Pandemonium Cheesecake

 The trip through the unlistened smart play list continues. Now up J K L.  A different turn on this round. I know what all these bands and albums sound like. I listened to these cds a bunch when I first got them, but its been years. Alice In Chains - Jar Of Flies  (1993) EP Despite me turning 20 two weeks prior to  Facelift coming out, and already having a handful of Sub Pop and grunge cds; AIC was never my thing and one of the reasons the EP remained unplayed for 10 years. Their first two lps ( Facelift and Dirt)  only have a single play each in the past 10 years, Sap  is still unlistened to. I know I bought it new, first pressing with the flies in the jewel case, back when I was buying everything related to grunge. I still own the flies in the jewel case and it has survived every physical cd culling over the years because having the 'one with the flies' is kinda awesome. I had the flannel, saw 'Singles' in the theater, and strategically put holes in my je...

 The trip through the unlistened smart play list continues. Now up G H I. X-Ray Spex - Germ Free Adolescents (1978) I know they are part of the late 70s punk scene, British, led by a singer named Poly Styrene (probably not her real name), debut (and only album??) and that this album is always listed among the greatest punk albums of all-time. First of all, never let any one tell you that saxophone does not belong on a punk album. It can be as punk as any instrument. Second, the gals from Sleater-Kinney clearly listened to this album growing up as they stole their vocal stylings from Poly and her wails and screeches. Third, this album fuckin' rocks. "The Day The World Turned Day-Glo" is one of the best openers, and least punk-titled song, ever. The album plows along with four more sub 3-minute rockers, including the wonderful "Identity", until its runs up against the title track, which slows things down, probably so listeners can catch their breath. Good thing as...

I am continuing the goal of listening to the unplayed on the hard drive. I mostly listen to the album before looking up its vitals. Next up D, E and F albums. Django Django - Django Django (2012) Where this came from, I don't know. Probably read about it somewhere. Don't know what to expect, all I know is that it's alphabetically its between Diver Down  by Van Halen and Djangologie  - a Django Reinhardt box set; and will probably sound like neither. They possibly sound like another band (MGMT??), but I'm not positive, since I'm not exactly sure what they sound like. Are they an American band? Is it a side project from someone in a more popular band? A couple good songs. "Wor" is Duane Eddy mixed with Bow Wow Wow and generous echo. "Love's Dart" is a gallopy acoustic ride. Towards the end it gets kindy samey. "Skies Over Cairo" an instrumental with Egyptian sounds and "Silver Rays" sounds like it could have been recorded by...

For years I've had countless records burned onto a hard drive that I've never listened to. Most of them come from the 13 years spent at a Borders Books and Music, burning in store promos and then returning them to the store for someone else to take (or burn). I kept 10-15% of all promos I took home because they were among my favorite bands, no one else wanted them, or from claiming managerial rights. [I'm the manager, therefore, I'm right.] I want to see what I haven't listened to ever, or at least since February 2016 when the 'last played' counter in my iTunes reset due to a computer crash. Currently the oldest 'last played' song is "If I Had A $1000000" by the Barenaked Ladies from Gordon . 2/19/2016 10:35PM. Most played is "The Enemy Within" by Rush from Grace Under Pressure  with 15 plays, all by itself, followed by more Rush and Inon Zur's soundtrack to Fallout 4. I wish I had my old counts, as I know both Lifes Rich Page...

So I've decided to rename this blog. It now shares a name with my old radio show on 90.1fm WUSB. Don't like it? Too bad. Inspired by a friend. I thought I'd take a crack at writing about music every day as well. Can't imagine I'm going to be able to do one a day, but I'll try for 100 or so by the end of the year.

In 1982 Rush released Signals , their ninth studio album and a complete reversal in sound from their previous record Moving Pictures . The synthesizers, which had been used for moods and accents on the previous records, came forward to dominate the sound. And I hated it when it came out. I was like 'this is worse than your mom eating a puke sandwich' (hey, I was 12 forgive me). Rush was my first favorite band and this was one of the first albums that I was looking forward to its release. I was hoping for Moving Pictures 2, or something closer to the sound of their previous five studio albums. Something with a thirteen minute song about space, or gods, or trees. What I got was the opposite. Instead of driving arena rock I got fuzzy humming synth/pop. Like their debut, Signals sticks out in their catalog like a cold sore on a prom queen. Have I mentioned that I hated it? My dislike for the record continued for a long time. I was in my mid 30s when I finally redisc...

The second ep in a series of three from one of the most influential bands of the 80s. It's hard to listen to this record and not to hold it up against their previous work. It's unfair to the Pixies because most bands would have trouble following up masterpieces like Doolittle or Surfer Rosa , especially after 20+ years. The four songs that make up EP2 aren't anything exciting, there's no "Gigantic" or "Monkey's Gone to Heaven" and its clear that Pixies 2.2 are still trying to find a sound. They shift back and forth from Trompe Le Monde era to early Frank Black solo work, but never stray too far from the guitar driven, quiet-loud-quiet blueprint that made them so important to the growth of countless alternative bands that followed in their wake. The opening track "Blue Eyed Hexe" is their attempt at an AC/DC song, and its a good one at that. The riff is pure Angus and the chorus is lifted from the Highway to Hell album ...

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...

When I was just starting my musical journey many years ago I was hampered by the lack of internet and limited access to information about bands I heard on the radio. There were just two well known rock bios that were accessible to teens which could have helped me. [Zeppelin's 'Hammer of the Gods' & The Doors 'No One Here Gets Out Alive'] Neither of which I read. Why? One, I didn't enter my Doors phase until I was 20, scrawling 'Jim Lives' on every desk I could find on the Selden campus of Suffolk Community College, along with the first eight minutes of lyrics of Jethro Tull's "Thick as a Brick." Two, I didn't start to love Zep until my late 20s. So that means what I learned came from the DJs, which means bands got lumped together by region or country, not by me, but by them. That means I originally thought The Allman Brothers Band was just another southern-rock band, like the Outlaws, Lynyrd Skynyrd and the Marshall Tucker B...