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Spinning Sunday or: The Haul 1/25/20

26 Sunday Jan 2020

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Salutations™!!

The BCPF and I had a great listening day yesterday. We got by Underdog Records and grabbed a good bit of stuff and came back and listened. It was really a great listen. Okay, here’s the haul:

  • Wolf Parade – Thin Mind — Great Canadian band out of Montreal and on the Sub Pop label. Good straight-forward indie power pop. Well-written tunes and full of hooks. I heard their lead single, “Julia Take Your Man Home” when I was doing the Underdog Records ad for this past week’s The Less Desirables. New.

    Dead_Mans_Party_album

    ©MCA

  • Angelo Badalamenti – Music From Twin Peaks — The BCPF and I love this show and we love the music. I think we both had it on CD or something. But, this is on limited edition clear green vinyl. It sounds fantastic and brings back good memories of going back and watching the show together. I love the lounge aspect of the music. It’s so fun! New.
  • Pet Shop Boys – Hotspot — Brand new Pet Shop Boys! It’s their first since 2016. Which, to me could have been their first since 1990 and I wouldn’t have known any better. I didn’t even know they were still together. That being said, I loved listening to this. Great dance electronica with some grit and humor (or humour, since they’re Brits), which is what they’ve always done. This was so much fun to listen to. I recommend it if you were ever a fan of their stuff. New.
  • Oingo Boingo – Dead Man’s Party — I heard an audible gasp out of The BCPF when she found this one in the “newly acquired” section. I knew of a few Oingo Boingo songs, most notably “Weird Science” and a few others and I didn’t realize that my entire Oingo Boingo knowledge was this album. “Just Another Day,” the title track, “Stay,” and the aforementioned “Weird Science” are all here. The whole album was amazing and I thought to myself, I could listen to this again. I don’t usually do that, but it would have been worth it! EX/VG++.
  • Rage – Rage — So, it’s been fun doing what I call “Pulling a Bob” and no, that’s not a euphemism for something dirty… get your head out of the gutter (although that would be a funny one). Pulling a Bob is in reference to the drummer from my old band Heavens Sake. We joked that he would go and look through albums, cassettes and CDs and look for whatever bands he could find that had a lot of hair. He was really into that kind of thing. Well, my “Bob” isn’t necessarily that. I just like finding those early-to-mid 80s bands that look like they’d be hard rock or sound like they would. This is listed as hard rock, and I had to do some digging to find anything on them. Apparently, they were Nutz before this and consisted of John Mylett, Dave Lloyd, Keith Mulholland, Mick Devonport, and Terry Steers. They’re Brits. I think the cover looks more like Loverboy than an early 80s hard rock band. Then again, I guess you could call early 80s Loverboy a “hard” rock band. VG+.
  • Sugarloaf – Spaceship Earth — All I know of Sugarloaf is “Green Eyed Lady” and that’s not on here. But, it was just a couple of bucks and I said, why not. I like “GEL.” VG+.
  • Don Henley – I Can’t Stand Still — Henley’s debut solo album with “Dirty Laundry,” “Johnny Can’t Read” and the title track. He looks so young on the cover. VG+.
  • Re-Flex – The Politics Of Dancing — I love the title track and really, that’s all I know from them. I hope the rest of the album is in the vein of that song. A couple of bucks, I couldn’t turn it down. VG+.
  • Bonnie Raitt – Sweet Forgiveness — This is the album that has her cover of Del Shannon’s “Runaway” on it. That song reached #57 on the chart. The BCPF picked this one up. VG+.
  • Chris de Burgh – The Getaway — I knew the big hit on this album, “Don’t Pay the Ferryman” from the K-Tel album Hot Tracks which was partly the catalyst for me breaking my “KISS Isolation.” I listened to nothing but KISS for so long and then this was given to me by my mother for Christmas and I found myself really into pop music. I have grown a lot since then. Anywhat! I liked that “Ferryman” song and this was there for a few bucks, I said, yes, please! VG+.
  • Blue Öyster Cult – Some Enchanted Evening — A live album from BOC. Okay. It’s pretty rough but Jonathan has it listed as VG-. That’s what I’m going with, too.

So, a solid haul. We loved listening to the new albums and revisiting the older ones. A long listening day full of goodness. We were talking with Jonathan in the store and he was devising a new way of labeling his used records, with barcodes. His system is kind of confusing to me, but I’m sure I’ll learn it better. He hunts down the exact version that’s in Discogs (which I know from experience can be daunting and sometimes downright impossible) and that’s included in the code, too, so it takes the work out of it for you. Another thing we talked about his how he always makes sure that, unless it’s a $1 bin find, he or De or Adam cleans each record by not only washing them but running them through the vacuum system so that it doesn’t only dry the liquid cleaner but also sucks up all the bad particles and such. Unless we buy some $1 records, I don’t have to come home and run my records through my cleaner, I just use the static brush to get a few straggling particles and I have the cleanest listening experience possible with the records I get.  Jonathan takes such good care of his customers and friends. Thanks, buddy.

Listen to each new episode of TLD for the TLD/UR special of the week. I use Discogs to track my record collection and Jonathan may have just made it easier.

Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!

—
“We got the bubble-headed bleached-blonde, comes on at five. She can tell you ’bout the plane crash with a gleam in her eye. It’s interesting when people die. Give us dirty laundry.” – “Dirty Laundry” (Henley/Kortchmar)

Spinning Sunday or: The Haul 12/26/19

29 Sunday Dec 2019

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Salutations™!!

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:

1Bowie

©RCA

  • 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+.
  • The Longines Symphonette – Somewhere My Love and Other Romantic Movie Melodies — 6xLP of symphonic film melodies. I couldn’t pass it up. $1 bin find and it’s in NM.
  • 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)

Spinning Sunday or: The Haul 12/13/19

15 Sunday Dec 2019

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Salutations™!!

Like the last few weeks, The BCPF had the day off on Friday and we went to Underdog Records a day early. We got some good stuff and I’m going to share that with you, now!

Queensryche_-_Promised_Land_cover

©EMI

  • Michael Kiwanuka – Kiwanuka — I first heard pieces of this album when I was making the commercial for Underdog Records on The Less Desirables. I thought it was great. Jonathan kept getting copies and selling out before I could get there to get one. So, I had him order one for me specifically. Here it was, finally. And it was well worth the wait. Lots of good ambient blues, R&B, rock, all that in one. A great album that even The BCPF loved and was disappointed there wasn’t a download code in the sleeve. New.
  • The Smiths – Strangeways, Here We Come — Gotta love some miserable Brits, eh? “I Started Something I Couldn’t Finish,” “Stop Me If You Think You’ve Heard This One Before,” “Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me” and one of my favorite Smiths tunes, “Girlfriend in a Coma” is on this album. VG++.
  • Elvis Costello & The Imposters – Look Now — A 2018 release from EC, it sounds like old EC and that is a good thing. He wrote most of the stuff himself but there were three songs co-written by Burt Bacharach and one co-written by Carole King. A really good listen. VG++.
  • Pink Floyd – Atom Heart Mother — Released a month and a half before I was (born), this is Pink Floyd’s fifth studio album and consists of mostly instrumentals (36:44 of the 52:06 total running time). I didn’t think I’d care for it as sometimes Floyd’s instrumental stuff idles on, but I did enjoy it. It is a good and relaxing atmospheric listen. VG+.
  • Faces – Ooh La La — This is the fourth and final studio album by Faces. By this time, Rod Stewart had already had a hit with “Maggie May” and his first few solo albums, and the singer had become increasingly distanced from some of his Faces bandmates, who were frustrated by the fact that by this point they had come to be perceived by the public (and even by some concert promoters) as little more than Stewart’s backing band for live work (according to Wikipedia). I had never heard the title track until the Amazon Echo commercials and when I found out who it was, I was like, yeah, that sounds like Rod Stewart. Turns out it was Ronnie Wood who sang it, co-writing it with Ronnie Lane, the bassist. The cover is cool, you can “squeeze” the top of the sleeve and the mouth and eyes move. VG+.
  • The Who – Magic Bus — Oh we crazy Americans in the 60s and 70s. This is a compilation album of previously released material and was not issued in the UK. They were capitalizing on the success of the song by the same name. The BCPF picked it up! VG+.
  • Ringo Starr – Beaucoups Of Blues — A most peculiar album, indeed. It’s not really that peculiar, but it’s certainly Ringo’s take on American country and western. It’s pure “tears in my beer.” Not bad for what it was, but… VG+.
  • Angel City – Face To Face — I had never heard of Angel City until Eugene had me review Two Minute Warning on his hard rock list. You can read my review here. In Australia, they were known as The Angels, but so they wouldn’t be confused with the band Angel (KISS’ rostermates on Casablanca Records), they changed to Angel City. This was their second overall release and the first for the US. It’s a decent listen, as we did so whilst cleaning/straightening our downstairs. Rock, punk, even metal at some points. VG+.
  • Queensrÿche – Promised Land — This wasn’t purchased at Underdog Records. I believe this came from Bobby the Drummer (from Heavens Sake) when he worked at CEMA (EMI) when we first met. He knew I was a Queensryche fan and gave it to me. I had either forgotten that I had it or where it was (or a combo of the two) and I found it located behind a filing cabinet that I have in my living room. You’d have to see it… but it was still sealed. So, I promptly opened it up and gave it a spin. Operation: Mindcrime will always be my favorite Queensryche album (second favorite overall of all time) and Empire will always be my second favorite ‘Ryche album. But, to me, this is their most underrated. It is just what I wanted to do musically at that time and I still love it. It’s still hard rock but has a more modern edge to it (at least in the mid=90s) and Geoff Tate was still singing and not talk-singing through songs. He hadn’t quite blown himself out at this point. The songs are well-written, still tell stories and still sounds like Queensryche. I love this album and will listen to it again, really soon. Have I mentioned that I love this album?

It’s Christmas time and that means gift certificates and Underdog Records has plenty of them, in any denomination you want. The cool thing is these come on old 45s/singles/7″ whatever you call them. And, Jonathan can still special order anything on vinyl that you need in time for your special vinyl lover (I can give you a list if you’re interested *wink*). Also, Underdog Records will be putting out freshly acquired used vinyl every single business day until Christmas. Also, also, there are plenty of used receivers, turntables, speakers and more in the store if you know someone who has said they’d love to start listening to records (perhaps again) but don’t know where to start. Jonathan can help you out. Listen to each new episode of The Less Desirables to hear the TLD/UR special of the week. I use Discogs to track my awesome record collection and to make sure I don’t double dip something I already have. The BCPF used it to “random grab” a record during our cleaning time yesterday. Much fun, indeed!

Until tomorrow, keep spinning!
Scorp out!

—
“Let me whisper my last goodbyes, I know – it’s serious.” – “Girlfriend in a Coma” (Morrissey/Marr)

Spinning Sunday or: The Haul 12/6/19

08 Sunday Dec 2019

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Salutations™!!

Much appreciation to those who have asked how I’m feeling. I am coughing up stuff but able to purge it. So, my throat hurts, my chest hurts, my head hurts, I hurt. The good news is, I got about three hours of sleep last night, twice! So, that’s a plus. Anywhat! We’re here to talk records. We went to Underdog Records on Friday since The BCPF was off work and then came home and listened to records. Saturday, we went to breakfast and basically just went home and didn’t leave the house for the rest of the day. Here is the haul:

556d7a-20190910-prince-1999-super-deluxe

©Warner Bros.

  • Prince – 1999 — The first-ever vinyl remaster of this iconic album, #163 on the RS list, and it’s in a beautiful “Prince Purple” vinyl. The packaging is reminiscent of the original and it sounds divine! Great album! New.
  • Pearl Jam – Vitalogy — #485 on the RS list, I dreaded listening to this when I got to it as I’m not a huge PJ fan. But, I have to say I enjoyed this album. The copy is VG as there is some surface noise but it doesn’t really affect the listening, or something like that, which Jonathan had put on the sticker.
  • Bob Marley & The Wailers – Natty Dread —  This is the seventh studio album by Bob Marley and the Wailers, released in 1974. It was the first album released as Bob Marley and the Wailers instead of just the Wailers, the first recorded without Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer, and the first recorded with I Threes, a female vocal trio consisting of Marcia Griffiths, Judy Mowatt, and Marley’s wife, Rita Marley. “No Woman No Cry” is on this and is probably the best-known song from the album (if not Marley’s career). VG.
  • Villa-Lobos / Prokofiev – Leopold Stokowski, The Stadium Symphony Orchestra Of New York – Uirapurú + Modinha (From Bachianas Brasileiras No. 1) / Cinderella (Ballet Suite) — Great musical pieces from what I would only figure to be great ballets. The cover was attractive, as well. I enjoyed listening to it in my drowsy and dozing session. Original pressing as far as I can tell, EX/VG++.

The Christmas season is slow to get cranked around this year. Jonathan would love if you came by to see him. If you don’t have a turntable, then he’s got you covered. There are several used turntables, receivers, speakers and more there in the shop ready to find a place in your home. Then you can start experiencing the joys of vinyl listening as I do. Listen to each new episode of The Less Desirables to hear the TLD/UR special of the week. Use Discogs to keep track of your music collection, vinyl, CD, cassette or 8-track! Possibly even reel-to-reel.

Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!

—
“Waitin’, watchin’ the clock. It’s four o’clock. It’s got to stop. Tell him, “Take no more.” She practices her speech as he opens the door. She rolls over, pretends to sleep as he looks her over. She lies and says she’s in love with him, can’t find a better man. She dreams in color, she dreams in red, can’t find a better man.” – “Better Man” (Vedder)

Spinning Sunday or: The Haul – Black Friday Edition

01 Sunday Dec 2019

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Salutations™!!

I had told Jonathan that The BCPF and I wouldn’t be coming to Underdog Records for the Record Store Day – Black Friday event, and technically, we weren’t there at the opening for the bum-rush doorbuster event, but we did wait until about noon and went by and the store had settled down. We still found pretty much all we would have gotten had we gotten there in the wee hours of the evening, which surprised us. If this had been the April version of RSD, I would have camped out and been one of the first three in the line and in the door. But, since we went on Friday and spent a good bit of money we didn’t go on Saturday, so this reflects Friday and two that I got on Wednesday. Here ya go:

190759783115

©Epic/Legacy

  • Cheap Trick – Are You Ready? Live 12/31/1979 — This is supposedly an infamous show from The Forum in Los Angeles, New Year’s Eve 1979. The “supposedly” is the infamous part. The hype sticker states it’s from a few different mixes and the first few songs in the set are really crappy production. The sonic quality picks up after the first little bit. Robin Zander’s voice, which I’ve always found strong was a bit shaky in some spots, too. I think they had played a few shows before and he needed a break. Still, it sounds pretty good overall; lots of energy. It was an RSD exclusive, limited to 3500 copies worldwide, and I picked up the last one that Jonathan had. 2xLP. New.
  • John Linnell – State Songs — One half of They Might Be Giants, John Linnell, plays a lot of original songs about 15 different states and one about all 50. I’m a fan of TMBG but sometimes they’re a bit much for me to take. I think this is good for comedic purposes but overall? I didn’t really think it was that great. RSD exclusive, first time on vinyl on green-marbled wax, limited to 1500 copies worldwide. New.
  • Frehley’s Comet – Live… — Not to be confused with Live+1 that came out in 1988, which was recorded in Chicago in 1987 and had two live KISS tunes (Ace’s) and two live from Frehley’s Comet’s self-titled debut and one studio demo track. This was recorded in March 1988 in London and has all the live tracks from the previously mentioned EP along with “Cold Gin” and “Shock Me.” This also had Jamie Oldaker playing drums instead of Anton Fig. A really good sounding recording. I don’t know how many more songs they did and if these were the only ones that made it, or if he only did six songs…? RSD “first,” limited to 2700 copies worldwide, first time on vinyl; orange. New.
  • Jeff Buckley – Live At KCRW: Morning Becomes Eclectic — I will say again that when the world lost Jeff Buckley, we lost a true musical genius and talent. His ability to jump his voice from heavy to heavenly at the drop of a hat was amazing. This EP has five songs done at KCRW sometime in the 90s. RSD exclusive limited to 3750 copies worldwide. New.
  • John Coltrane – A Love Supreme: The Complete Masters — #47 on the RS list, this is a 3xLP reissue from 2015 that I purchased on Wednesday. Coltrane is a “local boy done good.” He was born in Hamlet, NC in the south-central part of the state and grew up in High Point, just down the road from WSNC. This version includes the original album, a quartet session and a sextet session. Good stuff. VG+.
  • The Rolling Stones – Love You Live — Love You Live was recorded on the “Tour of Americas” from 1975, the “Tour of Europe” in 1976 and from the El Mocambo nightclub concert venue in Toronto in 1977. It was overdubbed and mixed from late May to mid-June 1977. So, I didn’t think they could have done that good of a job live. But, the final result was pretty good considering it is the Stones and it is a “live” album. VG+.
  • Heart – Greatest Hits / Live — This is a compilation album of greatest hits, live recordings and new tracks released in 1980. I like Heart. I’ll probably like this. VG+.
  • Streetband Featuring Paul Young – Streetband Featuring Paul Young — I get the feeling that this was a record company money grab as it “features” Paul Young. This is before “Every Time You Go Away,” before “Come Back and Stay,” even before the Q-Tips. His time in Streetband wasn’t very long in the late 1970s. But, he has a great voice, let’s hear how this works out, eh? 2xLP. VG+.
  • Marty Balin – Balin — The other LP that I picked up on Wednesday. Every time I hear “Hearts,” I think of my friend Jim Young. I really don’t know why other than we once had a conversation about it. Same with “Personally” from Karla Bonoff. But, this, Balin’s debut solo album after Jefferson Starship, has “Hearts” and it was only $2 and was in NM condition, although I give the outer sleeve VG++.
  • John Philip Sousa – The Music Of John Philip Sousa On Parade — We say the Piedmont Wind Symphony do Sousa songs early last month and we never knew how much style was in those marches. I thought of them as being boring but one we saw it live, I can’t say that any longer. The BCPF picked this one out. It’s from the National Geographic Society. VG+.

Jonathan said that the Record Store Day – Black Friday Edition was a success, even more than he expected. He did a great job getting it all set up and we are all thankful that he provides us record collectors with a “candy store” we can be proud of. Underdog Records has a good selection of used stereo equipment for sale and don’t forget gift certificates, they come on old 45s. Listen to each new episode of The Less Desirables to hear the TLD/UR special of the week/month. Also, use Discogs to track your music collection no matter the format (other than digital and maybe even then).

Until tomorrow, keep spinnin’…
Scorp out!

—
“Hearts can break and never mend together. Love can fade away. Hearts can cry when love won’t stay forever. Hearts can be that way.” – “Hearts” (Barish)

Spinning Sunday or: The Haul 11/16/19

17 Sunday Nov 2019

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Salutations™!!

Yesterday was a good day for The BCPF and me. We got up early, went to breakfast, went to Underdog Records, got to talk to Jonathan for a bit, then we came home and started working on reconstructing our house, the kitchen specifically. That means a good bit of record playing to combat the awful feeling of my fat arse getting on and up from the floor cleaning and clearing drawers and cabinets. We got about 75% of the way through from noon until 620p. We are happy with it, but we’re both feeling it today. Here’s this week’s haul:

_Crow

©Amaret

  • Andrew Bird – The Mysterious Production Of Eggs — Bird was the violinist and sang some for Squirrel Nut Zippers and Kevin O’Donnell’s Quality Six. He’s an indie-folk dude and we got to see him two years ago when he opened for Belle & Sebastian. Good stuff, but we haven’t heard this album yet. It was originally released in 2005 with the vinyl reissue in 2017. New.
  • Crow – Best Of Crow — I know absolutely nothing about Crow other than they were “a Minneapolis-based blues-rock band, that was first active from 1967 to 1972. They are best known for the song “Evil Woman (Don’t Play Your Games With Me),” which was later covered by Black Sabbath. It was there and looked like something I needed to hear to try and build my street cred. It won’t, of course, but I am trying. Didn’t get to it yesterday. EX/VG++.
  • Brownsville Station – Yeah! — The album with “Smokin’ in the Boys’ Room,” Robert Palmer’s “Barefootin’,” Jimmy Cliff’s “Let Your Yeahs Be Yeahs” and Velvet Underground’s “Sweet Jane.” EX/VG++.
  • Nat King Cole – A Blossom Fell — Yet another compilation of Cole songs from 1973. VG.
  • Ambrosia  – Life Beyond L.A. — The album that took Ambrosia from their proggier days to the softer rock/yacht rock sound we grew to know and love. This has “How Much I Feel.” VG+.

Jonathan has a lot of used equipment that is pretty banging stuff. He’s also gearing up for Record Store Day – Black Friday Edition that will happen, well, on Black Friday. Also, don’t forget to buy your gift certificates or tell your loved ones that a gift certificate from Underdog Records is your gift of choice! Listen to the latest episode of The Less Desirables to hear the TLD/UR special of the week. I use Discogs to track what I may or may not have when I’m in Underdog Records so I can avoid duplicates and do “random grabs” whilst listening at home.

Until tomorrow, keep spinning!
Scorp out!

—
“I don’t know how this whole business started, of you thinkin’ that I had been untrue. But if you think that we’d be better parted, it’s gonna hurt me but I’ll break away from you. Well, just give me the sign and I will be gone, yeah.” – “How Much I Feel” (Drummond/Pack)

Spinning Sunday or: The Haul 11/9/19

10 Sunday Nov 2019

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Salutations™!!

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:

Ytblacktiger

©A&M

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.

  • The Police – Zenyattà Mondatta — 2019 rerelease of The Police’s third album. 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)

The Renovation DJ or: Spinning the Reconstruction

05 Tuesday Nov 2019

Posted by in Life as We Know It, Records

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Salutations™!!

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.

ef828-maggotbrain

©Westbound

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)

Spinning Sunday or: The Haul 11/2/19

03 Sunday Nov 2019

Posted by in Records, Spinning Sunday

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Salutations™!!

In addition to The BCPF’s and my usual Saturday routine, we had to go by Lowe’s to pick out stuff for the renovation project from the “Flood of 2019.” But, we had fun doing that. We also got to go to our happy place which is Underdog Records. We picked up some good stuff and got to talk with Jonathan, so that’s always a plus. Here’s what we got:

KinksStateofConfusion

©Arista

  • R.E.M. – Monster — I have talked a lot about the Vagabond Saints Society in the past. The first show I ever performed with them was the “REM – The Later Years” show around 2007 or so. I had two songs with VSS on that show and one was on this album, “Crush with Eyeliner.” I liked that song then and I like it now. The rest of the album is okay, but it’s one that The BCPF never had on any medium, so yay, us! 2xLP with an entire remix album, so it’s like two-in-one. New.
  • Creedence Clearwater Revival Featuring John Fogerty – Chronicle – The 20 Greatest Hits — This is #59 on the RS list and yes, it is a compilation album. I didn’t listen through it because I didn’t listen to “greatest hits” albums after the Merle Haggard and Loretta Lynn ones. Whew! But, this has a lot of great CCR on it and it was in a weird green vinyl, so I picked it up after it sitting in the bin for a while. 2xLP. New.
  • Cheap Trick – One On One — Cheap Trick’s sixth studio album and the first one to feature Jon Brandt after Tom Petersson left the band. It looks like Brandt only played bass on a few songs and that Rick Nielsen played on most of it. So, there must have been a transition period before Brandt showed up and when they started recording. This album isn’t my fave from them but it has some good stuff: “If You Want My Love,” “She’s Tight,” “I Want You,” and more. VG+.
  • Procol Harum – The Best Of Procol Harum — Jonathan at Underdog has told me many, many times of his love for Procol Harum. This is a greatest hits compilation and I’m looking forward to what they call “hits.” We’re all familiar with “White Shade of Pale” and possibly moderately aware of “Conquistador” but the rest, I’m interested in. VG++.
  • The Kinks – Give The People What They Want — The 18th album from The Kinks, this was in their “Early 80s” phase. I think it was a good time for them. It wasn’t British Invasion popularity or even feel (duh!) but I think, still, it was good. The singles on this album were “Better Things,” “Destroyer” and “Predictable.” VG++.
  • The Kinks – State Of Confusion — The 19th (yep, the follow up to the previous entry) released from The Kinks. The best-known song from this album (and pretty much any Kinks album since the 60s in the US, at least) is “Come Dancing.” Missing from this LP version but on the cassette version was a song called “Long Distance.” Turns out that my friend Parke Puterbaugh, who was a critic for Rolling Stone magazine commented, “there’s no excuse for omitting [‘Long Distance’ from the LP version of State of Confusion]”. I need to find it on streaming or something. VG++.

The haul was somewhat light this week but we filled in some listening time with some Nine Inch Nails records that my pal Daniel Butner let us borrow. I’m trying to absorb some of it and a lot of it I like, but a lot of it, I still don’t get, but it’s growing on me. Underdog Records celebrated its anniversary this past Friday and that’s always a great time/thing to celebrate. They have a few new pieces of used equipment if you’d like to get your listening stations updated! Listen to each new episode of The Less Desirables to hear the TLD/UR special of the week. Use Discogs to keep track of your music collection.

Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!

—
“I know you. I know you’ve seen her. She’s a sad tomato. She’s three miles of bad road. Walking down the street. Will I never meet her? She’s a real woman-child. 
Oh, my kiss breath turpentine.” – “Crush With Eyeliner” (Berry/Buck/Mills/Stipe)

Spinning Sunday or: The Haul 10/26/19

27 Sunday Oct 2019

Posted by in KISS, Records, Spinning Sunday

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Salutations™!!

Yesterday, The BCPF and I got to go to Underdog Records for the first time in around three weeks. We made up for it by getting a lot of records and listening to a lot of records before we went to have dinner with friends. Jonathan is ramping up for Record Store Day Black Friday so go to the RSD website to find what you’re looking for. Here’s our haul:

51Ytw7QYLML._SY355_

©Casablanca

  • Kiss – Destroyer (Resurrected) — Yes, KISS is my favorite band and no this is not my favorite album by them, as you’d know if you read through my two-part ranking a few months back. This was the Bob Ezrin remix from 2012 and I like some aspects of it and don’t like others. The addition of the extra vocals in “Detroit Rock City” gets on my nerves. I always thought that was a cheesy addition on the Double Platinum version and it is here, too. It doesn’t need it. I like hearing Ace’s solo on “Sweet Pain” over the one that Dick Wagner did on the original. Do I like it better? Nah, but it’s nice to hear it. New.
  • The Cure – Seventeen Seconds — This was the second album from The Cure and Robert Smith wrote these things (and recorded them) when he was just 21 and he sounds so young. It’s a great album and fun to listen to. New.
  • Nine Inch Nails – Pretty Hate Machine — The debut album from Trent Reznor and friends and a direct descendant of the previous album, at least by influence. “Head Like a Hole” was the only thing I had heard from this but the whole album is amazing. It’s hard and coarse yet hauntingly beautiful at the same time. Angst is riddled throughout but I also feel it is a little tongue-in-cheek. I could be wrong. New.
  • The Replacements – Let It Be — #241 on the RS list, it ranks higher than the Beatles album of the same title. When I wrote my first review about this whilst doing the countdown, I was pretty hard on it. Listening back with fresher (and dare I say more mature) ears, I liked it a whole lot better yesterday than I did in September of 2015. That’s four years difference. Wow. A loose cover of KISS’ “Black Diamond” and all, this was fantastic. New.
  • Superchunk – AF (Acoustic Foolish) — Mac McCaughn released Foolish in 1994 and this is the acoustic re-recording of it from, I guess, 2019. The BCPF has always loved Superchunk and we’ve seen them live twice. She really enjoyed this and she doesn’t have the original at all. So, yay us! New.
  • Pavement – Live Europaturnén MCMXCVII — Yep, a live album from Pavement from 1997, although it wasn’t officially released until 2008. I haven’t heard it yet, but I know The BCPF likes Pavement, so that’s why we got it. NM.
  • Ex Hex – Rips — A band consisting of Mary Timony from Sleater-Kinney. The BCPF saw it was on Merge records and had to have it. So, here it is. NM.
  • Marlene Dietrich – Marlene Dietrich’s Berlin (Her Nostalgic Songs About The Grand Old City) — I have enjoyed the other Marlene Dietrich albums we had so I’m sure I’ll enjoy this one, too. VG+.
  • Parliament – GloryHallaStoopid (Pin The Tale On The Funky) — The penultimate album for Parliament on the Casablanca Records label, and is another concept album which tries to explain that Funk was responsible for the creation of the universe. Great artwork. VG-.
  • Joe Cooley – Cooley — Irish accordion drinking music. VG+.

It was so good getting back to Underdog Records. So much enjoyment. This week, Underdog Records will have a Halloween party on Wednesday from 7-9 with Segreto (aka DJ Eighty Four) playing a bunch of darkwave and mood-appropriate tunes with live painting by Dane Walters. There will be free refreshments but folks may also BYOB. Listen to each new episode of The Less Desirables to hear the TLD/UR special of the week. Use Discogs to keep track of your music collection.

Until tomorrow, keep spinning…
Scorp out!

—
“God money I’ll do anything for you. God money just tell me what you want me to. God money nail me up against the wall. God money don’t want everything he wants it all.” – “Head Like a Hole” (Reznor)