Tags
Alice Cooper, Billy Joel, Breathe, Daryl Hall & John Oates, Dire Straits, Discogs, Don Henley, Electric Light Orchestra, Heart, John Lennon, K-Tel, Music, Pavement, Peter Gabriel, Portastatic, Queen, Records, Rush, Styx, The BCPF, The Cure, The Smiths, Underdog Records
Salutations™!!
I am so longing for the opportunity to get back into Underdog Records and rummage through the used albums, some new albums and just to see Jonathan again. This is getting rougher as the time slips away. We’ve eaten well, though.
This week was a lot shorter in both the headphone/streaming listening and the actual record listening. The BCPF and I only got four albums in yesterday. I would say that we were busy but, other than cutting my hair, grabbing lunch and dinner, we didn’t do much of anything. We always listen from as early as we can to dinner time. Then we catch up on binge-watching, which right now is Roseanne. And, I was in the studio twice this week and was on some video conferences, so my headphone listening was lighter, too. Anywhat! Here’s the “headphone listen” list:
- Don Henley – The End Of The Innocence
- Breathe – All That Jazz
- Styx – Man Of Miracles
- Electric Light Orchestra – Out Of The Blue
- The Smiths – Hatful Of Hollow
- Alice Cooper – Killer
- Peter Gabriel – Security
- Queen – A Day At The Races
- John Lennon – Mind Games
- Daryl Hall & John Oates – Along The Red Ledge
- Rush – Grace Under Pressure
- Billy Joel – Greatest Hits Volume I & Volume II
- Heart – Magazine
- Dire Straits – Dire Straits
That was it for my private listening. Again, to explain what the “private listening” is, I use Discogs to pick an album that I already have on vinyl. That way, I am listening to what I have but not bothering The BCPF in the process, as she tries to work. So, I’m listening to my collection, just under headphones. Now to the record listening, what there is of a list, anyway:
- Pavement – Brighten The Corners
- Various – Hot Tracks (was the K-Tel compilation that brought me out of “Kissdom”)
- Portastatic – The Summer Of The Shark
- The Cure – Disintegration (was its 31st anniversary)
There you have it. My/our slim listening lists for the week. Hopefully, this week I get more listening time. Or… hopefully, this week we can get some money coming in! That would be even better.
Underdog is still doing deliveries all over the Triad. He started just in WSNC and has moved to the outlying areas and, to me, is overworking himself. But, he’s a dedicated record store owner. Possibly the most dedicated there is. And, he’s the sweetest dude, too. You really should check out the Instagram (especially) and Facebook pages of Underdog Records. You can order new stuff, anytime, day or night, on the Underdog Records website. He can deliver to your house or ship it to you, unlimited LPs for $4. Get you some rekkids! And, obviously, I use Discogs to track my collection.
Until tomorrow, keep spinnin’…
Scorp out!
—
“Cover me when I sleep. Cover me when I breathe. You throw your pearls before the swine, make the monkey blind. Cover me, darling please…” – “Shock the Monkey” (Gabriel)
well-planned nonsense). Three staples of Sirius XM’s First Wave channel, “Hanging on the Telephone,” “One Way or Another,” which starts this album out right, and “Heart of Glass,” all three are the flour while the rest of the album is the egg in the cake; the rest holds it together. It truly is in your face. You can look away but you can’t escape. “Picture This” is probably some of the best capturing of a live feel in the studio I’ve heard since the 76-77 era of KISS, while “Fade Away and Radiate” has that Blondie reggae beat but a sultry and seductive backbone. “Pretty Baby” reminds me of the Shangri-Las or something like that. It hearkens back to the 50s rock and roll pop girl groups. I know that was the point and I’m quite okay with it. I hear some Cheap Trick (or just similarities therein) in the music of “I Know But I Don’t Know.” The dissonant chord changes are what do it for me, I think. I’m ashamed to say that I really don’t know much about Blondie other than the hits on this album, “Rapture” and “Call Me.” This is a reminder of how sucky I can be at knowing my classic bands. Pity, Scorp, pity. I think “Heart of Glass” is a good indication as to where the band would be going in the following few years. It sounds more futuristic than the rest of the album and, to me, was more than just a representation of the disco stuff that was still lingering and hanging on at the time; it was advanced in structure and sound. I really like that song. I really like this album! Dug!
spend money on it as it’s not my thing, really. BUT, I got it and put it on my iPod and listened to it whilst driving around in Nigel (my Kia Soul) and I have to say, this is some really good stuff. Well, let’s not go crazy, whether or not it’s “good” is subjective but I really like it. I’ve enjoyed listening to it. As always, I could certainly do without all the “n” word strewn about the album, but what can you do? I’d actually consider this a Snoop Dogg album over a Dre album. He’s highlighted throughout and his work is the best on the record. There’s a lot of shots at Eazy-E, who owned Ruthless Redords and Ice Cube, both former N.W.A. members. Dre and gang also take shots at Tim Dog and Luther Campbell (Luke of 2 Live Crew). They’re not at all apologetic about it, either. They don’t hold back. It was a pleasure to listen to. “F*** with Dre Day (And Everybody’s Celebratin’),” “Let Me Ride,” “Nuthin’ but a ‘G’ Thang,” “A N***a Witta Gun” and “Deeez Nuuuts” are my favorites on here. I almost wish I’d have bought the vinyl version, now. I’m still happy with it. Dug!!
alternative rock would have sounded like in my head. I know it’s a travesty and all that but I knew nothing of The Replacements, other than the song “Alex Chilton,” prior to this complete countdown. I don’t know how I didn’t. Well, that’s not true. This was released before I moved to WSNC and we didn’t have access to this where I was from. “Dose of Thunder” sounds like something Cult would have done. I like that. “Hold my Life,” “I’ll Buy” are both solid songs. The first one that really made me go, that’s cool is “Waitress in the Sky.” Next is “Swinging Party” and I REALLY like that one. At the time it was rough and dirty, I’m sure. But, I think it fits perfectly snug in the annuls of the early alternative (or First Wave) motif. It’s rebellious but not totally defiant; accessible. There’s not a single song on this album that I’d skip over. I may not think them my favorite tunes, but they’re certainly a great listen. One of my faves in the last bit. And closing out on “Here Comes a Regular?” I nearly wept. Priceless. DUG!
I’m done with it and don’t care if I ever listen to it again, other than a handful of tunes. Dug-ish.
loved Ozzy’s rendition of that and “Children of the Grave” on the Tribute album. I never got Pantera’s cover of “Planet Caravan” but I think this version sits easy as a mood shift from the heaviness. It’s very Doors-like to me with some Allman Brothers thrown in. Great vocal effect on that, too. I listened to this one through headphones and love the panning on “Iron Man.” Really, does a song get much heavier than this? This is the heavy that Death and Speed Metal bands wish they could get. A menacing riff to go with a menacing figure in the lyrics. What I get out of the lyrics are: he goes to the future and sees destruction. He tries to get back to warn everyone in his own time that this is going to happen. In the magnetic field that enabled his time travel, he’s turned into a bit metal dude and he can’t talk. We know in this society, anything the masses don’t understand, they shun. He gets mad and destroys those who mock him. So, I guess he created the destruction he saw the vision of? Do I hear a talkbox mixed with the wah pedal in “Electric Funeral.” I’d love to ask Ed B. here in WSNC what Geezer Butler is playing to make the bass sound so boxy. Is it the Rickenbacker 4001? I generally don’t like that kind of bass sound but this is actually perfect for what they’re doing. The album closes with “Fairies Wear Boots” and as it goes quiet afterwards, you kind of feel like something’s over. A feeling of finality. That’s sad, but good that you can feel that way about an album, right? I certainly dug it. It’s a great album.
