Category: Music

MacArthur Park notwithstanding, when Live and More  was initially released, I was so disappointed. Donna had just come off the high of Once Upon a Time and we were given…this?

Over the last 40 plus years my opinion of the album has mellowed a bit, and now that Donna is gone, it's become somewhat of a cultural touchstone for those of us who never got a chance to see her live in concert. (I had tickets when she was scheduled to come to Phoenix in 1979, but she canceled at the last minute.)

Madonna: True Blue (1986)

From Behind the Grooves:

"True Blue", the third album by Madonna is released. Produced by Madonna, Patrick Leonard and Stephen Bray, it is recorded at Channel Recording in Los Angeles, CA from December 1985 – April 1986. After the massive whirlwind success of the "Like A Virgin" album and "The Virgin Tour", the pop superstar does not rest on her laurels, beginning work on the crucial follow up at the end of 1985. Working with long time collaborator Stephen Bray and new producer Patrick Leonard (Michael Jackson, Jody Watley), the album is praised upon its release as her strongest effort to date, and is widely regarded today as one of the best albums of her career. It spins off five top five hits including "Live To Tell" (#1 Pop), "Papa Don't Preach" (#1 Pop), "Open Your Heart" (#1 Pop) and the title track (#3 Pop). "True Blue" also marks the beginning Madonna's long association with famed fashion photographer Herb Ritts who shoots the LP's iconic cover photo. The original LP package also includes a poster of the album cover shot. As a promotion for the album, MTV sponsors the "Make My Video" contest, inviting viewers to submit their own visual interpretations of the title track. The winning entry comes from Angel Gracia and Cliff Guest, whose black & white clip is rotated heavily on the video channel. The pair are awarded a check for $25,000 by the pop superstar herself at MTV's New York studios. The alternate video directed by James Foley, featuring Madonna with close friends actress Debi Mazur and fashion designer Erika Belle is shown largely outside the US. Madonna also supports the album with the worldwide "Who's That Girl Tour" beginning in June of 1987. It is remastered and reissued on CD in 2001, with the extended 12" mixes of "La Isla Bonita" and the title track included as bonus tracks. The vinyl LP is reissued in Europe in 2012, including the original inner sleeve lyric sheet and poster featured in the original release. In October of 2016, a limited edition release of the LP pressed on blue vinyl, is issued as exclusive through the European supermarket chain Sainsbury's. "True Blue" spends five weeks at number one on the Billboard Top 200, and is certified 7x Platinum in the US by the RIAA.

My unbridled love for this album and the accompanying quest to acquire it on "true blue" vinyl has been well documented on this blog, so I won't add anything more today and instead will sign off and go listen to it.

Damn, I feel old.

Elton John: Caribou (1974)

This was the first EJ album I bought. In fact, it may be the first rock album I ever bought, come to think of it. All I remember was my mother was aghast.

She was very judgey when it came to my music. I remember an incident years after Caribou  when she came in my room, picked up the sleeve of Mike Oldfield's Ommadawn, and asked, "Who's he trying to look like, Jesus Christ himself?"

She liked most of my disco tunes, however.

My dad on the other hand, only once commented on anything he heard coming out of my room, and that was Karen Carpenter. "She sounds like a cow mooing!"

Bedtime Story (1994)

Nothing Really Matters (1998)

I grew up with Madonna. Not literally of course, but she provided a major portion of the soundtrack of my life from my 20s. I've stuck by her through the best of times and the worst. (I haven't had a Pepsi since the company boycotted her when the whackadoodle christianists Christofastists—let's call them what they are—objected to Like a Prayer back in 1989.)

While I think her current attempts to look and sound half her age to appeal to the younger generation are…unfortunate…I'll admit that she remains a force of nature for my generation.

B-52s: Cosmic Thing (1989)

A small break from today's disheartening news.

Enjoy some serious funk from the 70s.

A-ha: Hunting High and Low (1985)

Feel old yet?

…what a truly excellent album this is.

"If you don't eat your meat, you can't have any pudding!"

I watched a making of video on YouTube this afternoon which prompted me to give this a spin tonight. Born of blood, sweat, and tears like all great art, I never fully appreciated the work—and drama—that went into its creation.

Sade: Stronger Than Pride (1988)

Kraftwerk: Computer World (1981)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4OeX9Rq9cFk&list=PLrpyDacBCh7D9LYtNqpCNxIAyLk4R26uA

Grace Jones: Warm Leatherette (1980)

My favorite—or maybe second favorite—Grace Jones album. I can never definitively say if this or Nightclubbing is my favorite, followed closely by Slave to the Rhythm in third place. Both Warm Leatherette and Nightclubbing are so good they could easily have been released as a double LP.

Mark Isham: Men Before the Mirror (1983)

I haven't heard this in years. Tonight I was reloading my iPod and felt compelled to add it to the playlist. I have it playing in the background at the moment and it literally feels like a cool mountain stream washing over the very fiber of my being, recharging my core.

What pieces of music recharge you?

David Bowie: Let's Dance (1983)

This song is bringing me such unbridled joy; the likes of which I haven't felt in years. Tears streaming down my cheeks!

And here's the extended mix for those so inclined…

Pink Floyd: Dark Side of the Moon (1973)

I discovered this album late in life and my first thought was, "Where have you been all my life?!"

Prompted by a musical offering on Mostly Words, I went down another rabbit hole this morning. The version of Sparks' Tryouts for the Human Race there was different from the one I had in my collection, so I put on my headphones and took a listen to the version I'd ripped from vinyl in iTunes after listening to Doug's linked version. That led me for some reason to looking for the lyrics online and then I started searching for lyrics to other Sparks cuts and I eventually ended up at Music That You Can Dance To.

I haven't played Music That You Can Dance To in years, but it still holds a special place in my heart because it is forever tied to a very specific memory from shortly after I arrived in San Francisco.

One Saturday morning, I was out exploring The City, and found myself driving south on Lincoln Drive out by the Golden Gate Bridge. At the time I was still staying with friends, and needed to get out and see this strange new place I'd decided to call home. This was also the first time I'd gotten to listen to  a mix tape I'd made from records in their collection. It was a crisp August morning, but I had the sunroof open and I was letting the music rip at angelic volume. Music That You Can Dance To came on just as I was rounding a curve that presented a beautiful vista of the Pacific Ocean off to my right.

It was as if the stars aligned and I was in the zone. I shall forever remember it.

Definitely in the top 5 of my favorite Sylvester cuts. It's one of those songs that—as we used to say back in the day—just plays me.

Sumeria: Golden Tears (1978)

This was one of the more…bizarre…releases from Alec Costandinos. It tells the story of an alien traveler who lives until he finds true love and then dies by crying gold tears.

Hey, it was disco. It was 1978.