Last Ten CDs We've Listened To: There's a Bob Dyland Album Here

Greetings to our visitors from Macedonia, Canada and Taiwan.........

Here are the last ten cds we've listened to:

1) Psychedelic Furs. "Mirror Man." 1984.

2) Peter, Bjorn and John. Writer's Block. 2006 (top image)

3) REM. Monster. 1994. (middle image)

4) Tom Waits. The Heart of Saturday Night. 1974.

5) The Replacements. Don't Tell a Soul. 1989.

6) Talking Heads. Speaking in Tongues. 1983. (bottom image)

7) Bob Dylan. Blood on the Tracks. 1975.

8) Serge Gainsbourg. Historie de Melody Nelson. 1971 (in French).

9) David Bowie. Heroes. 1977.

10) The Police. Regatta de Blanc. 1979.

Last Ten CDs We've Listened To: It's All New Wave To Me......

Greetings to our beloved blog readers in Scotland, Mexico and Serbia.......

Welcome to another entry on this blog, which will be 10 years old in September!

Our apologies to our friends in Bodrum, Turkey, a plush beach resort, which we highly recommend. We went with an image of Jaco Beach, Costa Rica (pict. bottom) on a coin toss.

The old AM clock radio is in reference to the last cd we listened to, but it's also a way for us to make fun of Rush Limbaugh, who is probably drinking shots of vodka with Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas at the Watergate Hotel in Washington, DC, as we are typing this (the two are actually close pals).

The middle image is of soccer cleats; our first instinct was to go with Real Madrid striker Gareth Bale, but that proved to be too complicated!

Here is the list....all of these cds are indeed in the New Wave genre:


1) Psychedelic Furs. "Talk. Talk. Talk" 1981

2) INXS. "Kick" 1987.

3) Wang Chung. "Points of the Curve." 1983

4) The Cure. "Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me." 1987

5) New Order. "Republic" 1993.

6) Talking Heads. "True Stories" 1986.

7) Gary Numan. "Pleasure Principle." 1979

8) The Clash. Combat Rock. 1982

9) The Fixx. Reach the Beach. 1983.

10) The Police. Synchronicity. 1983.

http://www.bodrum.org/

http://www.visitcostarica.com

http://www.thepsychedelicfurs.com/

http://www.thecure.com/

http://www.neworderonline.com/

Last Ten CDs We've Listened To.....before the last ten cds we've listened to......Debuts from Talking Heads, The Cars and Blur

Greetings to our blog readers in Canada, Poland and Sweden.

Since the cds we mention here include a recording by Turkish instrumentalist Mercan Dede called "Su," the Turkish word for water, we have an image of the Manavgat Waterfalls near Antalya, Turkey.

Also, our good friend Bruce Piephoff from Greensboro, NC, ha a catchy song about another Tar Heel town called "I Remember Asheville" on his record "Sogni d'Oro," so we have an image of the Biltmore House, which is located in Asheville, NC.

Lastly, indy folk singer Michelle Shocked had a song about Anchorage, Alaska, simply called "Anchorage" on of her early albums which is among the last ten before the last ten.......

Here is the list:

1) Bruce Piephoff. Sogni d'Oro. 2007. Folk

2) Mercan Dede. Su/Water. 2004. World.

3) Billy Bragg. Tooth and Nail. 2013. Folk

4) Michelle Shocked. Short, Sharp, Shocked. 1988. Indy/folk

5) Talking Heads. Talking Heads:77. 1977 (Featuring "Psycho Killer," band's first record)

6) Psychedlic Furs. Mirror Mirror. 1984.

7) Simple Minds. Street Fighting Years. 1989.

8) Blue. Leisure. 1991 (band's first record)

9) The Cars.The Cars. 1978. (band's first record)

10) The Replacements. Let It Be. 1984.

http://thereplacementsofficial.com/pages/home

http://www.reverbnation.com/brucepiephoff

http://michelleshocked.com/


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Casulaties of Modern Technology (9 of 12)_ The Compact Disc

Yes, we are using an image of a compact disc of REO Speedwagon as a bit of an in-joke, as it is a band that one often hears one annoying adult contemporary radio stations, such as WASH-FM (97.1, Washington DC).

The compact disc, which is refered to as the cd, is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was first developed in labs in Belgium and The Netherlands in 1979, according to Wikipedia, and the cd became commercially available in 1982.

The first cd that we personally purchased was "Storm Front" by Billy Joel in 1989; it's the one with "We Didn't Start the Fire," which seemed like such a great song at the time.

As "Rolling Stone" writer Rob Sheffield has noted in his memoirs about his youth and how the pop music of the time ('80s and '90s) affected his life, he noted that the cd was instrumental in allowing music artists to store more music in one unit. Bands, ranging from The Cure to Guns N Roses, have taken advantage of this.

There are also enhanced cds, such as "Naked" (Talking Heads, 1988), which have music videos stored on them in addition to music from the recording studio.

According to a recent "Rolling Stone" article (not written by Sheffield) and the public radio music show "Sound Opinions," sales of cds have been plummeting. But, many are still made in spite of more modern gizmos because older artists like Leonard Cohen, Tom Waits and Bob Dylan rely on cd sales for their older customers whereas young artists like Lady Gaga rely on going directly to I-Tunes and I-Pads, and other gadgets that were the brainchild of the late Steve Jobs.

However, vinyl sales have improved. In fac, 2011 was a banner year for vinyl record sales as 3.9 million records were sold. This was the first in sales in the product since 1979.

And, many though music stores have been disapperaring at an alarming rate, the remaning succesful ones, such as CD Alley in Chapel Hill, Hill, and Wuxutry Records in Athens, Ga. (which also has a store in Atlanta) have relied on both the cd and the record to get music to their customers.

Last 10 CDs I've Listened To

I must profess this was a bit tougher to put together than I anticipated as I had to double-check which dates these albums were released. I actually first got the release years for The Replacements' album "Tim" and REM's record "Document" mixed up.

This week, REM, a band that along with the B-52s shaped and defined the Athens,Ga., music scene in the 1980s decided to call it quits after 31 years.

Here are the albums:

1. Talking Heads (pictured) "Speaking in Tongues." (1983). Key Tracks: "Burning Down the House," "Girlfriend is Better," and "This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody)."

2. Okay Temiz (Turkish instrumentalist) "Magnet Dance" (1994).

3. Peter Bjorn and John "Gimme Some" (2011) Key Tracks: "Tomorrow Has to Wait" and "Down Like Me."

4. Ali Farka Toure (late Mali guitar great) "Niafunke" (1999).

5. The Replacements "Tim" (1987) Key Tracks: "Kiss Me on the Bus," "Bastards of Young," and "Left of the Dial."

6. Gogol Bordello (pictured) "Super Taranta!" (2007). Key Tracks: "Wonderlust King" and "American Wedding."

7. The Go-Gos (pictured) "Beauty and the Beat" (1981) Key Tracks: "We Got the Beat" and "Our Lips Are Sealed."

8. Mates of State "Bring It Back" (2006) Key Track: "For the Actor"

9. R.E.M "Document" (1987) Key Tracks: "Finest Work Song," "It's the End of the World (As We Know It)," and "The One I Love."

10. Billy Joel "Piano Man" (1973) Key Tracks: "Piano Man," "The Ballad of Billy the Kid," and "Captain Jack."

Status Update_ Life Might Be Turning Back to Normal

Status Update for June 27, 2011:

"Life is apparently, somehow/somewhat becoming normal again. Can I listen to Slipknot now?"

For those who don't get my sense of humor, and many people do not, there is actually an entry on my sister blog "The Daily Vampire" with an image of the great composer Franz Liszt, whose music will be on the PRI/NPR show "Performance Today" this evening in our market.

Somehow, when the opportunity permits, I also like to listen to "Chainsaw Rock" on 88.1-FM (Raleigh), which is the North Carolina State student radio station. It airs from midnight to 2:00 a.m. on Friday night/Saturday morning; the show is hosted by Hammerhead. And, it is responsible for introducing me to the speed metal band Slipknot, a band that originated in Iowa, of all places!

Orginally, we were going to use Guns N Roses as the band for this entry, but we think Slipknot makes it more offbeat and perhaps slightly funnier. My own personal favorite music genres are actually Turkish psychedelic music from the '70s and New Wave music from the '80s. I should add that I much prefer Talking Heads over Culture Club. And, Turkish psychedelic pioneer Erkin Koray turned 70 this month.

A Turkish music radio show airs on WUVT-FM (90.7, Blacksburg, Va.), the student station of Virginia Tech, on Saturdays from 1:00 p.m.-2:30 p.m.

Amadeus in Bethesda- Home and Away (Entry 1 of 3)

We are including an image of the late Austrian pop singer Falco ("Rock Me Amadeus") because the play "Amadeus" is currently being performed at the Roundhouse Theatre in Bethesda, Md., and it was one of the many things I would have liked to have done which we didn't get 'round to. The play runs through June 12. And, there were actually plenty of things we were able to get done.

One of the many complications that comes when one is traveling is that no matter if you are traveling to a nearby place or Tashkent, Uzbekistan, if it will involve at least one overnight stay then they are the issues of: "Is there enough food for Garfield?," "Will an annoying bill come in that might forget to pay?," and "Ahhh! When am I ever gonna get to clean up this house?!"

So, you have to decide if you want to stay home and perhaps settle for a vinyl quest at the Happy's Flea Market in Roanoke, Va. or a photo-taking outing to take Polaroids of the Paul Bunyan Muffler Man statue just down the road from Happy's on Williamson Road (yes, Happy's is a real place, the muffler man still stands and Roanoke, Va., is my hometown; I no longer reside there but you may see me there at some juncture...?!).

And, there is the problem of getting out of the darn house itself. I know when I travel I like to think what cds go well with the trip. Inevitably, I always choose Talking Heads or The Cars, though if I ever have to go to a funeral, I may go with The Cure (forgive the Gen X) humor.

On this particular trip, the family cat , who is not actually named Garfield (he's a tuxedo cat, actually), was a top priority. We made sure his liter box was fresh, and that he had food and water. But, alas, we underestimated the amount of time we would be in Washington, DC, so when we came home, we saw that the cat had eaten all six cans we had left him. He was hungry and he was mad. For a moment, I thought he was going to turn into a feline Linda Blair. But, of course, once he was fed, he was a happy camper. Until five minutes later, when he wanted out, but it was midnight. Luckily for us, he did not turn blue or start yelling expletives, nor was he possessed by a Satanic demon (that we know of).

Yes, We Have Experienced Distractions

Since I have used the test pattern image from TRT (Turkish Radio Television) in the 1970s when I lived there from 1977-79 (though my late father was Turkish, I was born in America) and watched American shows such as "Space 1999" and "Flipper" many times on this blog, I thought I would go with the test patter from Bulgarian-TV around that same time. But, I had to settle with this test patter from Swedish TV instead. Somehow, I don't expect there was all that much difference between test patterns back then. Curiously, I'm not sure how often the test pattern comes up in the modern age. It could yet be another Casualty of Modern Technology.

Speaking of which, I just had to get up and change sides on a vinyl record version of "Stop Making Sense," a 1984 concert album from Talking Heads. I am now listening to "Once in a Lifetime," which may have inspired the Coen Brothers to make their quirky, dark comedies where a man's leg goes through a wood chipper in Minnesota.

While vinyl is making a comeback these days, so are zealous extreme forms of the Christian faith here in America. I respect people's faith, but when they start saying the world will end on Saturday (and, yes, there is a pretty significant group out there which has made this gloomy forecast), I think the rest of us have a Constitutional right to say: "Hmmmm...yes, you are insane."

Additionally, more businesses have actually implemented religion into the names of their hotels and restaurants, in addition to those that put "He Lives," "The Tomb is Empty" or "He is Risen" on their store marquees assuredly driving any Egyptian gas station managers to decide they would rather have a Whopper at Burger King.

Amazingly enough, there is apparently a restaurant called Jesus Kitchen, in North Hollywood, Calif., of all places.

And, if you want to make sure 'God is spending the night with you," then the Christ the King Motel in Kingsport, Tenn., a place I have seen for myself, might be the place for you as long as there are no Jews, Buddhists, Muslims or Hindus in your party. There is another Christ the King Motel in Beckley, W.Va., but we could not find out if the two places with the same name had the same owners. Assuredly, they may kick you out of your room if you come to the front desk to ask where the Coke machine is as you are dressed in a Slayer t-shirt.

Quote of the Day- Fela Kuti (Late Nigerian Afrobeat Star)

Today's quote featuring 32 people, alive or dead, from the 32 countries in The World Cup is from the late, great Nigerian Afrobeat singer/musican/political activist Fela Kuti (1938-1997).

Kuti was a major influence on David Byrne and his band (the) Talking Heads, especially on their hit song "Once in a Lifetime." In addition the Afro-beat pioneer was a featured artist at the 1986 Amnesty International concert in New York.

He lived both a very tragic and a very interesting life as he was once married to 27 women (!), but he died of AIDS-complications.

Kuti was also a political radical who supported The Black Panther Party and that lead to his own social rebellion in Nigeria. He made the hit 1977 record "Zombie" which was politically focused on the oppressive nature of the Nigerian military.

His music can still be heard frequently today as it was featured on the soundtrack of the critically acclaimed independent film "The Visitor" (2007).

As for the Nigerian soccer team, they had a difficult World Cup with losses to Argentina and Greece, but they tied South Korea 2-2 in their final game.

Here is the quote from Kuti, which is unsurprisingly an overt political one in nature:

"In Nigeria they convict by law, not by the truth."

I Made My Standup Comedy Debut

The place was The Idiot Box, a comedy club in downtown Greensboro, NC. It was this past Friday night, and it was Amatuer Night. I was reluctant. I was hesitant. But, hey I had performed karaoke to Talking Heads songs, so why should stand-up comedy be any different?

Of course, five minutes on stage felt like the length of "Ben Hur," but I did manage to pull though it. I made jokes about Warren Beatty's love-life, being a Turkish-American in small-town North Carolina, my agnosticism--which always causes me problems and religious fundamentalism.

I made the Woody Allenesque observation that if heaven and hell existed as the world's fundamentalists think they do, then I could see myself in a line where a serial killer who had just raped and murdered 40 women would get into heaven because he accepted Jesus Christ right before his lethal injection. But, I would get sent to hell for once going to a strip club in Bluefield, WVa., when I was 23 years old.

And, the kicker was that the receptionist at the Pearly Gate would tell me: "Hey life isn't fair, so why should the after-life be any different?"

I was not exactly Lenny Bruce (pictured- yikes, I just found out he died when he was my age---40!, in 1966), but I was bit funnier than a "Gomer Pyle" rerun (I hope!).

SIDEBAR: I just found out that not only is the long-forgotten 1980 comedy film "Soggy Bottom USA" with Don Johnson and P.J. Soles, which has been hard to find for years, is not only available on DVD, you can download it for free on Netflix! I've wanted to see the film ever since I missed it at the Buchanan Theatre in Buchanan, Va., (which reopened in 2003 after being closed for close to 20 years) but I have heard it's a bit of an awful film.

The Rialto Theatre in Raleigh, NC, is also showing another film from that era as they will present Walter Hill's film "Southern Comfort" (1981) in 35-mm at 8:00 p.m. on Wednesday. Tickets are five dollars.

Bike Films To Be Shown in the Star City

My good friend Jason Garnett will be presenting a series of short films from around the world which were all filmed on bicycles! The event will be held at the Shadowbox Cinema in downtown Roanoke, Va., on Sunday at 2 p.m. The cost per person is five bucks.

When one thinks of films on bikes, the images of "Pee Wee's Big Adventure," "Breaking Away" or perhaps even the Italian neo-realist classic "The Bicycle Thief" comes to mind (not to mention that great sequence with Paul Newman and Robert Redford in "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid").

But, these films are actually part of a Portland, Ore., project which has been around for at least a couple of years. It reminds me of the new book by former Talking Heads lead singer David Byrne called "Bicycle Diaries," in which he talked about cities like Istanbul, Manila and San Fransisco where he rode on his bike and then wrote about them!

All films that will shown in Roanoke are both independent and bike-themed.

The Shadowbox Cinema will also be screening the documentary "I Need That Reocrd" about the sad demise of independent record stores on April 22, which may have been the last place you could have found a vinyl 12-inch version of "Burning Down the House!"

For more info, go to shadowboxcinema.com or filmedbybike.org

In Case You Missed It- I Performed Karaoke to....

...........the 1983 smash hit song "Burning Down the House" by Talking Heads at Izzy's Coffee Den in Asheville, NC*, on Monday night.

The reaction of the crowd was well stunned?!

I am an unabashed huge fan of Talking Heads. I recently finished reading the lead singer David Byrne's book "Bicycling Diaries" in which he described how surreal it was to witness a Filipino man karaoking "Burning..." at a bar in Manila. One can only image what he would think of my 'rendition.'

*-Not the actual coffeehouse where I sang karaoke, but if you are a friend of mine I might tell you the actual place!

Yet Another Quote of the Week?!- David Byrne

We just quoted former Talking Heads lead singer David Byrne, who also has an outstanding solo discography, just a few weeks ago. But, since his new book about bicycling in cities like Istanbul, Turkey, is out in bookstores right now and since I am absolutely addicted to his music with Talking Heads, I thought I would quip him once again.

I was able to find the remaining three cds that I needed to get in order to have the complete Talking Heads discography at my disposal (I actually have two of their albums on vinyl!) from CD Alley, a cool independent cd store in Chapel Hill, NC, over the weekend.

His book is assuredly available at my favorite independent book store in North America, but the Boulder Bookstore in Boulder, Col., is quite far from my log cabin in Floyd, Va. (not where I really live, but relatively close).

We quoted the lead singer of another punk band from the late '70s, early '80s ear, the late Joe Strummer, on our sister blog "The Daily Vampire."

A Talking Heads web site in Holland had a fan survey and those of us who absolutely love this band chose their 1980 release "Remain in Light," which features the song "Once in a Lifetime" as the band's best. "Rolling Stone" also named the same album as the fourth best record of the 1980s. Though I personally prefer their 1983 record "Speaking in Tongues," which feautres every would-be-arsonist's favorite anthem "Burnin' Down the House."

Here is the quip from Byrne:

"I couldn't talk to people face to face, so I got on stage and started screaming and squealing and twitching."

Quote of the Week- David Byrne

Today we are quoting David Byrne whose band Talking Heads (no longer together) are in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland.

The museum is celebrating its 25th anniversary.

Byrne is also an artist, photographer, filmmaker and author.

His latest book "Bicycle Diaries," which features an entry on Istanbul, Turkey, where my father's side of the family hails from, is in book stores now.

It has recieved favorable reviews from "Rolling Stone" and "The Seattle Times."

I suppose this quote is really true if you happen to be on a bicycle!:

"I never listen to the radio unless I rent a car."