We're Back: The Last Ten Albums We've Listened To

Yes, we have been away for a while, but it's good to be back from our Buddhist pilgrimage to Bhutan (yes, that's a joke). But, we have listened to lots of records lately; here are the last ten:

1. Richard Pryor. "That ***ger's Crazy" 1974

2. Herbie Hancock. "Mr. Hands" 1980

3. Tim Buckley. "Blue Afternoon" 1969

4. Jefferson Starship "Red Octopus" 1975 (top image)

5. Jan Hammer Group "Oh Yeah?" 1976

6. The Tubes "Young and Rich" 1976 (center image)

7. Genesis "Abacab" 1981

8. Devo "Freedom of Choice" 1980 (bottom image)

9. Elvis Costello "This Year's Model" 1978

10. Phil Collins "Face Value" 1980


http://www.jerrysrecords.com (record store in Pittsburgh)

http://www.schoolkidsrecords.com (record store in Raleigh)

http://www.indycdandvinyl.com (record store in Indianapolis)

http://www.nuggetrecords.com  (record store in Boston)

http://www.waterloorecords.com (record store in Austin, Tex.)

http://www.easystreetrecords.com (record store in Seattle)

Record Store Day is Saturday

It may seem odd to have albums from rock singer Peter Gabriel, Turkish jazz instrumentalist Okay Temiz and the late comedian Redd Foxx, but all of these are hidden gems that one may find at an independent record store. Saturday is Record Store Day.

Among the stores likely to be participating in the event are The Last Record Store in Santa Rosa, Calif., Jackpot Records in Portland, Ore., Cheap Records in Cambridge (Boston). Mass., and CFBG in Greensboro, NC.

http://www.petergabriel.com

http://www.recordstoreday.com

www.thelastrecordstore.com

www.jackpotrecords.com

From the Record Collection (5 of 8) Bob Dylan "Slow Train Coming"

It is nice to see we are popular in Slovenia_ of all places, so we send out special greetings to those of you in Ljubljana, the Slovenian capital. We also wish to extend greetings to folks in Nassau, The Bahamas, and Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. We gather the weather is slightly nicer in the Caribbean island nation.

Today, in our "From the Record Collection" series, we feature Bob Dylan's 19th studio record "Slow Train Coming" (1979). Last year, we found a used copy of the record at All Day Records in Carrboro (Chapel Hill), NC.

"Slow Train Coming" was Dylan's first record since becoming a born-again Christian. Dylan was raised as a Jew in Minnesota. Spirituality is exemplified through the record with songs like "Gotta Serve Somebody," "Precious Angel" and "The Animals," which alludes to Noah's Ark.

The axe used by a rail worker on the album cover is shaped like a crucifix as is the sailboat, which is used in the photograph of the back cover.

We could not establish how long the born-again period lasted for Dylan, or if he still views the world from that prism, though spirituality does seem to come up frequently in recordings made after 1979.

The many aspects of Dylan's life made for a great art film by Todd Haynes, "I'm Not There" (2007) which includes a remarkable performance from Australian actress Cate Blanchett who plays Dylan herself!

"Slow Train Coming" was a major commercial success, and "You Gotta Serve Somebody" was Dylan's first major hit in three years.

Of his conversion to Christianity, Dylan said that an image of Jesus Christ came to him while he was staying in a hotel room in Tucson, Arizona.

The record also features Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits on guitar on many of the album's key tracks.

From the LP Collection_ "A Momentary Lapse of Reason" by Pink Floyd (1 of 8)

Today, we start a new feature series on albums from my personal record collection with "A Momentary Lapse of Reason," the 1987 record from the legendary rock band Pink Floyd.

This is also the record which somehow hypnotizes the family tuxedo cat, or at least makes him less neurotic than normal.

"Reason" was the 13th and next to last studio album for Pink Floyd. "The Final Cut"
(1983) and "The Division Bell" (1994) came before and after it.

The album was a highly controversial one, not so much for content, as much as it lead to a very open public feud between Roger Waters, one of the leaders of Pink Floyd, who left the group leaving David Gilmour as lead singer/guitarist. Waters even tried to sue Gilmour over the use of the name Pink Floyd.

The two remaining members of the lineup drummer Nick Mason and the late keyboardist Richard Wright (1943-2008) were also brought on board to record the album in England.

The album is also noted for having the first inserted sleeve photograph of the band since 1971's "Meedle." The record features the psychedlic single "Learning to Fly" which is said to be a metaphor for starting a new chapter in life.

"Reason" also contains "The Dogs of War," "One Slip" and "On the Turning Away," which seems to be our cat's personal favorite, or at least it mellows him considerably.

I won the record from a contest from the now defunct Rock 105 (104.9 FM_Blacksburg, Va.), though the station no longer exists, there is a cool college radio station serving the New River Valley of Virginia in 90.7 FM-Blacksburg, the student-run radio station of Virginia Tech.

Roger Waters will be performing the band's legendary album "The Wall" in concert at the Verizon Center in Washington, DC, on July 12, 2012.

NOTE: This blog will be on brief hiatus until Tuesday.

Republican Humor- Dear Casey

The following is meant to be political satire. Just so everyone in Generation Z or those of you from Belarus get the joke, Dear Casey or The Long Distance Dedication was a segment that was "Casey's Top 40," an American fm-radio music show when I was a teenager in the 1980s.


"Dear Casey:


I know that even though you are a political liberal like myself and a fellow person of Middle-Eastern heritage, you may hesitate to play this song for a truck driver I don't know in Sioux City, Iowa, as I am making this request for poltical reasons. Casey, I am afraid that the Republicans will nominate another execution-happy evangelist governor of Texas for their presidential candidate, and should Rick Perry actually become president I would have to flee America for Costa Rica or Iceland. Even though I'm sure those countries are wonderful places, I am not fluent in either Spanish or Icelandic, and I imagine this would make life very difficult for me. So, Casey, it is for these reasons that I am dedicating Conway Twitty's 1973 smash hit "You've Never Been This Far Before" to that truck driver I don't know in Sioux City, Iowa, in the hopes that_ and I never thought I'd say this_ vote for Mitt Romney in his town straw poll."

Conway Twitty (1933-1993) is alas no longer with us. I am actually a fan of his music (believe it or not) even though I'm not usually a listener of country music. Twitty was originally from Helena, Arkansas, and he is also known for his "Hello Darlin'" which was a big hit for him in 1971. Anyone living in the Chapel Hill, NC, area (not where I reside) may find vinyl records of his albums at All Day Records in nearby Carrboro, NC.

Casey Kasem is thankfully alive and well at age 79, which means that if Twitty were still alive they would be about the same age. Kasem was born in Detroit, and is active in both politically liberal and Arab-American causes (I am actually a Turkish-American). In addition to the famous radio show he hosted, Kasem was the voice of Shaggy on the original "Scooby-Doo," which first aired in 1969.

Bonus Road Trip (2 of 10)- From Conway, Ark, to Twitty, Tex.

Today, we are looking at the distances between the two cities that were the basis for the stage name of country-music legend Conway Twitty (1933-1993), who alas died during or shortly a performance in Branson, Missouri.

Twitty's real name was Harold Lloyd Jenkins, and his biggest was perhaps "Hello Darlin," which was number one for four weeks on the country charts in 1970, the year I was born. Recently, I found a vinyl copy of "Conway Twitty Greatest Hits, Volume One" at All Day Records in Carrboro (Chapel Hill Hill), NC.

Conway, Ark., is a college town that is home to Central Arkansas University and where the great Southern literary magazine "Oxford American" is based. It is also where one can find Mike's Place on Front Street, which offers (according to its web sites) lots of good steaks.

While there were plenty of places to choose from for Conway, Ark., the same could not be said for Twitty, Tex., as it has a population of 60 people! But, it does have its own zip code which is 79079.

So, we were able to figure out how far apart these two towns that made Conway Twitty's name are.

Is the answer:

A) 6 hours, 30 minutes

B) 6 hours, 50 minutes

C) 7 hours, 10 minutes

D) 7 hours, 30 minutes

Merry Christmas from Simon and Garfunkel

Yes, we know it is a bit ironic to feature a Merry Christmas from Simon and Garfunkel, as they are Jewish guys. But, singer Paul Simon has actually just released a holiday song called "Getting Ready for Christmas Day," which is available for free downloads.

Simon's web site says that the song will also be on the singer's next studio release "So Beautiful or So What" this spring.

As for Art Garfunkel, who also had a successful acting career in the late '60s and early '70s, has released "The Very Best of Art Garfunkel" this year.

I have two funny stories involving the musical duo, that peaked from 1964-70. The first is that I found Simon and Garfunkel's "Bookends" (1968) with a poster in it (the album featured "A Hazy Shade of Winter," covered in 1986 by The Bangles). I found this gem for a mere quarter at a Salvation Army Thrift Store in Pittsburg, Kansas, in the summer of 1986 when I was 16. And, of course, now it is nowhere to be found!

The second is that my mom, a part-time antique dealer, found an autograph of Art Garfunkel (without Paul Simon). She sold it for eight dollars at the Super Flea Market in Greensboro, NC, some two years ago- much to my surprise!

While researching this, we found out through "The Morning Sun," the newspaper for Pittsburg, Kan., that the town is hosting a lighting luminary for the holidays. And, the next Super Flea in Greensboro will be held from Jan. 29-30, 2011.