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Useless Things Need Love Too

Tag Archives: Love

The Bride Wore Black or: Almost My L’il Sis

04 Friday Oct 2019

Posted by TGBII in Life as We Know It

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Tags

Life, Life as It is, Love, TBD Referral Group, Wedding

Salutations™!!

Tonight, The BCPF and I went to a wedding of a friend of ours. Heather, who is part of the TBD Referral Group, married her fiance, Anthony. So, she wore a white dress for the ceremony, which was on a pond’s bank and was quite beautiful. We all walked back up the hill to the reception area and by the time the wedding party had gotten up there, Heather had changed into a black wedding dress. She is bad-arsed! And, we had a taco bar for food. That is also bad-arsed! Congratulations Heather and Anthony! Oh, there was a special announcement that was made, too. But, I’m leaving that for your imagination.

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Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!

—
“Where there is love there is life.” – Mahatma Gandhi

Nine Years or: Togetherness

21 Sunday Jul 2019

Posted by TGBII in Life as We Know It

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Anniversary, Life, Life as It is, Love, Team Beeman, The BCPF

Salutations™!!

Today’s haul post will happen tomorrow, but today, I’m going to speak very briefly about something else. I know everyone thinks that The BPCF and I are disgusting because of our PDA and I’m okay with that.

Today is the first-ever anniversary that The BCPF and I ever shared and celebrated. Nine years ago today, we went on our first date. Of course, that was retroactive to the fact at that point. We went on a trip in September 2010 and retroactively decided that this was the date of our first date.

So, on this date in 2010, I took her to Charlotte to see Cowboy Junkies play at the McGlohon Theatre. The same place that we’d see Colin Hay and Richard Marx do acoustic sets and numerous other things when I had season tix to the Broadway Lights series in Charlotte.

Nine years is a long time and it seems like it too, but at the same time, it feels like it has been no time. I love that woman.

This is also the ninth anniversary of me playing “her song” for the first time. Last year, I posted this video and today, I’m doing the same thing. I’m proud of it!

Until tomorrow, here’s to another ninety years…
Scorp out!

—
“I think I’m falling it’s a long way down…” – “Fallen” (Beeman)

The 5-1 or: I Never Promised

21 Friday Jun 2019

Posted by TGBII in Life as We Know It

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Anniversary, Love, Parents

Salutations™!!

Today Mes ‘Rents are celebrating their 51st wedding anniversary. Of course, I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for these two so I celebrate them, too. Ma Mère said I couldn’t post this picture but I never promised I wouldn’t. Besides, it’s a GREAT picture of them. So, join with me and raise a proverbial oatmeal pie and small Coke in their honor! I love you guys!

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I’m sure I’ve posted about their “story” in a previous post, so look back to some of the past June 21 entries.

Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!

—
“Love is like a beautiful flower which I may not touch, but whose fragrance makes the garden a place of delight just the same.” – Helen Keller

Listing or: a New Play

05 Friday Jan 2018

Posted by TGBII in Life as We Know It, Movie Review, Music Review, Records

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AFI, Eugene B Sims, Eugeology, Funkadelic, Jon Lowder, KISS, Lou Reed, Love, NME, Rolling Stone Top 500 Albums

Salutations™!!

Well, it’s a new year. Last year around the new year, I finished two long-time lists, The Rolling Stone Top 500 Albums of All Time and the 400 nominations for the AFI 100 Years… 100 Movies. Again, those were long, drawn-out treks. The movies list took almost nine years and the RS list was a three-year jaunt. Lots of hours spent in that. One day I may add up the run times of each film and each album to see how much time those actually took. I’m really curious.

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©NME

 

Then, this past year, I did Eugeology: Eugene’s List of Hard Rock Albums and Possible Gems where Eugene and Jon and I listened to a random list of 50 hard rock albums that Eugene thought were fantastic and perhaps lesser known to everyday music folk. I finished it in almost perfect time. Eugene got somewhere barely over half done and Jon never made it to half. Oh well.

Now, the point is, Dear Reader, you know that I do lists. That’s how I operate. Eug jokes that the only way to get me to do something is to put it on a list or let it involve a streak and watch me burn through it. He’s not far off from the truth, there.

I feel I need to explain this again, but I’m always asked why I have to have lists, why can’t I just listen to stuff? I’ll condense it and say that where I grew up there were no top 40 or pop music radio stations until at least 1982 and at that, it was a limited playlist. We didn’t have MTV and I really had no access to the plethora of music that was out there. My father listened only to what we now know as “classic country” and my mother listened to Leslie Gore and gospel stuff. She isn’t really a “musical person.” I spent most of my time, ages 8 until around 12/13, listening to nothing but KISS. I don’t regret that, but I do wish I had more knowledge of the rest of musicdom.

As I said at the beginning, it’s a new year. And, since I’m out of lists that I was already working on, well, I need another. So, I was looking through some Google searches and came across a few lists but the one that I think is manageable right now is NME’s 101 Albums to Hear Before You Die. I will figure out how to structure the listen. I know for the RS list I did 10 at a time and with Eug’s list we did one a week. I don’t know, just yet, how I’m going to approach it. I know that about half of the albums on that are on the RS list in different spots (obviously) but there are some out there things that I’ve never even heard of. You never know I may find the next Forever Changes (Love), Maggot Brain (Funkadelic) or Berlin (Lou Reed) on this list. Or, I may find the stuff too out there for me and abandon it. We’ll see. I know that NME has a 500 of all time, too. Who knows. I have the 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die (2011 edition) book and there’s a website with the whole list including all editions. You never know I may pick all of those. For now, however, I’m going to say the NME list is what I pick. You’ll see how it works out because I know you read every day, right? Right.

Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!

—
“Lists are how I parse and manage the world.” – Adam Savage

Spoiled or: Ooh What a Lucky Man He (is) Was

20 Wednesday Dec 2017

Posted by TGBII in Life as We Know It

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Eugene B Sims, Life, Love, The BCPF, The Less Desirables, The Less Desirables Network, The Man Who Ate the Town, Tracy Krohn

Salutations™!!

Yeah, so you probably figured this was coming. When you get the most disgustingly cute couple on social media together for a week, it just gets more syrupy and sugary. It’s happening right now so you may want to look away. 12140590_10153570981195490_1698712997952251680_n

I have been with my wife, The BCPF, all day, every day since Friday night and I haven’t at all tired of her. I don’t need a break, I don’t want a break, I found out, I don’t like the break. Today, I had to take a little break, but not because I wanted it or needed it, I had something to do. I took her car to my bro-in-law to have the headlights changed. While there, he buffed out the headlamp covers which had fogged and boogered up. They really got brighter with that combo. That took about an hour. I then came home and spent a good bit of time with her before I had to go record The Less Desirables. Now, I love doing TLD and that’s one of only two podcasts I’m recording through this month (the other being The Man Who Ate the Town), but I really didn’t want to go in today. I wanted to stay home with her.

And, the show was a good one, Eugene came to hang out and do his Top 5 New TV Shows of 2017. I miss him and hanging was fun. Tracy Krohn came as well and talked acupuncture and even needled Eug. He was very calm. It was great to watch. I love both of those people as I do my two work wives. However, tonight, I just wanted to be home with The BCPF. When I got home I had to get kiss her. I really love just being around her. As I write this, it’s about 11pm and she’s upstairs in the bedroom watching TV and I’m downstairs, getting ready to watch my own TV programs and relax. So, we don’t do the Three Feet Rule the entire time, that’s just Friday night-Monday mornings. But, I love being home with her.

Call it mushy, call it silly, call it PDA. I don’t care. I really, really enjoy her and love her. I don’t know if she needed a break but she got one. I can be with her 24/7 and not think twice about it. Now, even 3+ years of marriage and almost 8 years of being together, I haven’t tired of her, one. Single. Bit. Yeah, I’m mushy and again, I don’t care! Love you, baby! I apologize for… wait… sorry/not sorry on that moment of mush.

Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!

—
“I love being in love. It’s the best feeling in the world.” – Ranveer Singh

Three – It’s a Magic Number or: Lush Green Fields Forever

02 Saturday Sep 2017

Posted by TGBII in Honeymoon, Life as We Know It

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Dalhousie Castle, Edinburgh, Honeymoon, Love, The BCPF, Wedding

Salutations™!!

So, here it is, a Saturday and I’m not talking about a movie. Yeah… well, this is more important. I’m going to tell a story. Hang on, okay?10665220_10204265571233936_6578376271480883644_n

On September 2, 2014, we had been in Edinburgh for two nights so far. We’d walked the Royal Mile more than twice, drunk whisky (not whiskey) and beer more than a pint or glass or two, and eaten some great food. We had a great night sleep. We got up and wandered down to the dining area and had a bit of eggs, haggis, toast, black pudding, and breakfast tea or orange juice. We were definitely satisfied and so it was time to begin.

We both went back up the creaky – but classy – staircase and into our corner room in this 17th Century (parts of it as old as 15th Century) structure known as Dalhousie Castle in a quaint country setting in Cockpen, Midlothian, just outside of Bonnyrigg which is about 8 miles from Edinburgh. She took her freshly steamed garment with accouterments with her as she kissed me, told me that she loved me and that she would see me in just a bit.  I watched her go out the door, stood for a minute and breathed a heavy sigh. It was time.

I grabbed the tuxedo-like shirt and put it on, only buttoning it part way. Next was the kilt hose which I pulled up past my knees and then attached my flashes and rolled the tops of the hose down to conceal the flashes’ bands. The Ghillie Brogues weren’t simple but I managed it. I put my Sgian Dubh (skee-an doo: a decorative knife) inside my right kilt hose. I was getting closer.

I buttoned the top button of my shirt and put on the bow tie. Then the came time for the pièce de résistance. I brought the nine yards of woolen fabric in its beautiful deep red, lush green and powerful blue print and wrapped it around my rotund navel area and secured the buckles. I attached the sporran and chain to act as a belt and pocket and then put the kilt pin on at the bottom. The last piece was the Prince Charlie jacket. I stood in front of the mirror and looked at myself. Did I look good enough to meet her downstairs? Was I worthy of her? Was I good enough for her? I was going to try my darnedest. I put my room key, money clip, and phone into my sporran and exited our room.

10599366_10204265585754299_434785323188003892_nI went downstairs to the Library Bar and awaited my witness and our planner; they were a package. I removed my jacket to get more comfortable. I was offered a drink and chose my favorite libation of them all, Grand Marnier. It came in a quaint snifter and was warm and sweet and allowed me to close my eyes for a second and take in the situation. George, my witness, and his wife Kimmie, our planner, came in and introduced themselves and told me how things were going to work. Kimmie had me put a Boutonnière in the jacket lapel. I was then met by the registrar who went over the pertinent info and explained what to expect. I nodded and agreed.

It was approaching noon local time. A wonderful gentleman by the name of Andrew came in the library carrying an imposing set of bagpipes. He talked with me for a second, had me put my jacket back on and blew in the bag and began to play the pipes, walking me down the stairs of the castle and into the gun room where the registrar was standing. Andrew left and arrived a few minutes later, piping as he entered the room followed by the most gorgeous sight I’ve ever witnessed. There she was, in a beautiful dress with her hair done in a fancy style and carrying a carefully arranged bouquet of flowers. I have always told her I can’t say that she’s the “girl of my dreams” because I don’t really know what that means, but I know she is the kind of girl I’ve always dreamed of being with.

She followed Andrew down the steps and he stopped at the bottom and turned to her. She was still on the landing. He asked her questions, which I’m not really sure what he was saying. She agreed and he piped her to my side. We stood, staring at each others’ eyes, neither wanting to cry but feeling like we might. It turns out it was the registrar that cried a little when I recited my vows. We both exchanged lovely, heartfelt words and signed the manifesto of our promises to each other. We took the most incredible pictures in the lush green fields and areas around Dalhousie Castle. Then, we ate canapes and changed into street clothes. We spent the rest of the day wandering on the Royal Mile, taking in the hospitality of the amazing Scottish citizens and pub owners before heading back to Dalhousie and having dinner in the dungeon (seriously). A most magical day ending.

Our faerie tale started four years prior to this day but this is truly where the “living happily ever after” moments started. Not a day has gone by since that I don’t look in the mirror and tell myself how lucky I am to call her my wife, my life’s partner. There are not enough words – in any language – to describe my happiness. That doesn’t mean I don’t try, every day, to show her that happiness and what she means to me.

Stephanie. My “beautiful close personal ‘friend.'” My love. My partner. My everything. The past three seven years have been some of the best of my entire life and I’ll not hide the fact that I’ve had a great life. Three years ago today, you made me the luckiest man on the planet, officially. Happy Anniversary to you and may our lives be as rich and vivid as the memories I have of that day and as lush as the sprawling green fields we stood in outside of that old and magnificent castle. I love you so very much.

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Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Mushball out.

—
“All that I am I give to you. All that I have I share with you, for the whole of our life together.” – Tim Beeman

The Proposal or: Magical Moments

31 Monday Jul 2017

Posted by TGBII in Honeymoon, Life as We Know It, Travel

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Engagement, Life, Love, The BCPF, Walt Disney World

Salutations™!!

Yeah, I tell this almost every year and yeah, it gets mushy and yeah, probably to you, Dear Reader, it gets old. The truth is, however, I never tire of telling it and if you don’t like my mushy stuff, this would be a good time to check out. If you don’t mind or are reading it for the first time, then read on! A bit of warning, though, it will be long.

The BCPF and I got up on July 31, 2011, and were driven to Charlotte to get on a plane. It was our first plane trip together and it was the first time that we were going to go to my favorite destination in the world, Walt Disney World. It was to be the first time that I had been there in six years and we were going to celebrate the fact that I, after many years since my last collegiate foray, had finished my degree. My gift to myself was this trip and I was taking my best girl with me.

Whilst I know it is a fashion faux-pas, when I travel to WDW, I wear a fanny pack. I like having my stuff with me and I don’t want it falling out while I’m being jostled about on rides. This day was a bit different, though. Yes, I had the fanny pack but it was the contents of the pack that was different. I put it on the x-ray belt and hoped that the scanning officer didn’t alert anyone to the pack’s contents. It passed inspection, we moved on, got on the plane, and headed to the “most Magical place on earth.”

We got on the shuttle and were whisked away to Wilderness Lodge, our “home away from home.” After getting in the room, the first thing I like to do when I get to WDW is to go to Magic Kingdom and have lunch in the form of a hot dog at Casey’s Corner on Main Street USA. Being as Wilderness Lodge is on Bay Lake, the same body of water that surrounds Magic Kingdom, we took a boat over and made it through security with no alerts to my fanny pack’s contents. We had to wait as it was before 11 am and Casey’s Corner wasn’t yet open. We had our dog and conversed about the Ibis that populate the courtyard.

We then moved to Swiss Family Robinson’s Treehouse and had no wait. We walked through that with no resistance, no people rushing or pushing past us. We moved on the Jungle Cruise and unless you’re the first person, first thing in the morning, there’s no way to miss a crowded line here. But, it was minimal. We got on the ride and were given prime seats (toward the front of the boat in the middle so you see everything with little craning of the neck). I held her hand and we enjoyed the boat ride through Asia and Africa and under Switzer Falls (named after someone named “Falls”). From there it was Pirates of the Carribean. The line was minimal and we were seated at the front of the boat. 216852_10150326463895490_8196672_n

One thing to note is that it was July 31 and we were in Central Florida. But, it was only in the mid-80s. Not too hot at all, which was surprising, but definitely welcome. We walked our way around to Haunted Mansion and had virtually no line. Since The BCPF and I are history folks, we had to do the Hall of Presidents, especially since we’re both fans of Obama and his presentation had just been added to the script. All of this, you have to realize, was seventh heaven to me. I was getting to be a tour guide of the place I love with the woman I love.

It’s a rite of passage for anyone going to Magic Kingdom, or WDW at all, to have to ride It’s a Small World. Yes, that song is annoying as all get out, but you have to ride it. Again, short line (which never happens) and we were put in the front row. By this time it was almost 3 pm and it was time to make our move to Epcot, as we had rezzies for dinner at Tutto Italia Ristorante at 5:40 pm and sometimes that trip can be time-consuming. But, getting to the Monorail was no problem, getting on the Monorail was no problem and the trip to Epcot was easy-peasy-George-and-Weezy!

We wandered through the gates and since The BCPF had no bag, no purse, no anything, I sent her through the “No Bags” line as I got my fanny pack checked (plus I didn’t need her to know its contents and didn’t want to take a chance). The first ride you encounter from the Monorail is Spaceship Earth. No wait and no halting in the middle of the ride, which anyone who’s ridden that ride can attest, that is rare. We moved on to the World Showcase since that’s where the Italy Pavilion is and you choose the left path or right path. Italy is in the left middle but certainly in the middle so we took the left path. That brought us to Mexico Pavilion first and we rode the boat ride, Gran Fiesta Tour Starring The Three Caballeros and were given the front row of the ride, with no other riders on the boat with us.

Next was Norway and the Maelstrom boat ride (RIP, it’s now Frozen Ever After – BOO!!!!!!!) and yes, minimal line and, again, front row. Next, China and their Circle-Vision 360 film, Reflections of China. That took a little bit of time and it was about 5:15 pm. I knew we had no time to do anything else, so we decided we’d be early for our rezzie. We traveled two countries in about five minutes (we were booking it) and got to the restaurant to find that our reservation was 5:25, not 5:40. We were five whole minutes early, whew! The meal was pretty good. We finished and it was about 6:30.

What I’ve failed to mention up to this point is that my entire adult life I’ve gone to WDW and have seen people on boats on the World Showcase Lagoon watching Illuminations: Reflections of Earth fireworks show. Again, this was my celebratory trip and I wanted to do that, so I booked it. But, that happens at 8 pm each night. We had time to kill and I wanted to see “O Canada!” a Circle-Vision 360 film that had recently been upgraded and since it was one of my favorite attractions, I had to see how it had changed. It was good and I was pleased. We had timed it right and had no wait to get in, other than hearing the spiel from the cast member that should be heard. After the film and some wandering about, we went to the Yacht Club, just outside of Epcot to get on our boat!

We get there and the boat house is closed!! What the heck!? It was 7:45 and it was closed. I had many plans that needed to happen and this is not what I needed to happen. The BCPF tried to calm me down. “We can do it another day,” she said. No. No, we couldn’t. There was a number to call for questions and literally as I was about to hit send on my cell, a door pops open from the back of the Yacht Club and (yes this could be in my mind and not what really happened) a line of five boat captains came marching out in single file, each pulling a rolling cooler and singing or chanting something Disney-like. It was surreal.

A fellow that looked and sounded a lot like Uncle Fester from Addams Family came over to us and the other groups that had gathered for their own boat rides and asked: “who’s from North Carolina?” I raised my hand and acknowledged it was us. He introduced himself as “Captain Ron” which I thought was funny. We were having to watch the weather as a storm was rolling around the area. We couldn’t take the boat ride if the storm came through. Luckily, it didn’t and we could get on the boats.

Cap’n Ron drove the boat around Crescent Lake telling us its history and the history of the resorts around it, and then the theme parks that are located on its shores. He paused in a few spots to let us “take it in,” although I knew what he was doing. We worked our way back to the Yacht Club, Beach Club and Boardwalk Inn area and moved our way through the channel into the World Showcase Lagoon. Checking with Control Central we were able to move farther into the lagoon to view the awesome fireworks display.

I sat on the pontoon boat’s seat normally and The BCPF leaned in on me, her feet up in the seat. The fireworks started. I sneakily took the item I’d been hiding from my fanny pack and adjusted it to prepare for the coup de grace that was about to happen. The BCPF said she’d like to sit on the opposite bench. Okay. I had to maneuver the item for her to not see it. After about 2 minutes, Cap’n Ron said that we’d see better from the side we started from. Okay. Maneuver number two. We assumed the positions again. The BCPF leaned back and said, “you know, today has been perfect.” I nodded with a “yep.”

And it had been perfect. A nearly flawless flight. A quick and easy shuttle ride followed by a quick and easy check-in at the resort. The boat ride to Magic Kingdom. The hot dog lunch with the Ibis. The short lines. Every ride with the option gave us front row. The dinner. This boat ride and the fireworks to end all fireworks. As the glittery display came to an end and the announcements started, I said, “you know, today has been perfect. There’s only one thing I can think of that would make it more perfect.” I rose took the item in my hand, dropped to one knee, and exposed the contents of the item I had been hiding for nine months. I asked her, “Will you marry me?” She stared at me blankly and asked, “yeah? Are you serious?”

2011-08-01_22-42-30_75I looked down at the box and the faintly sparkling stones sitting within it and said, “I got a ring…?” She finally said, “yes!” Whew, I thought I was going to fall over. I thought I had all this figured out. I thought there was no way she’d say no. I thought I was going to have a heart attack. She said yes. Yes. YES! Cap’n Ron announced what had happened. We were

Cap’n Ron announced what had happened. We had been tethered to four other boats in the lagoon and the one right next to us was full of seven women and they wanted to know what she said. I stood and at the top of my lungs yelled, “SHE SAID YES!!!!” People were looking over the rails of that same bridge where I had stood several times and watched the people in these boats observe the fireworks. We were congratulated a lot. We were taken back to Hollywood Studios because it was easier to get to the buses to get back to our resort. Along the way, I told her the few people that actually knew this was coming and the people who didn’t. Some really surprised her. She didn’t get to see the ring, which she calls her “precious” in a very un-Gollem-like voice, until we got on the bus.

Once back at the resort we went to the mercantile to grab some beverages and asked about something to commemorate the engagement. We got badges and wore them around the park the entire week we were there. People congratulated us constantly and cast members of WDW would yell congrats to us from across the promenade if that’s where they saw the badge. I don’t think we paid for any desserts during that week (we realized we needed to keep those badges on the entire time). It was the perfect trip.

It was the perfect trip. The entire week, with the exception of one day, the weather was near perfect. We had fun. We ate well. We loved each other and we loved, and still love, our time together, no matter where we are. We have many anniversaries that we celebrate, which is probably overkilling it, but we’re disgustingly cute and don’t care to show it. This, to me, is the second most important after the wedding anniversary.

To The BCPF, Stephanie, I still love you as I did that day, but the magnitude has grown infinitely exponentially. I fall in love more and more every day. Good. Bad. Indifferent. We always have each other and have a love that I defy anyone else to match. This is our fairy tale and I am not ashamed, afraid, or reluctant to scream it from the mountain tops, roof tops and this danged blog. Happy sixth engagement anniversary my baby. I love you.

Sorry, Dear Reader for the 2200+ word explosion. I did warn you.

Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!

—
“Yes!” – The BCPF

Silent Sunday or: The Haul 5/13/17

14 Sunday May 2017

Posted by TGBII in Records, Silent Sunday

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Tags

Art Garfunkel, Barbara Streisand, Billy Maxted's Manhattan Jazz Band, Christopher Cross, Daft Punk, David Crosby, Desmond Child, Discogs, Duran Duran, Ella Fitzgerald, Elton John, Gordon Lightfoot, Graham Nash, Jimi Hendrix, Johnny Nash, Journey, Judy Collins, Linda Ronstadt, Loudon Wainwright III, Love, Marvin Hamlisch, Mary Travers, Neil Diamond, Paul Simon, Peter Nero, Quarterflash, Rob McConnell and the Boss Brass, The Beach Boys, Underdog Records, Vicki Lawrence

Salutations™!!

I don’t know how I missed it but there was a whole other section of $1 records at Underdog Records. We found it yesterday. Oh did we. It was 33% off all $1 records, too, so that was a bonus. Here’s what we walked away with:R-603114-1156732637.jpeg

  • Daft Punk – Discovery (New)
  • The Beach Boys – Pet Sounds (50th Anniversary edition, Tuesday will be 51 years, new)
  • The Jimi Hendrix Experience – Are You Experienced (Friday was 50 years for this one, new)
  • Ella Fitzgerald – Mack The Knife – Ella In Berlin (New)
  • Love – Forever Changes (New)
  • Al Goodman And His Orchestra, Rodgers & Hammerstein – King And I
  • Barbra Streisand – Streisand Superman
  • Barbra Streisand – Simply Streisand
  • Linda Ronstadt – Hasten Down The Wind
  • Linda Ronstadt – Heart Like A Wheel
  • Linda Ronstadt – Living In The USA
  • Linda Ronstadt – Get Closer
  • Elton John – Rock Of The Westies
  • Elton John – Reg Strikes Back
  • Elton John – Too Low For Zero
  • Elton John – Breaking Hearts
  • Elton John – Empty Sky
  • Vicki Lawrence – The Night The Lights Went Out In Georgia
  • Various – Musical Scrapbook Of Germany Vol. 1
  • Marvin Hamlisch – Ice Castles (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
  • Hugo Montenegro And His Orchestra And Chorus* – Hang ‘Em High
  • Desmond Child And Rouge – Desmond Child And Rouge
  • Christopher Cross – Christopher Cross
  • Quarterflash – Quarterflash
  • Gordon Lightfoot – Gord’s Gold
  • Gordon Lightfoot – Fantastic
  • Duran Duran – Seven And The Ragged Tiger
  • Loudon Wainwright III – Album III
  • Johnny Nash – I Can See Clearly Now
  • Peter Nero – Summer Of ’42
  • The Sound Symposium – Paul Simon Interpreted
  • Mary Travers – Circles
  • Graham Nash / David Crosby* – Graham Nash / David Crosby
  • Neil Diamond – Shilo
  • Judy Collins – Recollections
  • Garfunkel* – Angel Clare
  • Rob McConnell And The Boss Brass* – Big Band Jazz
  • Journey – Departure
  • Journey – Evolution
  • Billy Maxted’s Manhattan Jazz Band – Satin Doll

Whew! 40 albums. Actually, 41 because there’s one I have to put into Discogs because there is no record of it. Ha! No record of it… Funny stuff. Anywhat! Jonathan has a fantastic selection of old, new, future, all kinds of records. And, if you don’t use Discogs for your record (and even CD) archiving and cataloging, then you’re missing out.

Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!

—
“And I’ve got such a long way to go (such a long way to go) to make it to the border of Mexico. So I’ll ride like the wind. Ride like the wind” – “Ride Like the Wind” (Cross)

What!? Whatta You Want? or: Special Forces (Eugeology Entry 16)

27 Thursday Apr 2017

Posted by TGBII in Music Review

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Adam Ant, Alice Cooper, Berlin, Craig Krampf, Duane Hitchings, Eric Scott, Eugene B Sims, Eugeology, Jon Lowder, Love, Missing Persons, Starz, The BCPF

Salutations™!!

Acforces

©Warner Bros.

Note: I had gotten off on my sequential order. I fixed it. Just so you know. So… Another great one last week, Starz. I gotta be on the lookout for that on vinyl, really. Jon and Eugene are playing catch up. We’ll get their reviews soon. But for now, let’s get to probably the most head-scratching entry we have had on this list yet.

#16 – Special Forces by Alice Cooper.

I’ve never had strong feelings about Alice Cooper, one way or another. There have been great things like Billion Dollar Babies and Welcome to My Nightmare, sure. But, this is not Alice Cooper. I mean, it is, but isn’t. It’s all a bit weird.

There are parts that sound like Alice and some parts that sound like some other person. Now, I know that he was severely f’ed up on cocaine and alcohol at this time. I mean, he does refer to this as his “blackout period” where he had three albums he doesn’t even remember recording from his substance addictions. I don’t know if the guys in his band (or at least the recording band) just went along with him because he’s the boss or were they participating with him, or what, but they complied.

Let me say, though, there’s nothing wrong with this album. I have really gotten into the First Wave/New Wave/Post Punk stuff that happened from about 1980-1983 or so. Stuff I wouldn’t have even listened to 2 seconds of it a mere 10 years ago. The BCPF is a huge fan of that and I’ve started to really get into it. So, this isn’t something I wouldn’t listen to regularly, but for one thing: it’s Alice Cooper. Not that that matters, a good album is a good album. But, is this a good album? I haven’t decided that, yet.

In “Who Do You Think We Are,” once I get past thinking “Turbo Lover” is about to play, I keep hearing Shawn Mullins doing “Lullaby.” Only for a bit, but still it’s there. The rest of that song is Alice, but he’s scattered throughout the album. It’s not a bad song.

I do like the Berlin/Missing Persons-esque sound of the Love cover, “Seven and Seven Is” (originally known as 7 and 7 is). I like that he keeps it synthed-up, too. Oop-ip-ip oop-ip-ip yeah. I like “Prettiest Cop on the Block.” He’s not 6’3″ though (laughs). This song is very much like Alice. The same with “Don’t Talk Old to Me.”

More of the odd (for Alice) synth-based instrumentation on “Skeletons in My Closet” and “You Want It, You Got It.” It reminds me of Robert Hazard or Nails. But, then he goes back to true Alice form with “You Look Good in Rags.” Adam Ant, or the Alice Cooper version, shows up for “You’re a Movie.” This, happens to be my favorite song on the album, by the way. I love his ad-libs. The album ends well with “Vicious Rumours.”

The instrumentation listing should just read “Duane Hitchings and some other folks” because it was mostly a keyboard-/synth-driven album. There were drum machines in lieu of a drummer for a good bit of the album; sucks for you Mr. Krampf. Guitars are present but background material for the better part of the album. Listening on big speakers and headphones and even my laptops’ Bang & Olufsen speakers, Eric Scott’s bass is like Jason Newstead on …And Justice For All, and we all know how that went. Actually, the non-synth songs, you can hear him doing some cool stuff, especially in “Don’t Talk Old to Me.”  It’s just all background to the synths, I think.

So, here’s the thing. I like this album. I think it’s fun, or maybe not fun. I would like this a lot more if it wasn’t Alice treading in his demons. I’m not saying that he shouldn’t have made this album or blaming him for that. I do think it’s a cry for help, which he didn’t get for a while. So, the overall assessment is it’s a great new-wave/first-wave album. It’s not a great Alice Cooper album. But, I dig it for what it was at the time it was. It fit the time.

I want to hear Eug’s take on this and I predict that Jon will find it interesting but not necessarily like it. I could be wrong, I still have a time gauging his like/dislikes. But, it will be interesting, nonetheless.

Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!

—
“Bullets repel off my metals. And, my men are in awe when I speak. All chaos my strategies settles. My mere presence gives strength to the weak. For me it seems really alarming. I’m really just only a man. With five million sheep in this army, I seem to be the only one fit to command.” – “You’re a Movie” (Cooper, Hitchings)

He Not Busy Being Born or: The One in Rhode Island (RS Part 47)

16 Friday Dec 2016

Posted by TGBII in Music Review

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Tags

Bob Dylan, Carole King, David Bowie, Love, Muddy Waters, Rolling Stone, The Band, The Beatles, The Eagles, The Ramones, The Rolling Stones

Salutations™!!

The last segment of Rolling Stone Top 500 Albums of All Time had some surprises, not-surprises and duds, to me. I’m hitting the top 40 this time around. We can see the daylight and we’re moving on ahead. Speaking of which.

#40 – Forever Changes by Love. Okay, I’ll admit it. I’ve never heard of Love before. Never. Also, I’ve never, as far as I know, heard anything on this, either. But, I’ll follow all that 1love_-_forever_changeswith, I wish that I had. I really, really like this. It’s beautiful, it’s hard, it’s fresh (even 50 years later) and it’s sad. It’s easy to listen to and melodic. The production is slick and the orchestration, lush. Love, it turns out, was the first rock band to sign with Elektra Records. I was thrilled to find out that a few of the tracks on the album were accompanied by Wrecking Crew folks: Carole Kaye (bass), Billy Strange (guitar) and Hal Blaine (drums) all played on “Andmoreagain” and “The Daily Planet,” while Don Randi (piano) played on those same two songs and “Bummer in the Summer.” This is perfect late-60s psychedelia and fits that mold quite well. It’s also a bit weird. I mean the song “Live and Let Live” talks about snot caking on his pants and it’s hardened into a crust of crud. All this in what I can only figure is a metaphor for bureaucratic baloney, but isn’t it all bureaucratic baloney? I believe that it is. Some of my favorite things on this are “Alone Again Or,” “Andmoreagain,” “The Red Telephone,” “Live and Let Live” and “You Set the Scene” (although that one went on a bit long). I haven’t heard of it before but I dug it!

#39 – Please, Please Me by The Beatles. 1963. The world is introduced to The Beatles. The album was thrown together to capitalize (or “Capitolize” – see what I did there?) on the success of “Love Me Do” and the title track of this album. Without this, we problem wouldn’t have Sgt. Pepper, The Beatles (White Album), Abbey Road, Revolver, Rubber Soul and all the other greats. I’ve never cared about the early Beatles albums, but listening to this, it was really ahead of its time musically and production wise. George Martin was a genius. At this point in time the kids just bought singles (money was hard) and the adults bought albums. This pretty much changed that practice. It’s a much better album than I’d ever given credit for before. And, the longest song on here is 2:53, which is not bad. Not my 1hotelcaliforniafavorite Beatles album; nowhere near, but it’s darn fine. I dug it!

#38 – The Anthology 1947-1972 by Muddy Waters. Compilation = skip.

#37 – Hotel California by The Eagles. My favorite Eagles album, this. Well, one of them. I’d say it’s a tie between this and Desperado with The Long Run coming in right behind. I mean, Joe Walsh jumps in the band and all of a sudden you have an even bigger guitar duo powerhouse than before and you get “Life in the Fast Lane,” the title track, and “Victim of Love” as your rockin’ songs. You’re not getting crapped on for the more laid back, either: “New Kid in Town,” “Wasted Time” (one of my fave Eagles tunes, ever), “The Last Resort” and Walsh’s “Pretty Maids All in a Row.”  I’m not really sure why there’s the reprise of “Wasted Time” other than to tie side one to side two, but it’s cool and I like it. The album, as a whole is awfully rockin’ and I’m quite a fan. It’s the last to feature Randy Misner before Timothy B. Schmidt takes of. It’s also the penultimate Eagles album, other than the “hell freezes over” stuff later. I don’t know that I count those. I kid, of course I do. Okay, this album… I LOVE it! Oh, and I believe it’s the third best selling album in history.

#36 – Tapestry by Carole King. One of my new favorite albums of all time. It’s top 20 easy and possibly higher. There’s not a bad song on it anywhere. I can’t believe it’s this far 1carole_king_-_tapestrydown on the list, really. The songs are all well written (three co-written by her ex-husband Gerry Goffin, two with lyricist Toni Stern). The musicianship is immaculate, as well. She’s a great pianist and the accompanists are tight and near perfect while still keeping the feel of the album groovy. Even a song that gets on my nerves like you wouldn’t believe, “You’ve Got a Friend,” I love when she does it (it’s James Taylor’s version I get annoyed with). James Taylor plays on almost every song, too. He’s playing acoustic guitar and singing backup on most of it. If you’re wondering the name of the cat on the cover, it’s Telemachus. I can’t say exactly what it is about this album that I love so much. I just know that the first time I listened to it, I listened to it three times in a row and all without doing anything else other than reading lyrics to the songs. I really love this album. I bought it used on vinyl from my buddy Jonathan at Underdog Records but it had a lot of skips. He hasn’t located me another used copy, yet. It’s hard to say what my faves are because I love them all, but I’ll go with “Where You Lead” (I am a Gilmore Girls fan after all), “So Far Away,” “I Feel the Earth Move,” “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman” and “It’s Too Late.” Again, I love this album. And, again, it should have been higher.

#35 – The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars by David Bowie. The hits just keep coming! Another of my favorites. Another I wonder why it’s so far down the list. The Vagabond Saints Society did a tribute to Bowie in February right after his death and it included this album in its entirety. I was lucky enough to be able to do “Starman.” It was a great show and a fun song to do. The album is a concept album and we know I love a good concept album. The thing is, other than the sex and rock star aspect of it, I can’t really tell what it’s about. It’s kind of a mystery to me. But, I like it. Unlike the previous album on this segment, I don’t love every song on the album. I love most of them. “Ziggy Stardust” (I like the Bauhaus version, too), “Starman,” “It Ain’t Easy,” “Lady Stardust” and “Five Years” are my favorites. I’ve never really cared for “Suffragette City,” although I do like it better now than I used to. I own it on vinyl, but because of timing that’s not how I listened to it this time. Mick Ronson was a great guitarist. A little noisy, but that fit perfectly for Bowie. Trevor Bolder is a beast of a bass player, too. I really like this album! DUG x a bunch!

#34 – Music from Big Pink by The Band. Well, I suppose the fun had to end, eh? Not really. When I saw this come up on the list I let out an audible sigh. Why is this on the list and this high? I asked. I gave it a chance (I usually give them all a chance) and it wasn’t too awful. I am so not a fan of Levon Helm. I think that is the most of it. Not that I don’t like Richard Manuel or Rick Danko much better. As I said last segment, it’s sometimes like some old-1ramones_-_ramones_covertimey jug band. At least after the first side, I didn’t have to hear Helm doing lead. For whatever reason, this time listening to “The Weight” made me hear the song in a different light. I liked “Wheel’s on Fire,” “Chest Fever” and “We Can Talk.” Really, overall it wasn’t a bad album at all. Some of it even reminded me of The Beatles. I dug it, surprisingly.

#33 – Ramones by The Ramones. Well, I was surprised to find that I liked The Band’s recent entry. Then this happened.I listened to it through my headphones and it wasn’t horrible. the biggest problem for me was that it seemed 75% of the songs were the same song with different high school-written lyrics. The production was actually decent for what it was. I can say that the best part of the album was the whole thing was over in less than 30 minutes. I know why it’s on the list, being influential and all that. I just don’t know about the placement. I could see top 200 but top 40? Nah.I didn’t not dig it, but it was slightly higher than a meh.

#32 – Let It Bleed by The Rolling Stones. The track listing alone makes this better than its predecessor on both this countdown and chronologically, Beggar’s Banquet. “Love in Vain,” though. I don’t like hobo music; it sounds like something I’d picture a hobo on a train singing while carrying his bandana sack on a stick. I don’t like stuff like that. I also am not a fan of the original version of “Honky Tonk Women” called “Country Tonk” on this album; I’m a fan of “HTW,” though. For being the only tune on the album that (original pianist) Ian Stewart played on, his playing is pretty prominent on the title track. According to what I read, Keith Richards is singing lead on “You Got the Silver” but it sounds just like Mick Jagger to me. I really like “Monkey Man.” It has a harder rock edge to it, at least comparatively to the rest of the album. However, my favorite song on the album is the 1bob_dylan_-_bringing_it_all_back_homeseven and a half minute opus, “You Can’t Always Get What You Want.” I said it was better than Beggar’s and I’ll stick with that, but I’ll say it was just by a skosh. Meh (except for “You Can’t Always…,” and “Gimme Shelter.”)

#31 – Bringing It All Back Home by Bob Dylan. The first seconds that I heard “Subterranean Homesick Blues” I felt like I was watching the video for “Mediate” from INXS’ Kick album. See if anyone gets that. All my informed life (which is debatable), I’ve been down on Dylan because of the all-folksy thing. Well, after hearing this, I need to retract all of that. There’s some good things on here, to be sure, but it’s not endearing like the earlier folksy stuff. Yeah, he’s still speaking in metaphors that are beyond most of my comprehension but it’s not the same. I need some of that slight political resistance even though it’s beyond me. I haven’t ever been too politically charged. When it is, it’s something I find of importance but I’ll admit that I’m pretty aloof about politics mostly. I don’t usually get the references. Life’s too short to worry about all that. However, I think Dylan was at his best when he was protesting something. Other than it being way too long, I am amused with the “take two” on “Bob Dylan’s 115 Dream.” I was so glad when I got to side two and it was mostly acoustic stuff. It fits his voice better. This is where we get “Mr. Tambourine Man,” too. Yeah, side two, is definitely Dylan to me. I understand the significance of this album but about half of it I really like; the other half, no. But, overall I’m certainly saying dug, just from the second side. So, dug.

So, this ended up being a pretty fantastic segment. Even some surprises with me not hating the Ramones or The Band albums, right? A brand new discovery in the Love album. And two albums that I love (King, Eagles), one that I like slightly less than love (Bowie) and a Stones album that has some shine but mostly fell flat for me. A Dylan departure that I wasn’t ready to happen and was saved in the end. A Beatles album and that is never a bad thing. One compilation. That sums up this segment in a nutshell, me being the nut. Getting closer, now. Up next, top 30.

Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!

—
“Didn’t know what time it was and the lights were low. I leaned back on my radio.
Some cat was layin’ down some rock ‘n’ roll ”lotta soul,’ he said. Then, the loud sound did seem to fade; came back like a slow voice on a wave of phase. That weren’t no D.J., that was hazy cosmic jive.” 
– “Starman” (Bowie)

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