Blogging, Books, Cats, Music, Mayhem
The juxtaposition of yesterday’s album with today’s probably says something deeply disturbing about my psyche. Today we’re going to go directly from cello concertos to The Dead Kennedys and Give Me Convenience or Give Me Death. Continue reading ““Give Me Convenience or Give me Death” by Dead Kennedys (No. 69)”
For nearly as long as I can remember, I’ve been a music junkie. The radio always seemed to be on the “oldies*” station when I was a young’un in the early 70s, and I got bit by the Beatlemania bug big time when I was a mere seven years old. But I’ll be the first to admit, my musical knowledge is spotty at best, and I have had little to no formal introduction to music appreciation. Which is to say, I feel a little self-conscious about today’s choice, but also willing to go out on a limb to recommend The Sound of Jacqueline du Pré. Continue reading ““The Sound of Jacqueline du Pré” by Jacqueline du Pré (No. 70)”
The sirens, in Greek myth, were “beautiful yet dangerous creatures” that would lure sailors to the rocks with their music and voices. The Weepies, as far as I know, have no habit of luring sailors to the rocks with their music – but Sirens could certainly do the trick, were they so inclined. Continue reading ““Sirens” by The Weepies (No. 71)”
Another day, another album! This time around, Matthew Sweet’s 1991 power pop / alternative rock masterpiece Girlfriend. Continue reading ““Girlfriend” by Matthew Sweet (No. 72)”
At the intersection of glam rock and grunge, you’ve got Mother Love Bone, a band that burned out before its first and only studio album was released. Mother Love Bone, a compilation that includes the full album from 1990 (Apple) and 1989 EP Shine is a fitting tribute. Continue reading ““Mother Love Bone” by Mother Love Bone (No. 73)”
Today’s album was discovered by rummaging through the Magnatune catalog. This one is The Depths of a Year by Ehren Starks.
Magnatune lists Depths in several categories: jazz, instrumental, neoclassical, piano, and cello. It’s the last one that grabbed me. I realized sometime in the early 2000’s that I really love the sound of cello. So I started seeking out classical and instrumental works that prominently feature cello.
Eventually, I caught wind of Magnatune – a record label with the motto “we’re not evil.” The company’s business model has changed over the years from individual CD sales to MP3 (and other format) downloads, to an “all you can eat” model. It was sometime after 2003 that I checked out Depths and loved it. It’s been in heavy rotation ever since.
[youtube https://youtu.be/qp7JxL4iBMw]
The album features Starks on piano, and Kate Gurba on cello. Listening to the album, you might think that this is a pair of musicians well into their careers. In fact, Starks was 19 when the album was written. Both were students at Kansas University when the album was recorded.
Unfortunately, neither Starks nor Gurba seem to be playing music any longer. Starks released a second album on Magnatune in 2005 called Lines Build Walls. It’s also excellent, but Depths edges it out in my book.
You can stream either album for free on Magnatune’s site, and Magnatune subscribers can share the music under a Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 1.0 license. If you follow the YouTube link above, you can listen to the entire album. Or you can listen on Magnatune’s site, if you don’t mind a short notice after each song by Magnatune’s John Buckman.
Spike features Elvis Costello’s highest-charting single, “Veronica” – co-written with and featuring Paul McCartney. That’s just the cherry on the sundae for this album, though. Continue reading ““Spike” by Elvis Costello (No. 75)”
Today’s pick is a look at the early work of The Cure. Standing on a Beach and Staring at the Sea are co-sharing the pick for #76, because the titles are almost the same album. Let me explain… Continue reading ““Standing on a Beach / Staring at the Sea” by The Cure (No. 76)”
Free, the second album from LA-based Concrete Blonde is today’s pick for my top 100 favorite albums.
Concrete Blonde sits in the 80s/90s “Alternative/Indie” bucket, which means they’re not exactly top 40, not exactly hard rock, and they didn’t have a major label behind them for their first few albums. Free was released by I.R.S., which had also been home to R.E.M. before the band jumped over to Warner Bros. and released Green.
There are many sins in programming music on radio stations, but here are a few biggies: “Train wrecks,” where the second song is jarring and takes the listener out of the moment; “Ramps,” when the deejay talks over the instrumental lead of the song; and failing to program Journey’s “Lovin’, Touchin’, Squeezin'” and “City of the Angels” back to back. Continue reading ““Evolution” by Journey (No. 78)”