Today is the 43rd anniversary or Iggy Pop’s Lust For Life album. It was co-produced by David Bowie. The title track is one of Iggy’s best-known tunes. I have no idea what is up with this party. I’m intrigued, though. Enjoy it…
Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!
— “Here comes Johnny Yen again with the liquor and drugs and the flesh machine. He’s gonna do another striptease. Hey man, where’d you get that lotion? I been hurting since I bought the gimmick about something called love. Yeah, something called love. Well, that’s like hypnotizing chickens.” – “Lust For Life” (Pop/Bowie)
Yesterday was pretty much a usual Saturday for us. We got up and went to Underdog Records, had lunch at BLL Rotisserie Factory, came home listened to some records, went to check in with the Maw-In-Law and ate dinner. That’s it. Here’s the haul:
Rush – A Farewell To Kings — So, with the exception of the debut album, Rush, I have all the Rush studio albums up through Hold Your Fire and then the live albums All the World’s a Stage and Exit…Stage Left. I want all of them, of course. I’ll find the ones I’m missing somehow. Some of them may not be available on vinyl given their time period but I’m sure not that Neil Peart is gone, we’ll get rereleases and “first time on vinyl” releases. New.
David Bowie – Heathen — Bowie co-produced this 2002 album with Tony Visconti, which hadn’t produced an album with Bowie since 1980’s Scary Monsters(and Super Creeps). It was started prior to the 9/11 events and was influenced by them. Not my favorite Bowie, for sure, and he’s starting to sound “old” at this point. There are a couple of covers, too, like Neil Young’s “I’ve Been Waiting for You,” “I Took a Trip on a Gemini Spaceship” from Legendary Stardust Cowboy and “Cactus” from the Pixies. I think it was supposed to be a lot of songs like the LSC, obscure 1960s tunes. I grabbed this from the clearance bin. New.
Johnny Cash – At Folsom Prison — Yes, I have this already but the copy is on VG and since it is #88 on the RS list, I felt I needed a better copy. Plus, outside of RSD or other “special” or “novelty” releases, it’s the first time it’s been reissued on vinyl in many years. New.
Thin Lizzy – Jailbreak — Not a huge Thin Lizzy fan but I really needed some in my collection. Doing the “musical tourist” thing, I went for the one that had their two biggest tunes, the title track and “The Boys Are Back In Town.” Also, pulled from the clearance bin. New.
The Steve Miller Band – Greatest Hits 1974-78 — I had this on CD and as I’m not the world’s biggest Steve Miller fan, I really like these tunes, so here we go. It was in the used section at Underdog but it’s still sealed and is not a cutout. It also cost me more than a few of the new ones you’ll see below, so I’m counting it as New and it’s on transparent blue vinyl (according to the hype sticker).
No Doubt – Tragic Kingdom — A very important album from the 90s. I say that because it brought Ska to a whole new audience and really introduced Gwen Stefani to the world. They were around prior but until this album, no one really heard of them unless you were looking specifically for that genre of music. I love this album and I’m not that into Ska. New.
Archers Of Loaf – White Trash Heroes — The BCPF loves her Archers of Loaf but mainly she loves her Merge Records artists. This is one of those. We have an Eric Bachmann album and he sings much differently on that than he does here. On white vinyl, new.
Axis – It’s A Circus World — All I know about this band is that it has Carmine Appice’s little brother (and Dio drummer) Vinny Appice as 1/3 of the lineup. This seems to be the only album they released and it is from 1978. Funny thing about Carmine and Vinny… Carmine goes by Carmine A-peace but Vinny is Vinny App-a-see. VG+.
Bob Geldof – Deep In The Heart Of Nowhere — Also in the used bin but sealed. This was the first album after Bob left Boomtown Rats. The main single was “This Is the World Calling” with “Love Like a Rocket” also being released. There are a lot of guest appearances on this album: Eric Clapton, Midge Ure (Ultravox), Jools Holland (Squeeze), Annie Lennox, Jamie West-Oram (from The Fixx), Alison Moyet (from Yaz), Clem Burke (from Blondie), Maria McKee, Bono and more. Again, still sealed so I’m going with New.
Hammer – Black Sheep — Hammer is Jan Hammer (of “Miami Vice Theme” fame) and his backing band. I figure it’s probably jazz instrumentals. I haven’t heard it yet. VG++ sealed cutout.
The Power Station – The Power Station 33⅓ — Of the two Duran Duran side projects, I liked this one the best. John and Andy Taylor, Tony Thompson and Robert Palmer. Yes. Yes, please! The drum sound on “Some Like It Hot” is amazing. I also like their cover of “Get It On” from T-Rex. Two of the band has passed on but we have this album! Well, and the follow-up but no one talks about that one. VG+.
Night – Night — Night apparently had two Top 20 hits in the 70s: “Hot Summer Nights” (No. 18) and “If You Remember Me” (No. 17). Also, Chris Thompson is one of the lead vocalists (they had two) and he is probably best known as the vocalist for Manfred Mann’s Earth Band on their cover of “Blinded By The Light.” He also did some work with the Alan Parsons Project. This is a promo copy and is VG+.
Well, a week without any classical, that’s become a novelty. But, I am awaiting the final box set from the TimeLife collection I ordered from Discogs. It has finally reached Greensboro or so I was told this morning by the USPS.
Jonathan has rearranged a few things in the store and said that business is going well. They are still only open Thursday through Saturday with Monday through Wednesday being delivery and organization time. Have you gotten in on the lottery for RSD? You still have until next Saturday 8/22 to get in. Not sure what I’m talking about? Here’s where you can find out more. I hope I get drawn! And, of course, I use Discogs to track my collection and fill the ones that I can’t find anywhere else.
Until tomorrow, keep spinnin’…
Scorp out!
— “Some like it hot and some sweat when the heat is on. Some feel the heat and decide that they can’t go on. Some like it hot, but you can’t tell how hot ’til you try. Some like it hot, so let’s turn up the heat ’til we fry.” – “Some Like It Hot” (Palmer/Taylor/Taylor)
So, doing the “listens” list yesterday, I missed a lot of big releases. Would You Believe? from The Hollies was 54. Aretha Franklin’s live Amazing Grace was 48. James Taylor’s Walking Man was 46. The Runaways’ debut album The Runaways was 44. Rolling Stone’s live Still Life is 38. Sting’s debut solo album The Dream of the Blue Turtles was 35. That was yesterday. Today, we have the debut Bowie album which is 53 (not the second one with “Space Oddity” on it). Cockney Rebel’s sophomore effort The Psychomodo is 46. Springsteen’s Darkness on the Edge of Town is 42. Cheap Trick’s Found All the Parts EP is 40. Let It Loose from Gloria Estefan is 33. Mariah Carey’s MTV Unplugged and Wilson Phillips’ Shadows and Light are both 28. Buzzcocks’ Trade Test Transmissions is 27. And, Smashing Pumpkins’ Adore is 22. That’s a lot of stuff for two days, I know.
Out of all of that, here’s what I chose. Enjoy!
Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!
—
“We share the same biology regardless of ideology. Believe me when I say to you, I hope the Russians love their children too.” – “Russians” (Prokofiev/Sting)
Today, there are several choices, again, to choose from as the anniversary feature. Let’s see… Today is the 40th anniversary of both British Steel from Judas Priest and Iron Maiden, the debut, self-titled album from… you guessed it… Iron Maiden. It’s also the 38th anniversary of Van Halen’s Diver Down album, the 37th anniversary of Bowie’s Let’s Dance album, the 34th anniversary of Cocteau Twins’ Victorialand, and the also the 34th anniversary, and the second of the day for Judas Priest, of Priest’s Turbo.
Now, let’s see. I’m not a huge fan of Cocteau Twins and Diver Down is one of my least favorite Van Halen albums, so those are out. I’m a Dickenson fan and not a Di’Anno fan so the Iron Maiden is out, too. British Steel is a little early in the NWBHM realm for me to say that I love it. That means New Wave of British Heavy Metal. I dig it, but not my favorite. That leaves Bowie and Turbo. Man, that’s hard.
Turbo is my favorite Priest album. Yeah, it’s like the cheeseballest, 80s pop Priest record, but that was what I cut my Priest teeth on. I like “Turbo Lover” and “Parental Guidance.” Sorry, but I do. I liked the over-polished hipness of it. Sue me. Well, don’t. You wouldn’t get any from me.
Let’s Dance starts off really strong. “Modern Love,” his version of “China Girl” and the title track. It gets a little squirrely outside the theme from Cat People, “Cat People (Putting Out Fire)”, co-written by Giorgio Moroder.
So, for my vid pick for today, I decided I couldn’t pass up on Culture Club doing a Bowie cover. I hope you enjoy it! I should think I’d have liked to see Culture Club doing “Grinder” from British Steel but oh well.
Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!
— “If you say run, I’ll run with you. And if you say hide, we’ll hide. Because my love for you would break my heart in two if you should fall, into my arms and tremble like a flower.” – “Let’s Dance” (Bowie)
Today is the anniversary of three different albums that I think are especially good. Two of which have a pretty good rapport with fans and one that is questionable. Let’s start with that one. Today is the 33rd anniversary of Fleetwood Mac’s Tango In The Night album. I like the poppy and polished aspect of that album. That’s something that turned many people, particularly those who would call themselves Fleetwood Mac fans.
Another anniversary is the 39th anniversary of Billy Squier’s Don’t Say No album. I was never really a Squier fan. I didn’t dislike him, I just didn’t pay attention. There was a recent discussion about this album in particular on Facebook a bit ago and there was an attempt to get me to say I didn’t like it. I couldn’t say it as being the case. But, I explained that I really had no opinion on it. I like it, just don’t think about it.
The third is Bowie’s Aladdin Sane. It’s not my favorite Bowie, not by a mile but it is important. #279 on the RS List, there isn’t anything wrong with it. I just think it was a bridge album for me. From The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars to this and then the covers album, Pin Ups to Diamond Dogs. I like Diamond Dogs, don’t know much about Pin Ups and have no outright problems with this, just not my favorite, as I verbosely said.
So, here’s the choice I made. Enjoy!
Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!
— “Looking out for love. In the night so still. Oh, I’ll build you a kingdom in that house on the hill. Looking out for love. Big, big love.” – “Big Love” (Buckingham)
Today is my dad’s birthday. I got to talk to him a little bit and I’m glad he’s here for me to do that. He’s a great man and no matter how hard I try I’ll never be the man he is. But, he lets me be the man I am and that’s awesome, too. But, he shares a birthday with several names in music.
Luther Perkins (who was guitarist for the Tennessee Three, Johnny Cash’s band), Shirley Bassey (singer of three James Bond theme songs), Cristy Lane (country and gospel singer), Robbie Krieger (guitarist from The Doors), Terry Sylvester (The Hollies), Mike Reno (singer from Loverboy), Paul Hester (of Split Enz and Crowded House), Dave Weckl (drummer for Paul Simon, Madonna, George Benson, Michel Camilo, Robert Plant, Anthony Jackson and Chick Corea Elektric Band), Andrew Wood (Mother Love Bone), R. Kelly, Torry Castellano (drummer of The Donnas), and probably a few more.
The two big ones, though, in my opinion, are Elvis Presley and David Bowie. That’s the two that I always talk about, but that list is pretty impressive. So, since it’s Bowie’s birthday, too, well, here’s a little something for you. Enjoy and happy birthday, Pop!
Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!
— “Ziggy played for time, jiving us that we were Voodoo. The kids was just crass. He was the naz. With God-given ass. He took it all too far, but boy, could he play guitar.” – “Ziggy Stardust” (Bowie)
The BCPF and I made our way to Underdog Record for the first time in over a week the day after Christmas. I couldn’t go any longer. We had put together our fifth record case and had shifted the whole collection around and now it was time to get more records! I think we did a good job, too. Here’s the haul:
Pink Floyd – A Saucerful Of Secrets — This past April, we got the “mono version” of this for Record Store Day, but you’ll remember that it wasn’t a full version because I got a mis-pressed copy that had some weird dance/electronic song on the first side. Turns out, you needed to run that at 45RPM and when I Shazamed it, it came up “Track 1” from 04 by Moi. Well, this isn’t the cool mono version, but I wanted to have the album anyway, so I bought the stereo reissue from 2016. New.
Love And Rockets – Seventh Dream Of Teenage Heaven — This is the debut album from Love and Rockets, the band that was Bauhaus without Peter Murphy. It was a fun listen and is on a cool deep blue vinyl. It’s big on The BCPF’s list of bands and things she likes so when she saw it, she was like, “can I?” and I can’t tell her no. New.
David Bowie – Low — This was the first of the “Berlin Trilogy” (along with “Heroes” and Lodger). It was done with Brian Eno and Tony Visconti and was recorded mostly in France, not Berlin. It’s instrumental- and synth-heavy. The album is #251 on the RS list. I really like this album and while it doesn’t really feel like a Bowie album to me, it is a great listen. New.
The Jesus And Mary Chain – Psychocandy — This is a weird album. Jangly pop, I like it, but you can’t hear what they’re doing because there is so much “noise.” I think they added the noise and while I respect the artistic “vision,” it makes it really distracting and I think that really takes away from the overall integrity. VG.
The Rolling Stones – 12 X 5 — The second American studio album by the Stones, which released in 1964 following the success of their American debut The Rolling Stones (England’s Newest Hit Makers), which was released concurrently with their UK debut, The Rolling Stones. 12 × 5 is an expanded version of the EP Five by Five, which had followed their debut album in the UK. I had asked The BCPF if we had this album when we were rearranging our records on Monday. This is a really good copy of the 1986 reissue. EX/VG++.
The Connells – Fun & Games — The BCPF gasped audibly when I showed her this album, so to say she was excited would be an understatement. I thought it was a decent listen but not “great.” This is Jangle Pop and it’s okay for that. She was happy and that’s what matters the most! EX/VG++.
AC/DC – Fly On The Wall — I’ve never been a huge AC/DC fan, especially Brian Johnson era, but I didn’t mind this album at all. It’s a mid-80s record and I guess the big tune on this one is “Sink the Pink.” It’s really cookie-cutter 80s AC/DC. So, yeah. VG+.
Crow – Crow Music — I got the “Best Of” from Crow a few weeks back and thought it was decent. This one is their debut and it has what is probably their biggest hit, although I hadn’t heard of them before, “Evil Woman (Don’t Play Your Games With Me),” even though I have heard that song and don’t know if it was from that compilation album or perhaps on a comp CD from Time-Life or what. Anyway, it was pretty good. VG.
Various – The Best Of Laurie, Volume 1 — Compilation album of songs from early- to mid-60s. Dion, Chiffons, The Royal Guardsmen, The Mystics and more. NM.
Elvis Costello And The Attractions – Imperial Bedroom — I believe this is the first real album I heard of EC’s and I remember being really impressed with it. It has a lot of emotions and as The BCPF said, “he writes good torch songs.” VG/VG+.
Byrds – Byrds — I found this in our reshuffling and realized I had never put it in Discogs. I don’t know why. This is the Byrds twelveth and final album. Most of the press I see is less than stellar. But, The BCPF feels like she needs all of them and I’m not arguing over that! VG.
It was so good to see Jonathan again and just being in my favorite local store was a big relief. Jonathan had some good freshly-acquired vinyl and I noticed there was still a good bit of used stereos/turntables/speakers for sale. You gotta go by and check that out. You got Visa gift cards for Christmas, right!? Go invest in some vinyl!
Listen to each new episode of The Less Desirables and hear what the TLD/UR Special of the Week is. Obviously, I use Discogs to track my collection, find what I may have, may need, and definitely want. And, as we found out (or confirmed what we already knew) whilst reshuffling our collection, it is great for the Random Grab!
Until tomorrow, keep spinning…
Scorp out!
— “Wickedness lies in your moistened lips. Your body moves just like the crack of a whip. Black cats lay atop your satin bed. You sure wish that you could see me dead. Evil woman, don’t play your games with me.” – “Evil Woman (Don’t Play Your Games With Me)” (Waggoner/Wiegand/Wiegand)
We did get to go to Underdog Records yesterday but we didn’t get to listen to any of the loot. We were shopping for fixtures for the upgrades to the house and going to a housewarming party for a friend. We had a great day but it involved little music. Here’s the haul:
First, there is Regatta de Blanc from the Police but no one has put this reissue on Discogs yet and I don’t want to be the one that does, so I’m holding out for that. Anyway, A&M or someone is reissuing the whole Police catalog, but only Regatta and the next entry were released this week. Regatta is #New.
Tracy Chapman – Tracy Chapman — #263 on the RS list. This album is an amazing piece of work. There is much more to the album than just “Fast Car.” Some have called it a bit political but I think she passes that off as being subjective. Great album, again. VG+.
Y & T – Black Tiger — This was featured in the Eugeology series from 2017. It was entry #21. You can read my then commentary here. I haven’t listened since but I like to have things that could be musically important. This is the Japanese release and is in immaculate condition. NM.
David Bowie – Never Let Me Down — Released in 1987, this was the last solo album from Bowie until 1993. In between, he formed Tin Machine and still toured although he retired his back catalog. I don’t know what he was thinking there, really. I think he just wanted to recharge and reinvent. I don’t really know much about this album, but it was there and I grabbed it. VG++.
John Lennon – Walls And Bridges — Original cover with die-cut flaps. This was Lennon’s fifth solo record and had the hits “Whatever Gets You Through the Night” and “#9 Dream.” VG++.
Jethro Tull – Stand Up — I’ve never been a big fan of Tull, outside of a few songs here and there. I don’t know how I feel about this album, either, but I do like “A New Day Yesterday,” which I performed with Vagabond Saints Society when they did a night of Jethro Tull. EX/VG++.
George Harrison – Extra Texture (Read All About It) — Harrison’s sixth solo album, it was his final album under his contract with Apple Records and EMI, and the last studio album issued by Apple. There were a lot of superstar guest musicians and the album didn’t do very well. But, it is what it is. EX/VG++.
Faces – A Nod Is As Good As A Wink…To A Blind Horse — Faces’ third album and probably their defining moment. They were riding a high from Rod Stewart’s “Maggie May” solo hit and were ready to go. They shuffled up some of the lead vocal duties and that made some of the members frustrated, especially bassist Ronnie Lane. Found this is the $1 bin and there are two more $1 albums that for whatever reason didn’t get into my Discogs collection. Well, one I know was because it wasn’t in Discogs and the other I must have just skipped. G+.
A good day and I hope to listen to these things soon. Jonathan was in a good mood and we had a few minutes to laugh and talk. I always love that. He has some new-to-the-store electronics for sale and he’s always adding new stock to the “freshly new” bins. Listen to the latest episode of The Less Desirables to hear the TLD/UR special of the week. I use Discogs to keep track of my collection and bring this “haul” to you.
Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!
— “Poets, priests, and politicians have words to thank for their positions. Words that scream for your submission. And no one’s jamming their transmission. Because when their eloquence escapes you, their logic ties you up and rapes you.” – “De Do Do Do De Da Da Da” (Sting)
Today I got to spin some records whilst my house was being redone. Last night I received an email from the painter, Chris and he said he was listening to Thelonius Monk and said that he’d like to hear some Miles Davis on vinyl. I told him that I had him covered. So, when they got here this morning, I played Kind of Blue and Bitches Brew from Miles Davis.
And, I played Welcome Back, My Friends, to the Show That Never Ends ～ Ladies and Gentlemen a live album from Emerson, Lake & Palmer from around 1974. It was a great listen. That was for the benefit of the HVAC folks who were taking the air handler out of the closet it was in.
Then, a random grab led me to Hunky Dory from Bowie. Then, because Chris’ worker asked me to play some funk, I threw some Maggot Brain from Funkadelic in for good measure. It was a good record listening day for me, I had fun and my house started to come back together. Yay me and The BCPF!
Let’s see what happens tomorrow!
Until then, same blog channel…
Scorp out!
— “I once had a life, or rather, life had me. I was one among many or at least I seemed to be. Well, I read an old quotation in a book just yesterday. Said ‘Gonna reap just what you sow the debts you make you have to pay.’ Can you get to that?” – “Can You Get to That?” (Clinton/Harris)
The BCPF and I slept late because we were out late, even though I didn’t get to play on Friday night. But, we did eventually get by to Underdog Records and had a little bit of listening time before our Saturday evening plans. Here’s the haul:
Belle And Sebastian – Days Of The Bagnold Summer — When anything by Belle & Sabastian comes out, we jump on it. This is to a soundtrack of a film, I guess by the name of Days of the Bagnold Summer. It is a great album. If you’re not familiar with B&S, you should check them out. I understand it’s not for everyone but you never know, you may like it. New.
Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers – Southern Accents — Petty’s 1985 album that spawned “Don’t Come Around Here No More,” “Rebels” and “Make It Better (Forget About Me).” It’s a great album. EX/VG++.
Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers – Let Me Up (I’ve Had Enough) — His follow up to the previous entry, this one had “Jammin’ Me,” “Runaway Trains,” “All Mixed Up” and “Think About Me” released as singles. A great album, as well. EX/VG++.
The Police – Ghost In The Machine — I had this one already but only in VG condition. I just couldn’t pass up a VG++ version. So, I’ll trade the other one in to Jonathan. This is tied for second of my favorite Police albums with Outlandos d’Amour, Reggatta de Blanc and Zenyatta Mondatta (yes, that is all their other albums) after Synchronicity. “Invisible Sun,” “Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic,” “Spirits in the Material World” and “Secret Journey” were the singles but “Omegaman,” “Demolition Man,” “Rehumanize Yourself” and “Too Much Information” is also on this album.
David Bowie – Tonight — This may shock some people but the first time I ever heard of, or anything by, Bowie was “Blue Jean” from this album. I hated it. I don’t know why. It was because of the video on TBS’s Night Tracks music video program. Remember, I didn’t have MTV until 1986. I also didn’t have access to Bowie on the radio. I was so out of touch. That’s why I make it my mission, now, to absorb as much as I can. Bowie continues his writing with Iggy Pop on this album and does a Beach Boys cover (“God Only Knows” from Pet Sounds) and a Chuck Jackson cover (“I Keep Forgettin'”) and does a duet with Tina Turner on the title track. I love this album. VG++.
Chopin, Artur Rubinstein – Nocturnes (Complete) — You’ll see from the next few entries, there were a number of classical albums. This one first. It’s a 2xLP set of, well, the complete set of Nocturnes from ol’ Fred. VG.
Emerson, Lake & Palmer – Love Beach — Released two days before my eighth birthday, this is the “nadir” of ELP’s output. It’s the last one before they split up. They didn’t play together again until 1992. Although, Keith Emerson and Greg Lake did join up with Cozy Powell for a whole different ELP in the mid-80s. That’s the first time I ever heard of ELP and didn’t know that Palmer was even a thing. Anyway, this is supposed to be earth-shatteringly awful which makes me want to hear it. According to Keith Emerson, the album was “an embarrassment against everything I’ve worked for.” It was $1 and goes in my ELP collection. A win for me, even if it does suck like a Hoover. VG/VG+.
When we got to Underdog Records yesterday, Jonathan had put out some doughnuts from Krispy Kreme and we each had one. Jonathan is always doing cool things for his customers. He has a lot of speaker pairs for sale right now, you should check out the Underdog Records’ Instagram and Facebook to see what he has. Plus, follow to see what he’s just picked up or acquired and is putting out for purchase. Listen to each new episode of The Less Desirables to hear what the TLD/UR special of the week is!
I use Discogs to keep track of what I have so when I came across an album in the store I can look to see if I already have it. I was talking to another customer in the store and he says he gets home and realizes he already had a copy of something and just keeps it. I told him to use Discogs and that doesn’t happen as often. It does sometimes but not usually.
Until tomorrow, keep spinning…
Scorp out!
— “I got my own way of workin’, but everything is run with a southern accent where I come from.” – “Southern Accents” (Petty)
