Pandemonium Cheesecake

The Band - Cahoots (1971) The Band's fourth album has more in common with its previous release Stage Fright  (especially lyrically) then its first two albums, but still sounds like the Band. Having departed from the story telling of the first two albums, the themes on Cahoots  are more personal, echoing where the band was at the time. Robbie Robertson was taking over as the main songwriter, taking sole credit on 8 of the 11 songs and co writing two others. The shared lead vocals of Richard Manuel, Levon Helm and Rick Danko are still there, as are the rich textures that Garth Hudson cons from his Lowrey and, as always, Robbie Robertson trying to find a way in with his guitar parts. Cooler than the B-3? Maybe, the beard does help. The lead track "Life Is A Carvinal" is the bands attack on the phony nature of show business. Helm and Danko get their only co-writing credits of the album here along side the Dixieland horn chart from Allen Toussaint. The highlight of

What do you get when you cross Wire-like guitars, Clash-style aggression, Kinks-esque pop sensibility, a pair of heroin addicts and a midwest girl who wants to rock (and fuck) just like the boys? You get the self-titled debut from The Pretenders. Released in 1980, The Pretenders is a mixture of punk, rock and new wave; bridging the past to the future. Distinctly divided into two halves (remnants of the pre-CD days), side one is where Chrissie Hynde and the boys (guitarist James Honeyman-Scott, bassist Pete Farndon and drummer Martin Chambers) rip through the first seven (of 12) tracks. Everyone from The PIxies to Bikini Kill took notes from this album, cribbing Hynde's disjointed/angry young woman lyrics and swiping Honeyman-Scott's sonic play on guitar. "Precious" is a big piss-off to her old hometown Akron, and a brilliant opening song. One that allows her to drop both the S & F-bombs, a rarity for a major label release from the early 80s. LeBron James

I spent the extra hour last night watching 'Zombieland' instead of listening to records, but at 2am the neighbors usually frown upon a loud stereo, so I decided to make last Sunday 'Record Day'. Van Morrison - Astral Weeks (1968) - Hailed as a classic, this is one of the most unique albums in rock's history despite also being one of the least rock albums. Jazz, folk, blues & classical are all better descriptions for the 8 tracks that make up this song cycle. This is not one of those albums you'll get right away, it may stir emotions upon your first listen, but it needs to be listened to repeatedly as it unfolds. Famously recorded in just three sessions with Van singing and playing guitar in a booth and the rest of the musicians playing live in the studio along with him. Only the strings and horns were added later. Besides Van's stream-of-consciousness lyrics, its the upright bass of Richard Davis that stands out the most, especially on the epic

Simon & Garfunkel - Bookends (1968) First, I want to apologize to S&G. Side two is a remarkable collection of songs, up there with the best sides in rock history, and I have gone 43 years without hearing it. Don't worry, I've already kicked my own ass. "Fakin' It" is a great opener for side 2 and I instantly fell in love with its groove. "Punky's Dilemma" is a great follow up, although my copy has a scratch in it that covers the first half of the song. "Mrs. Robinson" is simply one of the top 50 greatest rock and roll songs of all time and "Hazy Shade of Winter" is a late 60s firework display. The album closer, "At The Zoo" is what you'd expect from S&G, pleasant harmonies and quirky Simon lyrics. Clocking in at a little over 29 minutes (29 minutes for two sides? what the?) their fourth album also contains the hit "America". Ask anyone over the age of 50 how long it took them to hit

One of my favorite aspects of the GTA series is the music. The music budget for any GTA game must be in the tens of millions; more than entire budgets for 75% of all games made, would be my guess. 250 songs spread across 15 channels of music. I love a handful of stations in the current game (reggae, punk, funk and a pair of the hip hop ones), but was very disappointed in the rock station. Technically, Los Santos Rock Radio, is listed as 'classic rock and pop rock' and the DJ is Kenny Loggins, who's not as lame as you would initially think. So, none of dislike is aimed his way. The beard that rocks LS I come to GTA games hoping to hear music that I can't normally get on the radio, a hidden gem, a 'deep track'. Especially from a genre I'm very familiar with. GTA IV's rock station (DJ'd by Iggy Pop!) was littered with 'deep tracks' from major artists, great songs that are under (or never) played on radio. The Doors "Five to One&

The benefit of this vinyl project is that the records are (usually) short so I listen to them multiple times, especially if I hadn't heard it before. First out of the gate on the next round of vinyl listens is Elton John 's third album (and second of 1970), Tumbleweed Junction. That's right, artists used to release two albums in one calendar year. Now its a miracle to get two albums in a three year period from any major artist. A loose cowboy theme holds this album together, which I bought last May, but I never listened to. I bought it for three songs, 'Amoreena'; 'My Father's Gun' the first side closer; and, of course, the album closer 'Burn Down The Mission'. The first in the long line Elton's 'epics', it always makes me think of the Alamo. A decent album, but nothing that screams to be listened to over and over, especially considering the depth of his early 70s catalog. Between 1970-75 he released nine studio albums (includi

When I moved into my new place I was able to finally set up my stereo. I didn't bring any cds, all in storage. All I brought was my vinyl. One, it wouldn't do as well in storage as the cds; two, there are far less of them (200 v 2000); three, they are cooler. The sad thing is that since I didn't have the stereo set up at the house, I had limited access to listen to them. Now that I've moved I've decided to listen to everything. I started with Rush Moving Pictures . It seemed appropriate. The first tape I played in the first car I owned? Moving Pictures. I love this record. Side 1 is perfect. 'Tom Sawyer', 'Red Barchetta', 'YYZ', 'Limelight'. Done. Side two, I've come to love. 'The Camera Eye', the last 10+ minute Rush song, has always been my favorite on side 2. 'Witch Hunt' is a swirling mass of dark fire and 'Vital Signs' is a jagged attack from a shiny shark. The two songs oppose each other pe