Do Not Stop On Tracks
My Name Is Rio! #duranduran
Rest In Peace
Mary Wilson (1944 - 2021)
Co-Founding Member Of The Supremes
Watched The New York Times
Documentary Framing Britney Spears On Hulu.
Well Researched. Eye Opening. Tragic.
Chancey Kisses For Valentine’s Day!
Everyone's friend Steve made another epic cake.
Excellent Read • Remain In Love by Chris Frantz
Fans of Talking Heads and Tom Tom Club will enjoy this memoir in which Chris writes about his family, his relationship with his wife Tina Weymouth and their artistic partnership in Talking Heads and Tom Tom Club. Fans of The Ramones, Television, Blondie, Lou Reed, John Cale, Roxy Music and Patti Smith will enjoy some great stories of cultural crossover and collaboration during the early CBGB days, tour stories and personal accounts of creative triumphs and travails. Highly recommended.
Thanks to a conversation with some of my coworkers, I revisited the epochal and truly iconic Paul’s Boutique by Beastie Boys (1989). Every time I hear this album I’m brought back to my 16th summer and my first listen to this cassette in a hammock on a Sony Walkman under a sweltering July sun. I recall a few details about this inaugural hearing: the taste of fresh lemonade and my eyes squinting with the cassette’s inlay card unfolded before me, trying to follow the lyrics as they raced through cheap, foamy headphones into my brain and past my eyes in microscopic print. There was some hydrogen peroxide in this scenario as well. At the start of “To All The Girls” my hair was dark brown and by the end of “B-Boy Bouillabaisse” it was a vibrant shade of orange. Paul’s Boutique was very polarizing. You either loved it or hated it. I was then (and still remain) in the former category. This sonic collage peppered with rapid fire lyric delivery had me from the first notes of that mellow, almost smutty 70s groove that opens the album. The same sounds close out this kaleidoscopic sound journey as well, setting the listener down gently. As for the photo... I’m toying with new ways to compose turntable shots. SHAKE YOUR RUMP!
It was a random alarm. No injuries or damage.
The Morristown Green In White
Wild Briars Through A Windshield
Serving Up That Capricorn Energy
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The Herd Is Awake At Dawn
Until a few days ago I had no idea that
Frankie Valli
And The Four Seasons released a satirical psychedelic pop concept album in 1969. Upon learning about it from my friend Billy Jacobs
, I found a vinyl copy on eBay complete with a souvenir newspaper filled with custom articles, comics, graphics, ads and a crossword puzzle. The Genuine Imitation Life Gazette is sonically influenced by The Beatles
’ Sgt. Pepper and The Beach Boys
’ Pet Sounds. It’s a delight to listen to because it uses The Four Seasons’ traditional vocal stylings in a collection of songs rendered in the complex, highly orchestrated psych pop style of the late 1960s. Thanks for the heads up, Billy! Friends, seek this one out. Give it a listen. You won’t be disappointed!
Ladybug = Good Luck + Signs Of Spring
Saturday Sounds •
Sheila E.
• Romance 1600 (1985) • I’ve just begun reading Sheila’s insightful and revealing memoir The Beat Of My Drum, which was a birthday gift from my friend Steve Sizer
. Thanks Steve! For those of you who haven’t heard Romance 1600 in a while (or ever) you should give it a listen, especially if you’re a Prince
fan. His Royal Highness is featured in songwriting, vocals and instrumentation throughout this collection of great songs and stylistic surprises which sound just as fresh, puzzling and engaging as they did when I first gave it obsessive listens and re-listens on cassette at age 12. “Dear Michelangelo” and “Toy Box” are deep cut classics and the relentlessly funky groove on the full 12 minute version of “A Love Bizarre” is EVERYTHING.
This tweet is Sheila E. approved!
New eBay Score: Korean vinyl import of a largely underrated album: Liberty by
Duran Duran
(1990). I remember listening to this quite often after its initial release 31 years ago and could never understand why the singles “Violence Of Summer” and “Serious” didn’t catch fire the way some of their previous offerings did. To this day I still think the songs “Read My Lips” and “First Impression” should have been singles. Not only because these tracks deserved airplay, but also because the resulting clutch of remixes for each would have been stellar. As for deeper cuts, one remote sleeper track that I’ve always liked was the album closing “Downtown” with its siren-like synths and hypnotic blast of slow-grind beats. Regardless of however this collection of songs performed in 1990, Liberty stands as a vibrant transitional bridge between the band’s gatecrashing 1980s success and their triumphant 1993 comeback with “The Wedding Album”. Fans of any era of DD’s music should seek this album out and give it few listens. For those who dismissed it in 1990, Liberty reveals some layers, edges and far-reaching textures that may have been missed the first time around. Those who have never heard it may find that it is indeed a surprising lost gem of an album deserving of greater consideration.
At one of the markets in PA, I ran across the Donny Osmond doll I had as a child in 1976. I was OBSESSED with The Donny And Marie Show at age 3 and wanted to be Donny when I grew up, so much so that I dressed up as Donny for Halloween that year. PS: I would 500 PERCENT rock Donny’s outfit today with no shame in my game.
Score! Gentlemen Prefer Blondes Soundtrack
Jane Russell & Marilyn Monroe 7” EP Single (1953)
I just watched The
Go Go's
documentary by Alison Ellwood. Many thanks to my friend Steve
for the Blu-Ray of the film and also for this colored vinyl reissue of Beauty And The Beat from 2011. For pop fans, punk fans and those with an interest in the history of women in music, this film is a must see. All of the Go-Go’s (former members included) tell the band’s story in present day interviews woven into a chronology of archival footage and photos, much of it previously unseen. It’s always intriguing to hear artists speak of the good, the bad and the ugly from the perspective of maturity, sobriety and an acceptance of the past... especially when that past is as checkered, debauched and historically significant as that of these strong, talented women. If you’ve only heard their hit singles you haven’t even heard half of the story. Well done, ladies. ROCK ON!
This post is Go-Go's approved!
King Of The Dirty Snow Mound
A vital and colorful spring is growing inside of every branch and underneath the melting snow. Every leaf, bud and flower is awakening itself in every second until the correct moment for each new growth to take its most perfect form. It’s only a matter of minutes, moments and days before we look left, right, above and below and find ourselves surrounded by the colors, shapes and fragrances of a new season. A complex but reliable arrangement of elements and conditions is ushering in a new phase of rebirth as each of us continues to move about our days and nights creating ourselves in the same way that the quiet, multilayered genius of nature creates itself. In terms of our own evolution as individuals, however, we don’t need to rely upon external conditions, forces or the movements of others to grow, evolve and create. Much like the spirit and forces that push leaves and flowers outward, our creative mechanics are always within. Your dreams, wants, desires and creations are already present inside of you. All of these are ready to be claimed, lived and enjoyed. Once you name them, they are yours. Move forward knowing this and just like the rapidly blooming evidence of that forthcoming spring, you will see all that you have asked for, worked for and focused your energy on appearing around you. A new season within and a new life (on every level) begins as soon as you decide it has begun for you. Declare this (quietly if you must) and make it so with your actions. Other people around you will notice and catch up to you (or not). Name your game. Mark your territory. Claim your prize. Stay illuminated. Love, CDM
