Outside of central Texas - the only part of the south I've had time to dig was in Florida (Fort Myers and Fort Lauderdale). I do know from a good friend that Atlanta is definitely worth the trip to dig (if I ever leave the airport.) My experience has been that pretty much everywhere of a decent enough size will have a handful of shops worth your time. I was pleasantly surprised to find some cool shops in Colorado Springs too.
THe first thing I'm doing when non essential stores are open is getting a new record player. I have a cheap Crosley that I won in a raffle a few years ago and it feel apart after I moved. I'm eyeing a nice Audio Technica model myself that also has Bluetooth.
This summer is going to be different - assuming we don't get massive concerts and DJ shows, due to social distancing, it's gonna be all about the house party and possibly small outdoor block parties. My neighbours are already suggesting this as a thing - so I'm gonna do some sort of resurrection of my old Monday Night Vinyl sets for the neighbourhood once I figure out a good way with social distancing in mind. Also, there has been a trend towards DJs doing internet radio, so have to figure the re-invented live-to-air show will be a thing (ok, bigger -- it is already, sure). As an example, Francois Kevorkian's 'World Of Echoes'. A friend/neighbour/x-coworker is tight with him and helps curate/moderate his show's facebook page.
I don’t usually do threads but today I wanna tell y’all why these 20 seconds of footage of a kid in a blue and red jacket stage diving at a Bad Brains concert at CBGB’s in NYC in 1982 are important. Then I wanna tell y’all this kid’s story. pic.twitter.com/D7YEWLKHzL— Sama’an Ashrawi (@SamaanAshrawi) September 22, 2020
I don’t always do year best of lists, but 2020 was a unique year, because I had sooooo much time for music. According to my last.fm records, I had 13,920 songs played on Spotify in 2020, and I easily had an equal number or greater on YouTube Music too. I spent a significant chunk of non-working time during the lockdowns wandering around the neighbourhoods with my headphones on soaking up the city I love, enjoying the architecture, generally walking to see sights like the pseudo-tourist I regularly am for work. All told, during my little walk-a-thon I logged just over a thousand miles in 2020. While things were open I made a point of spending like a drunken sailor* at all my fave record shops, and as such I have plenty of choice for my top 20 records of 2020, not necessarily released then, but these albums all were bought in roughly 2020, and spent significant time on my turntable last year. In no particular order: Spacemen 3 - Performance (1990) Gang of Four - Entertainment (1979) Generation X - Kiss Me Deadly (1981) Eric’s Trip - Warmgirl (1991) Eddy Current Suppression Ring - All In Good Time (2019) The La’s - 1987 (2017) Lost In Translation - OST (2003) Sonic Youth - Sister (1987) Funkadelic - One Nation Under A Groove (1978) Fela Ransome-Kuti & The Africa ‘70 /w Ginger Baker - Live! (1971) Mercury Rev - Bobby Gentry’s The Delta Sweete Revisited (2019) Clinic - Free Reign (2012) David Bowie - Reality (2003) H.C. McEntire - Eno Axis (2020) Tinariwen - Elwan (2017) Muddy Waters - Electric Mud (1968) Look Blue Go Purple - Still Bewitched (2017) Duke Pearson - The Phantom (1968) Bob Dylan - Rough And Rowdy Ways (2020) Allah Las - Worship The Sun (2014) The Jazz Butcher Conspiracy - Distressed Gentlefolk (1986) Honourable mention to the first three Slowdive EPs [Slowdive(1990), Morningrise(1991), Holding Our Breath(1991)] and Spacemen 3 - Threebie 3 EP (1989) *ok,ok, even more drunken sailor-ish than usual.
So this whole pandemic has been a nostalgia-fest for me with music, and since I've been curating the soundtrack of my life for decades now, I've been swimming in the backwaters of my collection and out of boredom (mostly) re-reading a lot of posts here (especially the ones about music). Anyway I stumbled onto an old argument about which version of 'Hurt' is better (NIN vs. Johnny Cash), and it got me to thinking. Firstly, I absolutely love 'The Downward Spiral', it came out right in the middle of uni, when I had no clue what the hell I was going to do with my life, and it's dark themes and concept of a descent into madness and suicide and all the concomitant self loathing and destructive behaviour that really resonated. I really loved the 'halo' numbering of NIN releases, with the whole dark angel angle that Trent Reznor has across releases. If I'm putting together a top whatever list of 90s music - that album is invariably up there. Hurt, as the finale, was emblematic of the despair and descent, the hitting rock bottom, the ugly side of excess, with allusions to suicide and basically a ghostly denouement that in many ways acted as a big red flag warning of where all my stupid decisions could lead me. So suffice to say that song ended up on way too many mixed tapes (though generally without the noise at the end as that's nearly impossible to flow with). Fast forward a few years, and I've grown up a bit and, at least musically, I've moved on from the dark, nihilistic, despair, and such. I'd always liked Johnny Cash's stuff - young teenage me even quoted 'I Walk The Line' in some mostly-bad writing I did at the time - but whatever, I kinda dismissed his work with Rick Rubin as a money grab. Although I did appreciate he was covering all manner of rock, which did resonate, considering where country music was at the time (and mostly still is). Suffice to say, I almost took umbrage at the fact that Cash's version changed 'crown of shit' to 'crown of thorns' adding a religious/salvation element I wasn't thrilled with. My favourite dark reminder now was something else entirely, and I did, not, like, that. Though grudgingly I respected it, especially considering where he was in life and holy shit, that video (remember those?). Anyway, given the decades that have happened since, and well, it's funny how much perspective time gives you. I'm no longer that self-destructive semi-misanthrope that I was in the mid 90s, and I've not needed the warning from Hurt, not to mention I don't really bother with mixed tapes (or making tapes - with one notable exception - since forever). Anyway, life happens, awful things like suicide happen, friends and family die, love comes and goes, babies are born and children become adults, and you gain perspective. So I was listening to this recently and the line 'You could have it all, my empire of dirt' really struck me. Whereas Reznor's version is about what's left when you hit rock bottom, Cash is alluding to what's left behind when you go - which to me can be interpreted literally (remains), or more figuratively (legacy) either way, I'm really coming around to what Cash was doing with this song.
For me, I've delved more deeply into the work of Ryuichi Sakamoto. A classic song of his is Tibetan Dance. A track he released in the 80s, the melody and rhythm are just... great. Like you mention that song to me and I'll instantly whistle it. And the best part is that he's got several takes on it either through piano or through more instruments. I ended up teaching myself the song on guitar because it's such a fun song no matter what version he does. Then again, what I've loved about Sakamoto is that he keeps experimenting.
Sakamoto is fantastic. I was exposed to him by a DJ named Andrea Parker that did a mix of grief. Been a fan since.
My exposure to him was on a compilation, I believe. A remix of one of his songs. I like Japanese music to begin with (Nujabes, DJ Krush) so I looked him up. Got hooked since.
I'm gonna dumb down the conversation a bit and say that I wish there was a Warner Bros. soundtrack for every short. No voices, just music and sound effects.
Had a short impromptu concert when out for a walk today, the artist was a mockingbird on top of a light standard. It regaled a group of us with a variety of calls: blue jay, sparrow, redwing blackbird, chickadee, seagull, but the one that brought the house down was its rendition of ‘car alarm’.
I kinda wonder sometimes how I ended up being such a music nerd, and what experiences in my formative years influenced me, as the mainstay of that period was listening to CBC Radio with my Mom. She was a huge fan of ‘Morningside’ hosted by Peter Gzowski, and after that ‘Metro Morning’ hosted by Andy Barrie, though I remember the radio being on throughout the day playing a variety of Canadian and world music. The show that I remember most was the Barbara Frum (yes, mother of David) era version of ‘As It Happens’ with its total ear worm of a theme song - ‘Curried Soul’ by Moe Koffman. It’s still running today after 50 years in basically the same format: serious current events coverage to the obscure and even plain silly, with daily puns and frequent music interludes (yes, P&CE in a nutshell). As a nod to this, a while back I got her a tote bag from her now-defunct namesake record store (with a little bird image too) so she’d be the coolest grocery-shopping-granny in Bloor West - she may not have known her impact then, but it sure means a lot to me now. Thanks Mom
My mom and dad were heavily involved in the Detroit music scene before I was born. So when it came to music, they were more forward thinking in many ways. Dad listened to the alternative radio station a lot as a kid so it was great. Mom was a fan of groups like Nine Inch Nails but also loved classical music. What also made me a music nerd, was me being 12-17, the time period (1999-2006), and the area I grew up in. Small town 45 minutes away from Detroit, mostly rural with pockets of suburbs. What was big, especially in my high school years was rap like 50 Cent, G-Unit. I never cared for it but I hated my 99.9% white school screaming 50 Cent songs or G-Unit. Especially when a good majority of them would never go to Detroit. Even for Tigers and Red Wings games. So I made it a point to find stuff outside the norm. This site helped big time as well. So many good suggestions from people here over the years. Think the closest to this on the web is the BBC and NTS Radio.
Here’s a slice of nostalgia from 80s Toronto: I’m An Adult Now - TPOH Filmed predominantly at the corner of Soho, Queen and Peter streets in a parking lot that is now a Mountain Equipment Co-op store, and featuring some cuts to spots around downtown including the bookstores (and Mr. Sub) at Yonge & Dundas area. Behind the band is the outside wall of the famous BamBoo club (apparently prior to getting its Al Runt mural), and visible across the parking lot is the Black Bull (one of the oldest watering holes in the city). This was the epicentre for the artistic Queen West scene in 80s Toronto, but for teenage me was the only place I knew I could reliably get Chuck Taylors during Converse’s production nadir in the 80s and 90s - at a place called Groovy Shoes. It’s still a going concern, and I still buy Chucks there, but I miss the old cramped/crowded style since they gussied it up to be more inline with the upscale shops that have overrun the area. Most of the old shops are long gone, priced out by the chain stores and whatnot - but a few of the old guard remain - the legendary live venue The Horseshoe - and the oldest record store in the city Kops - still kicking since ‘76 - which I most remember from the old location closer to University Ave. Their new flagship location is slightly out of the shot in the video, but is basically across the street from the old BamBoo spot. It’s been too long since I had a dig there, so after I get my second jab tomorrow afternoon I’ll pop in for a long overdue thumb through the bins before they close.
I've got a few breakup songs in my collection, and some of them are real doozies. For example, the Carfax Abbey song "Love Hate Kind" has the lyric "You dizzy bitch, swallow this / The thought of you makes me sick". I always laugh when hearing that song. I don't know why, it's just funny to me. But I listened to a cover of Cat Stevens' "Wild World" played in the store today, and it's just on another level. I can't think of a more angry and bitter breakup song. The woman character is literally subhuman in the eyes of the singing character.
The whole song is about how useless she is. Frankly, the idea that he's spiteful and resentful is the charitable reading.
No, no it isn't. He had a thing with someone that he thought was for good and ever-- but for her it was more hit and run. He's sad, yes, and a little bitter; but he actually loved her, and wants her to get whatever she wants -- but he's afraid for her because he thinks her way of doing things will leave her in a bad place someday. This is not just my reading of the song, but that of someone who spent the years around its creation married to his best friend... which is close enough to the horse's mouth to make me trust mine... The song is about Patti D'Arbanville, BTW.
@spejic @taosjohn Well, I'm embarrassed. I always saw Wild World as a father talking to his daughter as she prepares to go out on her own.
You are not alone in that--but the opening couplet is pretty hard to read that way... "Now that I've lost everything to you You say you want to try something new..."
Yea. That was an odd line for the way I was interpreting the song. However, I just took it as a reference to all the sacrifices a parent makes and now she's ready to leave all that behind for a new life. (Nothing new here; that's what kids do.) Regardless, this discussion took me back to the song - still a classic.