Category: Music

Posted on

iTunes

I have 13077 songs in my iTunes library. Of those, 3946 (11.5 days worth!) have never been listened to, and another 3237 have only been played once. I fear I have become an iTunes hoarder.

Most played track? Clocking in at 40 times is Eppur Si Muove by Enigma from the A Posteriori album.

The most played albums didn't come as a complete surprise, because for a very long time I was using them as my nightly headphones going-to-sleep music:

  • Engima: A Posteriori
  • Bear McGeary: Caprica Soundtrack
  • THP Orchestra: Good to Me
  • Cerrone: Variations of Supernature
Posted on

Under-appreciated

The other night I was watching a documentary about the life and times of Sir Elton John, and as they were reeling off all his albums, I noticed that they completely skipped over one of my personal favorites, his eleventh studio release, Blue Moves.

Even at the time it came out, the two-disk Blue Moves was considered a bit of an anomaly, and as I recall the critics were unerwhelmed. It was Elton's first release on his own label (Rocket Records) and contained many strictly instrumental cuts, which was unusual for EJ. It also wasn't the "classic" Elton John sound we'd all come to know and love, but it in retrospect—having begun with Rock of the Westies—it was the sound he was moving toward.

It garnered one hit single: Sorry Seems to be the Hardest Word.

I personally consider it one of his best, and most under-appreciated albums.

My favorite high-energy cuts are Crazy Water (I love to crank this one in the car), One Horse Town, Boogie Pilgrim,  and Bite Your Lip (Get Up and Dance). Elton is quite soulful on Someone's Final Song and If There's a God In Heaven (What's He Waiting For?). Elton's fun, indomitable story telling talent is highlighted in Shoulder Holster.

But you know what the strongest memory this album invokes? The time I had recorded it onto one of those notorious 120-minute cassettes that should never have been used for anything, and the cassette player in truck ate it while I was out running around one afternoon with my friend Steve.

Here are a couple photos from that afternoon…

Posted on

My Dream Turntable


Technics SL-150Mk2 with an Infinity Black Widow tonearm.

Rare—and way out of my financial reach back when it was new, this has always been my ultimate turntable/tonearm combination. I'm not sure I'd play records any more often than I do now if I had one (I haven't even bothered unboxing my existing 1300Mk2 since the move), but I might be more inclined to. Like I've written many times before, for all the convenience and instant gratification that digital recordings provide, there's just something about spinning a piece of vinyl that digital will never be able to capture.

The 150Mk2 has all the positive aspects of Technics first generation Mk2 line with none of the integrated tonearm-related drawbacks of the rest of the series. And even back in the late 70s, the Infinity (who made some kick ass speakers and is today just a hollow shell of its former self) tonearm was considered one of the best on the market. Its tube was made of carbon fiber, for chrissake. Carbon. Fiber. In 1979!

Posted on

Meh.

I've been a fan of the Pet Shop Boys since Opportunities (Let's Make Lots of Money) and the Please album first hit the airwaves back in 1986. In fact, that CD provided the soundtrack of my life when I first moved to San Francisco and will always hold a special place in my heart because of it. (Two Divided by Zero will forever be tied to a memory of driving over the Bay Bridge on a foggy August morning for a job interview in Oakland.) Over the years, I've always eagerly looked forward to each new release, and when Yes popped on the scene a few years ago I was ecstatic. I thought it was one of their best albums ever.

So you can imagine the anticipation I had for Elysium. Could they top—or at least equal—the genius of Yes?

Sadly, no. Not even close.

I believe "underwhelming" is a good description of how I feel about Elysium, their latest release. The tempo and lyrics seem to reflect a pair of artists who are realizing that not only are they not 25 and the life of the party any more, but also that they've passed through middle age and now find themselves wondering what they've actually accomplished. I've listened to the album several times, and—with the exception of Memory of the Future, which sort of reminds me of Ben and I—I just can't get into it. It's all downtempo, agonizingly navel-contemplating, and ultimately (which is a horrible thing to tell an artist) forgettable.

WHERE are the upbeat dance tunes laced with biting social commentary? Where is this album's Sodom and Gomorrah Show or even I'm With Stupid?

But after a string of incredible hits that span the last twenty six years, I'll grant that even the Pet Shop Boys are allowed a stinker now and then…

Posted on

This and That

While taking the freeway to work is relatively okay in the morning (although it can be hit or miss, depending on what time I actually get on the 25), in the afternoon it's uniformly fucked. For that reason, I've started taking what I refer to as "the back way" home, avoiding the insanity altogether. My alternate route is slower speed, fewer cars, and much less stressful than that stupid freeway. It also takes me past places like this.

And surprisingly, it only takes me about 10 minutes longer to actually get home.

Tonight I chose Elton John's Greatest Hits to accompany me on the drive, and after not hearing any classic EJ for several years now, it was quite refreshing. The songs he wrote back in the 70s—providing the soundtrack for a good portion of my adolescence (much to my parents' consternation) show that even though he's turned into a pompous, arrogant old queen of late, at one point there was some major talent burning inside Sir Elton.

Captain Fantastic remains my favorite EJ album, followed closely by Goodbye Yellow Brick Road and Don't Shoot Me, I'm Only the Piano Player.

Good stuff.

Posted on

You Knew This Was Coming, Right?

Especially after a few of today's earlier posts…

Don't get me wrong, I luvs me my iPod somethin' fierce. It literally holds my entire music collection (12,700 items and counting). But there is something wonderfully organic about the experience of listening to music on vinyl that digital will never be able to reproduce.

I'm so happy to have been able to live through the "big iron" period of audio equipment in the 1970s. It was truly something amazing.

I only wish my hearing was still as good as it was back then. Getting old sucks on so many levels.

I pulled a random record from the shelf tonight, ending up with Dead or Alive's Rip It Up. It was a fun, but not completely satisfying experience, so I moved on to Fleetwood Mac's Rumours, an album meant to be heard on vinyl—loud—through headphones.

Posted on

Love This!

This is one of a very few remixes in many years that gets me all smiley inside and makes me feel like a 25 year old again.

[soundcloud]http://soundcloud.com/flylife-lgbt/lets-have-a-kiki-almighty-club[/soundcloud]