Salutations™!!

We changed up our routine yesterday a bit because Mary’s Gourmet Diner was on vacation. We went to Underdog Records first and then went to a new place to eat breakfast/lunch. You’ll need to watch The Man Who Ate the Town blog (and listen to the podcast) to find out more about that experience. I will just say, “WOW!!!!” Okay, here’s the haul:

©Asthmatic Kitty

• Lambchop – What Another Man Spills — The BCPF is a huge fan of Lambchop (is a band) and when Jonathan included this in his “flip video” on Friday, she went nuts because she didn’t see it until around 8 hours after he posted it. She figured that was a lost opportunity. It wasn’t. It was still there. This is a remastered 2xLP in a pea green and peacock blue (one each) and the artwork is just a black cover, as opposed to the slightly more colorful original. This was the first time this has ever been on vinyl and it’s a promo copy. NM.
• Squirrel Nut Zippers – Hot — Another that The BCPF was gaga over. She loves this band and her brother went to high school with someone from SNZ. It was VG+ and a fun listen. Even the production sounded like it was from the swing heyday.
• Sufjan Stevens – Carrie & Lowell — Yet another for The BCPF. When I think of “her music,” I think of Elliott Smith first, Belle & Sebastian second and Sufjan Stevens third. We have a few albums by him and while I don’t have a wide knowledge of his stuff, I am going to say this is my favorite. There’s a lot of emotion on here and it was therapy for him by the loss of his mother (Carrie) who abandoned him when he was about one. They had connections later, I think, and Lowell (Sufjan’s stepfather) actually co-founded Asthmatic Kitty Records with Sufjan. A funny line in one of the lyrics which was presumably about Lowell and was “Emerald Park, wonders never cease. The man who taught me to swim, he couldn’t quite say my first name. Like a Father, he led community water on my head, and he called me ‘Subaru.'” This was VG++.
• Paul McCartney – Tug Of War — Not my favorite Macca albums but it does have some good stuff on it. The title track, “Take It Away” and “Ebony and Ivory” were some of my faves. VG+.
• Bee Gees – 2 Years On —  The only one we didn’t get to listen to yesterday of this haul. We will today. I don’t know much about the album other than it only sold around 375k copies. Which is way more than I’ve sold but still… Robin Gibb had had a spat with his brothers a couple of albums before and had left. He came back for this one. Okay. VG+.
• Queen – Hot Space — Often considered the “awful” Queen album, I didn’t mind it. It’s not the Queen we were used to at this point but it wasn’t bad. I equate it to KISS’ Music from ‘The Elder.’ Not what you thought it would be but in hindsight? It’s decent. The production is very synth-heavy. On The Game, Queen had “discovered” the OB-X from Oberheim. That kind of turned Freddie on and he led the band in this direction. The other band members have voiced how much they really weren’t happy with it and David Bowie had done some backing vocals for a tune or two and asked that they be removed just before the album went to press. Of course, “Under Pressure” featured Bowie’s vocals, but that was recorded before the album. VG- according to Jonathan, but it was in good listening shape.
• Crowded House – Temple Of Low Men — As I said on social media, I have never heard a Crowded House song I didn’t like and this is no exception. The band always puts out quality stuff and this is one fantastic album. As our pal, Neil says, “Better Be Home Soon,” “Into Temptation,” “Mansion in the Slums,” “Love This Life,” “Kill Eye,” “Sister Madly,” all great tunes from this album. I agree with him. VG- but again, in really good shape.

So, the haul was small but we got great stuff. Nothing on the RS list but that’s okay. Jonathan had to close the Underdog Records for a few days this past week because he was sick but he’s back and better. We loved our finds (all in the recently used bin) and made it out to do some good listening with good stuff. I didn’t get a good look at what all was in there because we were in a hurry, but you know you can always find cleaning and listening supplies, some new and a lot of used equipment, including a set of Pioneer speakers for $150 for the pair (I think). There’s lots of good stuff there and you already know that by now. Go check him out.

And, you know by now that I use Discogs to catalog my collection and to buy used (and sometimes new) records that Jonathan can’t get.

Until tomorrow, keep spinning…
Scorp out!

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“In the afterlife, you could be headed for the serious strife. Now you make the scene all day, but tomorrow there’ll be Hell to pay.” – “Hell” (Maxwell)