Brown Eyes," "You Make Loving Fun"), their brave off-the-wall experiments ("Murrow Turning Over in His Grave," TUSK), & their pop hooks that grab hold & won't let go -- even if you don't wanna B sucked-in ("Dreams," "Don't Stop").
...Group 87's beautiful, life-affirming musical themes & their mix of sax, keybs & guitar.
...Gentle Giant's intricacy & cleverness, their Gregorian-chant group vocals ... & not forgetting some excellent forceful songs, no matter how tricky & obscure they get.
...Camel's gorgeous guitar & keyboard textures.
...The Beach Boys' gorgeous group vocals of course -- & Brian Wilson's firm grasp of fantasy -- whether it's an affluent Southern California suburbia (classic early-'60s hits) or a cosmic American Wild West (SMiLE).
...Genesis's gorgeous middle-period British fantasies (TRICK OF THE TAIL to -- roughly -- THREE SIDES LIVE).
...Wigwam's whimsy, & subdued power (NUCLEAR NIGHTCLUB).
...Phil Spector's perfect teen melodramas ("I Wonder," "The Best Part of Breakin' Up," "Baby I Love You," "Be My Baby," "You've Lost That Loving Feeling," "River Deep, Mountain High," "There's No Other Like My Baby," "Christmas -- Baby Please Come Home," etc).
...Jefferson Airplane/Starship's science-fiction vocal chorales (FREEDOM AT POINT ZERO, "All Nite Long," "Save Your Love," "Crown of Creation," "Good Shepherd," "Mexico," etc).
...Elton John's insane enthusiasm, & the tons of potential hits he threw away ("Love Lies Bleeding," "Gray Seal," "Ballad of Danny Bailey," "(Gotta Get a) Meal Ticket," "Teacher I Need You," "Elderberry Wine," "Have Mercy on the Criminal," "Grimsby," "Ego," etc).
...& many more I can't even remember right now....

...I plan 2 keep bashing away at this, trying 2 get closer 2 why this is an obsession that I HAVE 2 keep writing about -- but in the meantime, it would B nice 2 hear from some of you out there about whether any of the music I've recommended has worked 4 you -- or even if it hasn't....
'Til next time....

#620: Changes....

Looking ahead, the New Year might B a little diffrent around here....

DOING MY PART FOR THE ECONOMY: After years of driving broken-down wrecks, I was basically forced in2 buying a reliable good-quality 2nd-hand used car after putting more in repairs in2 my last beater than the thing was worth.
I'm now the proud(?) owner of a 2009 Pontiac G6, the nicest, newest car I've EVER owned. I'm still in shock about it, still can't believe my bank financed it. (They approved ME 4 a loan? No WONDER there was a banking crisis awhile back....) This is the sorta thing Xmas bonuses were meant 2 go 4, right? Still can't believe there R actually places where they'll sell decent non-broken-down cars 2 people like me. Isn't America wonderful...?
I'll keep you posted on how this works out -- I can swing the payments, but its gonna B TIGHT, & there's probly gonna B some 2nd-guessing when the 1st payment comes due early in Feb. Should B fun 2 watch....
But after my $$$ adventures with my last 2 cars, it was basically either do this or walk. & I'm 2 old 2 walk.
Which leads us 2 Item 2:

I'M ON A LOW BUDGET....: Needless 2 say, with so much of my future "disposable" income now locked-up 4 future monthly car payments, my days of $100 shopping sprees at Amazon.com R pretty much over with. & that might B a good thing.
I still have a pretty-good-sized stack of stuff that I grabbed cheap last Winter & Spring that I either haven't listened-2 or read yet, or have barely sniffed at. I will B forced 2 Deal With this stuff now 2 fight musical & literary boredom, + I still have 1/2adozen Strange CD's that Crabby sent me last Summer that I've barely gotten in2.
I will get 2 all this stuff in due time, tho it may take awhile. These items include:
MUSIC -- Mike McGear, Eric Burdon's SUN SECRETS, Be-Bop Deluxe's RAIDING THE DIVINE ARCHIVE best-of, Illusion's (2nd) & ENCHANTED CARESS, Soft Machine's THIRD & OUT-BLOODY-RAGEOUS best-of, Nektar's RECYCLED & DOWN TO EARTH, Barclay James Harvest's HARVEST YEARS best-of, Nick Drake's FIVE LEAVES LEFT, David Sancious and Tone's TRUE STORIES, The Wackers' HOT WACKS, Kracker's EL FAMILIA, & lots more.
BOOKS -- Hunter S. Thompson's FEAR AND LOATHING IN AMERICA (2/3rds of the way thru 4 the 2nd time, huge but pretty great), THE PROUD HIGHWAY & HELL'S ANGELS; Christopher Wren's HACKS, Lewis Shiner's SLAM, FOREVER CHANGES: ARTHUR LEE AND THE BOOK OF LOVE, Bee Lavender's ADVENTURES IN TAXIDERMY, NEVER COMING TO A THEATER NEAR YOU, & more....
Knowing me, this stuff will likely take most of 2013 2 get thru. But I've got nothing but time. & thanx 2 those new car payments, I've had 2 put-off my planned Caribbean cruise....
+, as of last June, I hava new girlfriend who's getting a lot of the free time I useta lavish here, so....

KEEPING UP THE PACE: So I'm thinking all the above stuff will likely get reviewed here, but at a slower pace than usual. + there'll likely B the usual Nostalgia pieces & attempts at humor. Meaning, when I have something 2 talk about, I'll post it, like usual. But my big post-a-day plan 4 Dec DID NOT WORK. I made it 2 mid-month B4 I hit the wall -- which was probly a good thing. & most of You Out There seem 2 B reading the Olde Stuff instead of the newer stuff, & that's great, thanx 4 reading here, & maybe someday I'll catch up....

LATEST PLAYLIST: Well, there isn't 1. I'm still playing off-the-wall music 2 keep me motivated at work, but it's pretty much the Same Old Stuff. No major shocked reactions 2 report, Xcept 4 1 drunk guy who LOVED Crabby Appleton's "Go Back"....

#615: 4 years blogging!

It was somewhere around this time 4 years ago that I started posting music & book reviews on-line at my old dead website. My son ADD got me started -- we talked about it 4 over a year B4 I finally jumped in & just DID it.
& after I had 3-dozen reviews posted, I hit-up a couple of my on-line reviewing buddies -- Mark Prindle, the Godfather of us all; & "Don Ignacio" Michael Lawrence -- 2 C if they'd B willing 2 post links 2 my new site. Thank Ghod, they jumped right in.
Things were a little diffrent back then. I was a lot more DRIVEN during my 1st year -- I posted 225 reviews & rants & humorous pieces in 8 months. Mostly, I was pretty serious. I think I wanted 2 establish where I was coming from, what my outlook was, how I was diffrent (IF I was....).
Then the old website broke down repeatedly & I got fed-up with it & moved over here 2 Blogger, where things have mostly been pretty smooth ever since.
I think I'm still driven sometimes -- this post-a-day thing should B evidence of that. This stuff is still pretty compulsive 4 me. If I don't post something every few days, I DON'T FEEL RIGHT. (Obviously, that isn't gonna B a problem this month....)
Thank Ghod 4 the Internet, so at last I can get my uncensored views out there, get my daily fix in, & maybe even turn you on 2 music you haven't heard or books you haven't read.
Things have been getting a little sludgy here recently -- can't remember the last time I did something just 4 the pure silliness of it. But I'll B working on that.
This is still fun 4 me, & it keeps me off the streets late at nite -- & it's helped get me thru a depression or 2. Tho there've been some slow spots, this blogging stuff has never let me down. My thanx again 2 ADD, 4 the gift that keeps on giving, the best Xmas present I've ever had.
I still want 2 do some pieces on what being a reporter on a daily newspaper was like; what it was like 2 schlog away 4 10 years in the Air Force; & I've got some more Nostalgia things I wanna do, tho I can't think of what they R right at the moment.
I also have more music & book reviews coming -- & I DEFinitely wanna do a piece on "Slopping the Hogs," a look at the WORST best-of collections of all time. Submit your nominees in the Comments section below....
Just wanted 2 say thanx 2 all you who read here. I'd keep doing this even if you didn't, but thanks 4 dropping by.
& I'm gonna keep doing this as long as the World's Smallest Laptop holds out. If nothing else, the writing exercise has been good 4 me -- & the regular dates with the computer have helped me re-connect with some parts of my past that I didn't know I could still remember.
& if I can get thru this post-a-day thing without Mbarrassing myself 2 badly, it'll B time 2 re-attack that rock group novel....

#601: Last man standing...?

Is music blogging Over With? Is the blog as we know it dead? Are these even important questions? (And I was just getting rolling....)
Today I read that my buddy Crabby over at Crabby's Music Review and Top 10 Site is seriously considering retiring at the turn of the New Year. He won't be the 1st. But if he hangs it up, I'll miss his cranky ranting about local radio & his Xcellent Weekly Top 10 lists of the Overlooked.
But there've bn a LOT of music bloggers dropping out over the last year or so. Maybe the newness wore off. Maybe they didn't get enuf feedback. Maybe they have Real Lives 2 devote themselves 2 -- a much better choice than spending all your free time stuck in front of a computer.
Last time I checked, Groove Sandwich had become a working musician and college student. Layla hasn't posted in over a year at her formerly-very-popular Classic Rock blog. Drew has a family life, & tho he'll pop up every couple months with a nature/photo update, I guess you could say he's semi-retired. He's not even doing Green Bay Packers updates this year! (Go with the family thing Drew -- & Thank Ghod 4 the visitors you keep sending me....)
Perplexio hasn't posted 4 awhile at either of his websites. Seano at Circle of Fits has been taking a lot of breaks over the past year, most of them due to health issues. Lex Dexter at The PrisonShip is taking a LONG break over problems that I think he could maybe write his way out of -- it worked for me awhile back.
Even Mark Prindle -- the Godfather of us all, without whom I wouldn't be doing this -- hung it up awhile back.
A few R hanging in there -- Rastro is still posting stuff at his Tumblr site, & we R continuing 2 wreak comedy havoc on Hunter S. Thompson & Larry Niven at Fear and Loathing in Known Space 2x a week, but with the World Series & the prez election, R's bn a busy guy.
Gardenhead is continuing 2 post great stuff at Asleep on the Compost Heap -- he just recently posted a review of his favorite album of 2011! The NERVE! I don't see him ever stopping, either....
As 4 me, there R LOTS of things I still wanna talk about, time & energy permitting. I still have a box of weird CDs from Crabby I'm trying 2 get thru, & more stuff stacked-up that I hope 2 listen-2 someday. I still have Air Force stories & Newspaper stories I wanna write-up. I still have stories & novels I wanna read & talk about. & there's sure 2 B more fits of Nostalgia I'll B posting here without prior warning, & Ghod Knows what might set them off.
I'm still having fun here. But then, I've been a compulsive writer since age 10, & it always makes me Feel Better to have written something, no matter how meaningless & silly.
So I'm gonna keep going, as long as me & the World's Smallest Laptop hold out. Thanx 4 dropping by -- & for gosh sakes will all you good folks from the U.K. & Russia & the Ukraine & the Netherlands & France & Canada & Germany & wherever-else please leave me a comment so I can figure out what the heck you're all reading?
Take care, all You Out There. More soon!

3 years/500 posts?!

Somewhere around this time about 3 years back, I started posting "shorthand" reviews of off-the-wall music & books at my old dead website.
My son got me started, as a way 2 keep me writing when I was sorta missing my old reporting career -- & possibly just as a way of keeping me writing so that my dream of 1 day writing some kinda Great Novel wouldn't completely die.
After about 8 months, when my old website started developing Major Issues, I moved over here to Blogspot, where things have bn mostly pretty smooth ever since -- despite 1 computer dying (knocking me out 4 2 months), & me being unable 2 connect 4 parts of last March & April....
Along with reviews, I posted some other off-the-wall stuff at that old website -- nostalgia pieces & silly autobiographies, fictional album reviews, & a long rant about Michael Jackson's death & the way CNN reported almost nothing else 4 the next 2 weeks....
Some of that material has bn fiendishly recycled here, heh heh heh. & summa the nostalgia pieces (especially the 1's about early-'70s Top 40 AM radio) I might try re-writing from scratch in the future.
Somehow, I posted somewhere around 225 pieces at the old website in the 8 months I was there. Still not sure how. My all-time record is still 6 reviews posted in 1 day. & when the 7th got sucked in2 the Internet Twilight Zone never 2 B seen again, I knew it was time 2 take a break.
Add those 225 2 the 280+ I've posted here with Blogger, & I'm somewhere past the 500 mark -- closer 2 about 506, I think. I've deleted some updates & other short-term stuff along the way, so this is my best guess. (I might number them from now on....)
Anyway, all this is just an Xcuse 2 say Thanx 4 Reading. I'm still having fun with this, still learning ways 2 mess with the "review" format, still adding stuff 2 the blog. It's still as compulsive 4 me as it ever was. If I don't post something new every couple of days or so I start getting twitchy.
I hope it's fun 4 You Folks Out There sometimes, 2.
It's weird, because I thot I was All Written Out about 18 months ago. But that hasn't bn much of a problem lately....
Thanx 2 all you who read here, & especially 2 The Regulars -- Crabby & Drew & Gardenhead & Rastro (who seems 2 have vanished since he started doin' his Xtremely popular Tumblr site), & Perplexio & all the others who stop in now & then. & 2 ADD, of course, who maybe Knew Not What He Started.
Thanx 2 guys like Mark Prindle & Don Ignacio who set me up with links from their sites early & FAST, Ghod bless 'em both. & again 2 Drew, who's sent me more readers than I can even believe.
& thanx 2 every1 who helped make November my best month ever, with a freaking 1,160 pageviews. Jeez.
I still don't know how many of you folks out there R actually READING this stuff & how many sorta stumbled in here by accident. I'd like 2 hear from more of you.
& then there R all those folks in Germany & Denmark & Russia & the Ukraine & the Netherlands & the U.K. -- somebody over there is sure looking at a lot of stuff. Can't ALL B by accident. There was even some1 from New Caledonia who dropped-in very briefly a few days back.
I'll get back 2 the usual reviews & oddball stuff next, just wanted 2 say thanx 4 making this all worth it. It's nice 2 know there's people out there who R as weird & passionate about this stuff as I am.

COMING BEFORE THE END OF THE MONTH: The 2nd Annual TAD Awards 4 the best Strange Music & Books of 2011....

Letters from home

Indian Summer here, temps in the mid-80s, 90s predicted by Sunday. For us, that's HOT. Summer finally got here, just in time 4 back-2-school....

Currently re-reading Kathe Koja's THE CIPHER (1991): really creepy, & as abrupt & painful & involving as NE of her work -- & Tom Wolfe's THE RIGHT STUFF (1979): hilarious, especially in his overuse of the phrase "burned beyond recognition," among other things. The chapter "The Lab Rat" is a classic. Great how Wolfe can joke about this stuff (the gathering & life-histories of the 7 Mercury astronauts) & still get across all the basic info 2. Never really liked Wolfe that much, but this & THE ELECTRIC KOOL-AID ACID TEST are both pretty great....

This is probly gonna sound a little sentimental, but so what....
I wish there were more good music bloggers out there. Because I'd like 2 read them.
Ghod knows I've tried. I've found a dozen or so bloggers whose writing I can enjoy, relate-to, or at least have fun disagreeing with -- & I check-in with them almost every day.
I urge You Out There 2 read Rastro (at www.lahistoriadelamusicarock.blogspot.com/ and at www.lahistoriadelamusicarock.tumblr.com/), Crabby (at www.rscrabb.blogspot.com/), & Gardenhead (at www.onavery.blogspot.com/). Not only R they all more musically obsessed than I am, they know their stuff. & they're funny.
This new guy Groove Sandwich is pretty funny too (www.groovesandwich.com/) -- he's also a musician & knows his music theory.
There's also some good folks out there who've started posting a little less-often recently 4 various reasons: Drew (at www.drewsoddsandsods.blogspot.com/) has posted some real good stuff in the past, + some Xcellent reviews of albums I'd overlooked. But recently he's developed a Real Life separate from blogging, & who can blame him if that's where his attn goes? You go, Drew! (& I'm not just saying this cos Drew's sent me more readers in the past year than I can even believe....)
Layla (at www.laylasclassicrock.blogspot.com/) recently went back 2 work after being unemployed 4 awhile, so you can see where her attn might B going. B4 that she posted a TON of Classic Rock news at 1 of the longest-running & most popular blogs of its kind. She also sometimes writes more personal stuff at her other blog, "Writing from the Inside Out."
Perplexio (at www.perplexio76.blogspot.com/) has posted some great stuff in the past, tho he seemsta have slowed down recently. 1 of his best reviews led me 2 grab Nick Hornby's rock&roll novel JULIET NAKED awhile back, & you should too....
Tonal Memories (www.tonalmemories.blogspot.com/) has posted some intresting stuff in the past, but family matters seemta B eating up his time these days.
The grandaddy of all web-reviewers, Mark Prindle (www.markprindle.com/) is still as hilarious as ever, despite some recent upheavals in his life. His recent reviews of the Complete Works of a band called Anal Cunt made me laff until my head hurt. (Jeez, 1st the Butthole Surfers & now this?)
Eoin Butler (www.eoinbutler.com/) only occasionally posts about music, but as a working journalist over in Ireland he's posted some amazing -- and often hilarious -- stories at his blog "Tripping Along the Ledge."
Adam at "There Will Be Blog" seems 2 have retired....
...& at 92, longtime science-fiction writer & editor Frederik Pohl is still showing the rest of us how to do it at www.thewaythefutureblogs.com/.
...I think what grabs me about a lotta these people is that they don't just blog about music or books or current events or whatever -- they talk about their jobs, their lives, the thots that go thru their heads during an avg day, how they get thru each day, what their lives are like. I feel like I know some of these people & that's pretty neat.
It ain't always pretty. But it's always REAL. & reading someone who speaks from the heart -- even if they're angry -- is as involving 2 me as any music review.
There used to be more. Now I can't even FIND the wildman in Orlando who's every progressive-rock review ended with the music descending like a "caterwauling cacophany into the very bowels of Hell." Sure he could barely write in English, but he was 1 of a kind! & his spooky review of Van der Graaf Generator's PAWN HEARTS finally convinced me 2 grab that scary album awhile back -- suprised I had enuf nerve 2 finally put it on the CD player! Xpected 2 get scared out of my wits....
I've tried a bunch of other bloggers & there R a few I haven't quite made up my cluttered mind about, but I wouldn't mind finding more good 1's. In fact, I'd love it.
Problem: Try punching in "good rock music blogs" at Google & see what happens. I got 249 MILLION results. Life's 2 short 4 that -- tho I did look at a couple dozen.
I've also tried "music blog aggregators" like Digital Meltd0wn, & that didn't narrow stuff down much either.
So here's the deal: If you're a music blogger doing something diffrent or adventurous or personal or funny, drop me a line, I'll check you out, review you here, & point my dozen-fans-worldwide your direction.
Or if there's some1 you're reading who's absolutely freaking brilliant & hilarious, lemme know. I'll appreciate it, & I'll let other folks know 2.
I don't even havta "agree" with you, musically. But if you hate all the stuff I love, you're gonna at least havta B entertaining about it....

Rastro goes Tumblr -- great stuff!

Hey, B sure & check out Rastro's new LA HISTORIA DE LA MUSICA ROCK Tumblr site at www.lahistoriadelamusicarock.tumblr.com/ -- it's punchy & funny & quick, & summa the photos he's posted R freakin' GREAT -- some of them R even sorta scary, Hank Williams Sr., 4 1....
Anyway, it's all good 2 C cos 4 awhile I thot Rastro was gonna take the Summer off. So B sure & check out his wit & musical knowledge in a new, quick & easily digestible format. Really, he does more with a photo & a few well-chosen words than I can do in a 2,000-word essay.
...& I'm not just saying this because of the great women-guitarist photos he's been posting....

Wanted: Alternative Playlists....

Couple of my favorite bloggers did a bit recently on radio stations that play the same songs over&over:
My buddy Rastro over at LA HISTORIA speculated that hearing the same songs repeatedly might work as "comfort food" 4 listeners in their 30s, 40s & 50s (and Ghod knows even older) who might already have 2 much on their minds. I think he could B right.
The mindset of my buddy Crabby at CRABBY'S TOP TEN SITE is closer 2 mine & might best B Dscribed as: WHY DO THEY PLAY THE SAME SHIT OVER AND OVER?!
Here's why this discussion has gotten me thinking recently:
I've started playing the radio more & more often at work lately after resisting it 4 YEARS. (I figured I could space-out just fine without any help, so why would I need the radio?) But lately I've found the radio does keep me bouncing around & DEFinitely improves my mood if it's a bad nite or the coffee just ain't workin no more.
& sometimes I turn it up REALLY LOUD.
I bounce around Btween 4 or 5 diffrent FM stations: Seattle's "Star 101.5," current hits + a few oldies dating back in2 the '90s; KZOK 102.5, Seattle's "Classic Rock" station; my fave Oldies station KMCQ; "Cafe" 104.1, which is SORT OF soft-rock; & "The Mountain" 103.5, which is mostly newer stuff + some things I can't identify.
U'd think with those 5 stations pretty close 2gether I wouldn't havta waste much time trying 2 find something good, something motivational, something I hadn't heard lately.
And you'd B wrong.
In the hours I listen, Btween 9 pm & midnight, I spend more time twiddling the knob trying 2 find something ELSE than I do actually LISTENING.
KZOK, tho I love 'em, sounds like they coulda bn programmed in some1's sleep. You can predict their "Classic Rock" playlist. They very seldom play anything suprising.
KMCQ, now that I've gotten used 2 them, seldom get 2 shocking either -- tho they HAVE played Sugar Loaf's "Don't Call Us, We'll Call You" & Gladys Knight & the Pips' version of "I Heard it Through the Grapevine" a coupla times each this week. But they R WAY more likely 2 fall back on "Billy, Don't Be a Hero," "The Night Chicago Died," & "What's New, Pussycat?" I haven't heard them repeat Small Faces' "Lazy Sunday." But they DID play Procol Harum's "Homburg" awhile back....
Cafe 104.1 has a weakness 4 Earth, Wind and Fire's "After the Love Has Gone" (great song, but NOT daily) -- but they also played Kelly Clarkson's "I'm Already Gone," which knocked me over awhile back.
"The Mountain" might play anything from unidentified acoustic folk 2 U2 or Train.
You'd think these stations with their at-least-slightly varied 4mats would give me a fairly wide spectrum of tunes 2 work 2. Maybe. But over the past coupla weeks, here's a few of the songs I've heard MULTIPLE times, without even trying....

Led Zeppelin: Stairway to Heaven, Whole Lotta Love, Fool in the Rain, Rock and Roll, Immigrant Song, Livin' Lovin' Maid (She's Just a Woman).
Derek and the Dominoes: Layla.
Fleetwood Mac: Oh Well (full version). (Wonder if KZOK thinks they're Bing brave & daring by playing this heavy-metal-blues-into-guitar-fantasia piece? It IS a classic, & Peter Green was a real strange guy....)
Queen: Bohemian Rhapsody, Crazy Little Thing Called Love.
David Bowie: Let's Dance, Young Americans. (But "Suffragette City" was nice....)
Deep Purple: Smoke on the Water. (Tho "Hush" & "Kentucky Woman" were both great 2 hear.)
Boston: More Than a Feeling.
Lynyrd Skynyrd: Sweet Home Alabama.
Paul McCartney/Wings: Band on the Run, Maybe I'm Amazed.
Foreigner: Cold as Ice.
Tom Petty: Refugee (what else?).
Pink Floyd: Another Brick in the Wall Part 2, Money.
Bob Dylan: Knocking on Heaven's Door, Positively 4th Street.
Eagles: Take it Easy, Hotel California.
Who: Won't Get Fooed Again, Love Reign O'er Me, The Real Me. (Also heard "The Kids are Alright" & "Call Me Lightning," nice suprises both.)
Rush: Limelight, The Spirit of Radio.
CeeLo: Forget You. (Is this right? It's 2 current 4 me to be sure....)
American Breed: Bend Me Shape Me.

...How'd that last 1 get in there? Anyway, don't get me wrong. It's not that these Rn't great songs ... some of them. It's just: How much is ANYONE going 2 get out of hearing "Smoke on the Water" ONE MORE TIME? Or "Hotel California"? Or "Cold as Ice"? Why's it so hard 2 try something new?
Course radio stations have bills 2 pay 2 -- & these days especially they probly can't afford 2 have 2 many listeners tune-out Bcos they played the "wrong" Elton John song (my pick: "Don't Go Breakin' My Heart" -- uggghhh....)
So maybe what we need isn't new song choices so much as a new format.
The kinda format that would make Crabby & I happier isn't out there right now -- a format that would allow 4 oldies from the '50s 2 the best current stuff. Hits & album trax. Rock & Pop & R&B & Soul & Disco & Jazz & Country & Folk. Could probly throw in some Rap & HipHop 2. Loud & soft, heavy & lite, electric & acoustic.
& would such a format stretch listeners' ears & tastes Byond the breaking point?
& if so, WHY?
Why is it such a problem 2 B suprised, Dlighted with something that comes outta the radio?
How about NO format? Just let some1 who's a music fan pick what goes on the air. I heard they tried this 1nce a few years back at college radio stations -- & we Nded up with a "college rock" 4mat.... & wasn't that "underground" stuff back in the '60s all about on-air DJ's picking their own stuff...?
Look, I love "Stairway to Heaven," really. It still sounds great -- at least everything from Jimmy Page's gtr-fanfare that leads in2 the meltdown solo near the end. The passion still comes across. Same with "Layla." I'll never get tired of that gtr&keyboard closing section.
But NOT BOTH of them 2wice a nite. 3 nites in a row. On 2 diffrent stations.
Zeppelin's got LOTS of other great stuff. & I don't just mean "Kashmir." It would take a bigger Zep fan than me 2 pick out some great overlooked Zep trax (I'll bet Drew over at ODDS AND SODS could come up with a list REAL fast). But I haven't heard "The Rover" in awhile, or "When the Levee Breaks," or "Good Times Bad Times"....
MayB the problem isn't the song choices so much as developing a wider-open 4mat that a radio station wouldn't B scared 2 try. MayB a 4mat that highlights the artists' work-in-depth rather than the same old classic hits.
Imagine some friendly-voiced DJ saying: "Your favorite artists .... Their greatest songs .... Now on KTAD" -- for instance....
...It's either this or I start taking a stack of CDs with me 2 work & scare the shit out of EVERYBODY....

(Sat, 23 July 11, 1:40 am -- Overnite & at work 2nite I thot of a few more songs that've bn overplayed while I've bn listening over the past coupla wks. These were added B4 I read NE comments:
Peter Gabriel: In Your Eyes.
Coldplay: Clocks.
Queen: Somebody to Love.
Madonna: Borderline, Lucky Star, Into the Groove.
Beatles: Here Comes the Sun.
Train: Drops of Jupiter.
Police: Walking on the Moon.
Bruce: Born to Run.
Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds: Don't Pull Your Love (!).
Sade: Smooth Operator.
Simon and Garfunkel: The Boxer.
...Again, it's not that some of these aren't great songs, it's just ... well, why's everything so OBVIOUS? What's wrong with Bing suprised 1nce in awhile...?)

COMING NEXT: An "alternate playlist" of great trax by classic rockers, based on stuff I've got around the house. But not the same old stuff....