2016 VINYL NON-REVIEWS WITH NOTES ON LOCAL SOURCING

Brick - S/T

I got the book Dust and Grooves for Christmas and loved it. It inspired me to do some digging and opening up to new things. I found this in the dollar bin at 7th Heaven and have jammed on it all year.  One time the exercise bike came off its stationery mount and I made a Dan-shaped hole on the gym wall while pedaling to this.  This record sounds like a no-frills Earth Wind and Fire bar band, recording their jams live in the studio, tight as you know what, and the trombone player is great.  I'm pretty much an ignoramus when it comes to anything but well-known R & B/disco so this felt like an obscurity to me, but Brick was a pretty popular national act, and alive and well on the dance floor today.  At least they were at The Ship, night before last.

Juicy - It Takes Two

  
Another 7th Heaven dollar bin find, this has all the tacky joy of vintage 80's r & b with cheap beats, slap bass, and a swooshy electronic atmosphere.  The song "Sugar Free" was close to a hit, I think, and it's an amazing track, taking the caloric value of an absent lover metaphor to the max.  It definitely went on my workout playlist.  The uncomplicated pop funky sexy innocence of this is really fun and I know there are worlds of music like this just waiting to be discovered. I am making a pair of manly leg warmers to go with it.  The brother-sister bunk bed cover is fun!

Donna Summer - The Wanderer

I got this from my neighbor Susan when she styled us out with her old turntable and amp, a Kenwood tube bomber that was gathering dust in her attic storage.  Thank you Susan!  This is a pop-rock departure for Donna Summer, produced by Georgio Moroder.  It's a brave leap for a great disco artist, rest in peace Donna.  Some of it is very cheesy and dated-sounding, and some of it is good hooky pop.  The gospel song "I Believe In Jesus" sits in the midst of all the glitter and gated snare and is very moving and inspiring.  "Running For Cover" would be great if covered by Soul Asylum in 1988, and that's no joke!

Rufus featuring Chaka Khan - Ask Rufus

Someone left a massive pile of pop and jazz and r&b records in my neighbor Malick's garage.  When he got a sweet new ride, it was time to tidy up,  so Scot Sperry and I went through them.  Thank you Malick!  They were pretty moldy but I found this one, another disco-era record that I really like.  The compositions are pretty sophisticated and I learned that Rufus and Chaka weren't just making disco fluff to showcase her radically sexy pipes.  My favorite tune is "Hollywood", though the instrumental number with the unbelievable title of "Slow Screw Against The Wall" is gorgeous too. 

The West Bridge Band - Kibera Esbera 

This is a home-recorded album of traditional Kenyan music, some of it played on homeade instruments, and recorded in a kitchen.  It is really raw and energetic and if you are into the soothing sounds of African blues and tribal music, this has some punky grit that will disrupt your alpha waves.  Joe Strummer would hang with these guys--this is not an NPR production.  2015 Record Store Day find at 7th Heaven.

Duke Ellington - Jazz Party

I listened to the autobiography of Clark Terry, a wonderful Audible production with a great narrator, after watching the Netflix documentary Keep on Keepin' On (also wonderful).  My brother-in-law Jonathan gave me a Clark Terry record in high school and it was one of the most traditional jazz records in my collection for a long time, as I went more for Ornette Coleman and stuff like that, along with punk rock and indie music.  Anyhow, I learned about Terry's tenure in the Ellington band and wanted to hear some of that so I found this classic at Josie Records for a fiver.  It is Ellington--classy, a little goofy, virtuosic, playful, impeccably arranged, how can ya go wrong.  And Terry plays some solos on it but maybe only one.

Clark Terry - In Orbit

A synchronistic reissue find at Mills Records, on gorgeous red vinyl no less.  This is remarkable for having Thelonious Monk as a side man on it, so there's a nice blend of Terry's good-natured, mellow, jouncy sound, and a little edge from Monk.  My neighbor Scot says "Clark Terry has the most joyful sound in jazz."  And it's true.  He's the sound of your uncle bringing you a box of baseball cards, or everybody having a good time hanging out in the kitchen.  He pioneered the mellow sound of the flugle horn and on trumpet, was not brash or ear-piercing.  As an educator he made a huge difference in thousands of lives.  You feel the spirit of a good human being when you listen to Clark Terry.

David Bowie - Blackstar

I had to special-order this at 7th Heaven after they all got snapped up in the weeks after Bowie's death.  This record has a cool, galactic atmosphere, with a generous heart beating within.  Lyrics are cosmically tossed off and somehow evoke mortality and the big questions, with great emotion.   "I Can't Give Everything Away" is my favorite song.

Grant Hart - Good News For Modern Man

This one got past me back in the day.  Like the second Nova Mob album, I don't think it was distributed all that well. By the time this came out, I was in the depressed thrall of alt-country and it was a long time before Guided By Voices jumpstarted my interest in more high energy, joyful pop sounds.  A decade and a half later, reissued with new and much better art, this one leaped off my turntable, a great collection of left-of-center 60's pop with just enough post punk vibe and drive.  Kitchen-sink psychedelic details make it fun.  There are some gems on here.  Also a 7the Heaven find.

Savages - Adore Life

Tracy heard about Savages on the radio and wanted this, and I'm always game to get records based on something other than my selfish whims.  Records between friends mean a lot more (this is so much more true between the ages of 12 and 22) even though it's true that record-collecting is a pretty introverted thing, mostly for nerds.  This is probably my favorite record of the year.  It has intensity, and like Bowie's record, great passion in a coolish, dry, sonic atmosphere.  When a band plays unique arrangements, holding a violent, unified front, without frills, that's always a good thing.  Live-sounding, anthemic, with a challenging, vulnerable poet on the mic.  Lyric fragments of this are stuck in my head on regular basis while I make coffee and get ready for work.

Herbie Hancock - Secrets

Tracy got this for me for my birthday after I listened to Herbie Hancock's autobiography on Audible.  I really enjoyed the sound of his voice, telling his story, especially his spirituality, and honesty about some of the screwed up times.  He came up in Dust and Grooves more than once, and I was on the prowl for his 70's records.  Disco, fusion, electronic r & b, jazz--I didn't really have the emotional capacity for it early on.  My heavy German cogitation machine (hat size 7.5) and some of the personal pain I was working through made it hard for me to get into this kind of groove.  Punk rock punctured the shell but listening to music from the waist down wasn't really happening.  It was hard to let my backbone slip.  As a musician, when I listen to music like this, I feel like I have been playing with asbestos oven mitts on. But we all have our way through things, so let the joy keep growing.

Bob Mould - Patch The Sky

Lucky for KC, Bob is bringing his terrific power trio to town a week from tomorrow.  This record is the third in a trilogy of trio records, and is the livest and most aggressive-sounding yet.  He's a big hero to me and getting all musicological about it seems like a waste of breath.  Husker Du was very impactful for me on a lot of levels as they were for many, many others.  The ferocity and melody and honesty live on.  This one I found at Mills Records with zero browsing, dithering, or beard-stroking.  I walked in, went to the M section, and put the money down.

Shriekback - Big Night Music

Dave Snider sent me this in a gift package.  I was unfamiliar with Shriekback and it is a welcome change up when it comes on my vinyl playlist.  Shimmery jazzy dancy UK pop, the closest I get to this is David Sylvian.  There is something so great about getting a random record from a friend and learning about something new.  "Gunning For The Buddha" is a cool song.

NoMeansNo - Mama

When I said Dave Snider gift package, I meant GIFT PACKAGE. This very early NoMeansNo record is naked and razor-sharp and totally weird.  The guitar is clean in the D Boon mode, and the art and progressive rock influence is fully evident, making this punk as f*ck, because that was extremely uncool in the early 80's, and no one else was doing really long progressive art rock/punk songs that I'm aware of.  Not with balls out hardcore virtuosity like this.  If there's a world congress of representatives of GOOD MUSIC no matter the genre, NoMeansNo should be at the table.

Sun Ra And His Myth Science Arkestra - Cosmic Tones For Mental Therapy

Sun Ra's creative world, like Robert Pollard's world, is one where anything can happen and a lot of it sounds kind of damaged and weird, but it's the limitless that is fun and liberating.  His rhythm sections often have a pre-garage rock urgency, a little trogolodyte repetitiveness to them, that doesn't bounce and flutter around like a lot vintage post-swing music.  I'm always down for the Egyptian lounge vibe, and like Pollard's music, it's still for clubs and hanging out and having a brew.

****

Well, I'll be damned, that only scratches the surface!  This is what I do on Labor Day instead of grilling burgers.  I will have to revisit this project.  When the new year comes around, this will have to stand in as my year-end list.  I don't have an exhaustive view of new releases.  I work 45 to 50 hours a week and the music I run into is partly whim, partly chance, party my own inclinations, and gifts from friends.  I would like to set up in a bar and play some of these records while people drink and have a good time, but it would have to be early.

RECORD STORE RUN

JUST WOKE UP: VOLUME TWO

Just Woke Up: Volume 2
Just Woke Up: Volume 1

Here's Volume Two of Just Woke Up, an audio podcast featuring music I dig, plus experiments with Garage Band sound effects in service of professional FM radio voice-overs.  Frogs and rain and so forth.

Guided By Voices: Keep It In Motion
Stew: Love Like That
Carbon Silicon: The Magic Suitcase
Dinosaur Jr: Almost Ready
John Doe: Little Tiger

The Soft Boys: I Love Lucy
The Underlings: Rock  Deductions
Tommy Keene: Compromise
Redd Kross: Stay Away From Downtown
You Am I: It Ain't Funny How We Don't Talk Anymore

Mates of State: Basement Money
Marnie Stern: Put All Your Eggs In One Basket
Meat Puppets: Bad Love (Live at University of Santa Barbara 2/6/88)
Muddy Waters: I Just Want To Make Love To You
Paul Westerberg: Gimme Little Joy

The Pedal Jets: Giants of May
Bob Mould: Keep Believing
Volcano Suns: Truth Is Stranger Than Fishing
Excerpt From The Bitter Lemons of Cypress, by Lawrence Durrell

***

Once Upon A Time In Anatolia might be one of the slowest-paced films I've seen, and I liked it alot.  I'm trying to think of another film where the landscape is a main character--maybe Dersu Uzula.  A best supporting actor nomination goes to the wild apple that rolls down a ravine into a creekbed.  That was an amazing shot.

BOOKS, DEMOS, AND LIMITS

I am about halfway through the letters of Julia Child and Avis DeVoto, a Kindle daily deal I bought a while back, and a serious gear-shift from Jo Nesbo’s GREAT thriller, Headhunters. There must be some received opinions I could insert here about Facebook, texting, Twitter, email, and blogging, and how those things have fractured our ability to communicate clearly, at length, in a personal and intimate way.  I bet that would end up being only half true, or mostly not true, and I’d sound like an old fart.  Just the other night I was commenting on a Facebook photo of John Wayne in short-shorts.  Like I’m gonna get all retro-fusty here.



Whatever the case for letter-writing vs re-tweeting Hall and Oates blooper videos, these two write. They write ALOT, to each other, and they write well.  They write about their lives, and they write about the big white whale of a project: Mastering The Art of French Cooking. They bring the book along, and DeVoto acts as de facto literary agent in the states, and they become great, lifelong friends. This correspondance was private; it existed within limits and did not seek to be seen by others in a “social network.”  It was soul-building--contained.

This has been the nicest late summer and fall in the Willamette Valley in twenty years, it seems--blue sky and sunshine, tomatoes and cucumbers continuing to ripen even now.  I’ve heard we have another week. It could not be nicer, and a little margin between summer and the rain is good, can get you energized on into February.

We started Boardwalk Empire after Breaking Bad closed up for a while; Game of Thrones was great. The Walking Dead is coming back.  It seems like we live in a golden age of excellent tv shows with great production values and writing.  Plus alot of kick-ass trash.  There’s only one The Wire, or Six Feet Under, or Mad Men--but overall, TV is abundantly good in a way TV didn’t use to be. HBO is boob crazy and that’s a little cornball.   

It looks like The Golden Motors are going into the studio before the end of the year to record a ten-song 30 minute-ish album.  Unlike the first Golden Motors album, which kind of emerged from a more singer-songwriter angle, and took on its recorded character later--and took on life on stage even later--these tunes have been hammered every which way by the band and played in front of people for quite a while.  

I continue to write and demo songs on my own and have quite a stockpile which I like--but every writer has habits, and being open to a band breaks habits and hopefully improves arrangements and the overall flow.  However, one lives within the limits and commitment level of the band.  This is true at the hobby-garage level and it’s true at the regional touring level and the “next level” at the super duper level, I bet, too.

I think I’m speaking for many musicians at many levels when I say it gets harder to embark on album projects knowing that the form has become the 8-man football of art.  I’ll only say this once: people do not realize how helpful and energizing it is for fans to buy a cd/LP/download. We’ve really lost the connection, the sense that this means something.  {Insert 100 terrabytes of commentary by pretty much everyone here.} There’s soul in spending and in exchange that has been obliterated.  And times are tough, even for the 47% who are moochers and not deserving of a chance to smooch Mitt’s loafers.

When I rode my bike to CD World after work to buy the new Bob Mould record, I was repeating a ritual that I’ve been going through since I was sixteen and sneaking off to KC from the ‘burbs. Half of it was the drive, the friends I was with, the Mario’s grinder we got across the street from The Record Exchange.  This sounds sentimental.  I guess it is.  It’s a great record, and also so personal to me, as a fan of 25 years, that it may not illustrate my point at all.  It’s dumb to be nostalgic for a certain style of consumption.  Any fifteen year old who just downloaded the entire Jimi Hendrix discography for free knows this.  But ritual is a different thing.  Cultures that lose their rituals go down the shit-tank.  People stop seeing each others faces, and building relationships.

I’ve snagged dozens, maybe hundreds of albums from the Eugene Public Libarary, and burns and links and thumb drives full of more music than I could possibly afford come my way all the time too.  Somehow it’s the things that we exchange within limits that make more sense and mean more, that’s all.  A quaint idea.  

I heard an idea the other day: “musicians are the new poets.”  Meaning, poets typically don’t make a living at poetry; they teach or have some form of day gig.  This elevates and rarifies the rock and rollers, too--sometimes justified.  Troubadors, poets, singer-songwriters, rockin’ bands with heavyweight literary/art appeal, shit bands talking shit about shit and not knowing shit, and boring poets doing the same--this stuff’s been cooking for a while.  Some folks build tanks for a living, or operate on brains, and are well-rewarded.  If I were Nikita Khruschev I would not bang my shoe on the table to conlude this message, I would slap a flip flop.  It's all good, dude.  Now I am going to put some bass on a song using equipment that did not exist even twenty years ago, and have ALOT of fun.