In Rotation...

This will be (I'm guessing) the first of many posts dealing with what's been spending time in my disc changer as of late. Yeah, tho' I am the very person that the ipod was designed for, I do not have one as of yet, and I don't see that changing anytime soon as my ass is poor. Especially since I am such a damn luddite that I only just got my ass on-line a year or so ago...meaning, it won't be until 2010 before I catch myself up to the ipod type technology...by then, they will be obsolete, and I'll be able to score myself one for like a 10 spot at my favorite pawnshop...

But, I digress...so I'll get right down to it...

The Best of Syd Barrett >>> I creep ever closer to buying some Floyd on disc. Inspired by PA and our little excursion to the "cabin in the holler"near Bend (see Jan. 30th, Big Birthday Adventure - below) I pulled this little gem out of the vault. "Shine on you crazy diamond". Syd is one of those rough around the edges, genuinely artistic, gentle souls that really inspires. (except for the supposed "acid casualty" part of his story) "Gigalo Aunt" (famously covered by R. Hitchcock and his Soft Boys) and "Bob Dylan Blues (reputed to be one of Syd's earliest compositions...written when he was a lad of 17 or so, after having seen Mr. Dylan perform) are my current faves. I also dig "Octopus", Long Gone" and "Two of a Kind". Oh, and let us not forget "Effervescing Elephant"...that title alone - man! - makes it a classic. All in all, this collection is full of fine, hardly polished gems of psychedellic chewyness. Thanks Syd!

Soft Boys -1976-1981 >>>Saw this one coming, didn't you? That's right, I just had to break this out to hear "Gigalo Aunt" in comparrison/contrast. Robyn is Syd with a tighter grip, more refined vision and an even greater sense of the absurd/surreal. LOVE this compillation, it's endlessly odd and listenable. That guy from Katrina and the Waves (!) -Kimberly Rew - looks like Garth (from Wayne's World) and just shreds on freaky new wave acid guitar. Truly. The Soft Boys reunion tour of a couple years back still ranks as one of my favorite live shows in quite some time. A great band.

Talking Heads - Naked >>>The last true "Heads" album...and a superb one really. After slightly lackluster True Stories (tho' there is the blistering "Television Man"*** on that disc)Naked is a refreshingly danceable, topical (even now) often tropical long player from begining to end. "The Democratic Circus" earns its place on my State of our World 2005 mix as, perhaps, does "Nothing But Flowers". Overall this is an album I had almost forgotten the merits of until I just pulled it off the dusty shelf and popped it in the changer. Man, you can't beat an opener like "Blind" to grab your attention by grabbing your ass...;-)
***SHIT! Damn faulty wiring...i'm refering to "Love for Sale" here. "Television Man" is, of course on "Little Creatures"...please forgive me won't you? (3/3)

Tab Two - (No) Flagman Ahead>>>Mid-nineties Euro-centric acid jazz offering. What I'm calling an "Autobahn for a new generation" from duo Helmutt Hattler ("Helmet the Hatter? Huh?) and Joo Kraus - a couple of techno jazz dudes from Germany. One of 'em (Joo, I believe)plays a pretty mean (tho' decidedly laid back and chill) trumpet. (an instrument I gravitate to due to my brief attempt at trying to become a musician in the 5th - 7th grade...my instument of choice...since "everyone can't play the drums"*) This is pretty tasty chill out tunage. Good for evening background music, or impressing the fraulines at those occassional hip and swanky Euro-trash coctail parties.

Squirrel Nut Zippers - Hot>>>Anybody remember the late 90's swing dance craze? (I wonder what happened to all those Dolls and Cats anyway?) It hit pretty hard in Portland, mainly due to the large under 25 hipster population, and the remodeling ( by the McMenamin Bros.) of the old Crystal Ballroom (a fabulous place to see a show) with its "dancing on air, ball bearing filled, floating dance floor"...really a place worth checking out if you find yourselves in PDX for any amount of time...there are always good bands playing there. These guys were among the better of those retro leaning acts of the time. It's fun to put this stuff on and dance around the room like an idiot with the six year old. "Put a Lid On It" is one cool number, as are many others on this disc. Ms. Whalen has a fine voice (many have said she channels Anita Baker) and she along with Jim Mathus (the other vocalist and guitarist) make some pretty rad puppets which you can see in the CD booklet. Oh, and as I recall these guys smoked live. Lots of fun and dancing and laughter watching all the lesbians swoon at Katherine's feet.

This is Where I Belong: The Songs of Ray Davies and the Kinks - V.A. >>>One of my true songwriting heroes given the tribute treatment whilst he still goes on living and contributing to the musical art world he helped define way back in the sixties. This is the Anglophile in me coming out, but I dig the Kinks more than the Who, the Stones and almost all their other English kinsmen of their day. This is a good example of the timelessness and translatability of Mr. Davies tune craftmanship. A nice companion to his own Storyteller album for comparrison and contrast. Quite a good listen on its own really. Stand out cuts: Jonathan Richman "Stop Your Sobbing (nowhere near as good as the Pretenders version from their first album, however), Lambchop "Art Lover" (one of the later day Kinks best songs), and Fastball's mirror image take on "Til' the End of the Day". A nice tributute to a great pop songwriter.

Steve Earle - I Feel Alright>>> The troubadour of our times. (Yeah Steve, I feel alright too...not great, but...) This is a musician I admire deeply for his honesty and his convictions. His politics are as close to my own as any rock-n-roller out there. This isn't his best work, but is still a real fine effort. Pulled it out to listen to "Valentine's Day". (Awww...)

Squeeze - Classics Vol. 25>>> Some well crafted (at times almost too well crafted - if you know what I mean**) 80's English pop songs a'la Paul McCartney or Ray Davies...Hell, Nick Lowe even comes to mind. Difford and Tillbrookcould sure turn a phrase and polish a hook. Some of my favorites are found here..."Take Me I'm Yours", "Annie Get Your Gun", "Cool For Cats". That album and Argy Bargy speak to me of sophmore year high school, hanging out in the late afternoon at RS's house. Listening to tunes, shootin' the shit, plotting our escape from adolescent boredom and the stupidity of our public school reality. Oh, and boy howdy did Paul Carrack ever push all the limits of my patience and squeeze the life out of "Tempted" by singing it at every god-damned opportunity he could find. I've seen him play keyboards in several other peoples touring bands, and he would always pull that one out if given the nod and the spotlight. (probably still doin' that to this day even!) Sheesh, ruined that song for me, I tell you what.

*the words of my old band teacher
**see The bit about Paul Carrack and "Tempted"