What is spinning?

[Mr Peabody]

Yes, I got Pretty In Black, good album.

[noddin0ff]

Pearl Jam - Backspacer

Backspacer is to Pearl Jam as Accelerate is to REM. Picked this up yesterday. It's very good, but not one of the great PJ albums. I like it though. Like Accelerate, Backspacer is an album of one of the great bands having fun. Missing is the angst I typically associate (and like) with earlier albums. There's also a lot of retro influences. I get the impression that it's not only a band enjoying themselves but also a bit of a tribute to sounds and bands that they grew up with or listened to. I put up a couple of tracks below. One make this point clear.

The other thing I was noting is that Eddie needs to figure out where his aging voice is going. I dig, have dug, his voice. Very emotional. Sounds like it's not as elastic as it used to be. There's a nice track (also included), Just Breathe, where his voice breaks and I'm thinking a younger voice would have pulled it off better. I have confidence that with a bit of retooling and allowing their music to address their aging fans, they/he can reinvent himself and put out another great album.

I kind of left the album thinking this was a very fine, well executed, and remarkably fun and optimistic 'last hurrah' for the old Pearl Jam before moving on to something different.

[noddin0ff]

Prince: Lovesexy

I always liked this one. 1988. CD's were completing their takeover of Tower Records. Instant access to any given track was starting to change the way people interacted with their music. You didn't have to listen to the full album or the linear flow anymore because instant track gratification was a click of a button away. Then Prince puts out a CD of nine songs as ONE TRACK... hmmm. An interesting artistic statement that probably killed the marketability of a good album. Wiki says Alphabet St., Glam Slam, and I Wish U Heaven were the singles released. I remember Alphabet St. on the radio, a good one. However, the other stand out tracks for me were Anna Stesia and Dance On. I couldn't play Dance On loud enough. Clickable artwork below. Oh...and about that artwork...cracks me up. The phallic stamen, Prince is a bold one.

[poppachubby]

Prince: Lovesexy

I always liked this one. 1988. CD's were completing their takeover of Tower Records. Instant access to any given track was starting to change the way people interacted with their music. You didn't have to listen to the full album or the linear flow anymore because instant track gratification was a click of a button away. Then Prince puts out a CD of nine songs as ONE TRACK... hmmm. An interesting artistic statement that probably killed the marketability of a good album. Wiki says Alphabet St., Glam Slam, and I Wish U Heaven were the singles released. I remember Alphabet St. on the radio, a good one. However, the other stand out tracks for me were Anna Stesia and Dance On. I couldn't play Dance On loud enough. Clickable artwork below. Oh...and about that artwork...cracks me up. The phallic stamen, Prince is a bold one.

Nice to see some accolades for his royal purpleness...I for one, LOVE Prince. He is as brilliant as any greats before him, having a natural ability to write, produce and perform in a way that touches popular culture. He's the natural extension of James Brown and P-Funk, but I'm hard pressed to find anyone nowadays who can fill HIS shoes. Kanye West?!? Certainly not!! Simply put, when Prince goes potty, out comes a wonderful melody.

Lovesexy is a fantastic album, I have had Emancipation spinning lately, CD...this album is really special, 3 discs of great material that he had been saving for after his departure from Warner, which I'm sure everyone knows about.



If you want something real different, musical and typically Prince try out this, an all instrumental cut, only 4 tracks...N.E.W.S. ( North East West South)



..."why do we scream at each other?"

[poppachubby]

This album is quite amazing! I bought it a few weeks ago but just cleaned it up and spun it today. A first listen for me. I now understand how Elton John and "rock" can be uttered in the same sentence. The great thing with this live album, is he "rolls" as well.

For 1970, you will find no hippy-dippy stuff on here. No pre-disco boogie either, just good ol rock. Elton and his band are a tight, cohesive, well-oiled machine. The execution is flawless, yet never lacks soul or passion as some backing bands tend to do. The jam interludes are musically exquisite and one gets a mental image of John up and rockin on his piano.

I'm sure many of you have heard this already, but I was floored by what a gem this record is. I will be spinning this for a few days I'm sure...

[nobody]

Handsome Family: Twilight

Probably my second favorite Handsome Family after Through The Trees. Some days my favorite. A bit catchier than that one, with a couple verse, chorus, verse songs and all that. Their new one isn't bad either, better than the last one. But, I still find myself returning to a few old favorites and haven't really played it a ton. Gothic Country at its finest throughout their discography.

[noddin0ff]

One of my favorite 'cover bands' -- The Mingus Big Band

I think these guys do a terrific job of channeling the spirit of Mingus. Blues & Politics is my favorite. Gunslinging Birds is a close second. Mingus, in my mind, was a social activist in the Jazz medium. His work can be dissonant, but there's structure there. Many of my favorites compositions have the call and response rhythms of holy rollin church sermons; one instrument is preaching and the rest of the band is shouting 'Amen'...or arguing. I always liked that his compositions really try to extend beyond the 4 minute mark. He was into large ensembles and extended compositions. And he was very much a composer. I grabbed this quote from wiki

"...if the free-form guys could play the same tune twice, then I would say they were playing something...Most of the time they use their fingers on the saxophone and they don't even know what's going to come out."

Anyway... I'm no Mingus or Jazz expert. I started out listening to Miles, then Monk, some Coltrane...then I eventually hit Mingus and I found something that I really dig, even if I sometimes struggle with it. Click the pic and give a listen, a full listen. Don't miss Meditations, Oh Lord, and Freedom.

[Auricauricle]

Well, call me Latebloomer, but this cat caught my ears the other day...

[02audionoob]

Susan T. rocks.

[poppachubby]

Susan T. rocks.

Hmmmm, what is it with you and these excessively boring album covers noob? I think we had this conversation over Tierney Xxxxx. I hope Susan knows she will never compete with Lady Gaga without some serious work. Hopefully on her next album she decides to sell out and bare all...





....now that's art!!!

[poppachubby]

Curtis Mayfield's band...this album was produced by Mayfield. Found this for a buck...180 gram, sounds great!!

[Slosh]

Didn't even know this was coming out. First spin

[nobody]

Don't care if I ever hear her music, but I think I just became a Lady Ga Ga fan. Anyway...


More Specials

Follow-up to their classic debut album. This one's a little more laid back, but has just as much good stuff as far as I am concerned. Maybe the debut gets all the attention now, but a Specials album with songs like, Hey Little Rich Girl, Rat Race and Stereotypes is pretty damn solid.

[bobsticks]

One of my favorite 'cover bands' -- The Mingus Big Band

I think these guys do a terrific job of channeling the spirit of Mingus. Blues & Politics is my favorite. Gunslinging Birds is a close second. Mingus, in my mind, was a social activist in the Jazz medium. His work can be dissonant, but there's structure there. Many of my favorites compositions have the call and response rhythms of holy rollin church sermons; one instrument is preaching and the rest of the band is shouting 'Amen'...or arguing. I always liked that his compositions really try to extend beyond the 4 minute mark. He was into large ensembles and extended compositions. And he was very much a composer. I grabbed this quote from wiki

"...if the free-form guys could play the same tune twice, then I would say they were playing something...Most of the time they use their fingers on the saxophone and they don't even know what's going to come out."

Anyway... I'm no Mingus or Jazz expert. I started out listening to Miles, then Monk, some Coltrane...then I eventually hit Mingus and I found something that I really dig, even if I sometimes struggle with it. Click the pic and give a listen, a full listen. Don't miss Meditations, Oh Lord, and Freedom.

Noddy, if you don't have a copy of New Tijuana Moods pm me and I'll make sure you get a "trial copy"...you really need to hear it...excellent work by Mingus...

[noddin0ff]

I'm on a roll. Next up on this weeks spin table Mulato Astatke & the Heliocentrics: Inspiration Information 3 (2009). Both Astatke and the Heliocentrics are new to me. But I saw some intriguing reviews and picked it up.

Definitely worth a listen. We have an Ethiopian jazz dude joining up with a collective group that merge hip-hop, funk, jazz, psychedelic, electronic... I'm thinking that if only Sun Ra and the Arkestra were still kicking he might think--well, I have no idea what Sun Ra would think but this made me think of him.

The album is an eclectic, heavy groove, and beat laden stream of cool sounds. So much stuff blended together so effortlessly, so groovily, so oddly. Thoroughly enjoyable, although I don't think any single track hits a solid home run. I put the first two tracks behind the album art for those that want a taste. Be careful, you may find yourself wanting to be an international secret super spy of mystery and rhythm.




Tnx, Mr. B. I'll be PMing you.

[02audionoob]

It's art, man. Sometimes you just got to let if flow over you.

[poppachubby]

Don't care if I ever hear her music, but I think I just became a Lady Ga Ga fan. Anyway...


More Specials

Follow-up to their classic debut album. This one's a little more laid back, but has just as much good stuff as far as I am concerned. Maybe the debut gets all the attention now, but a Specials album with songs like, Hey Little Rich Girl, Rat Race and Stereotypes is pretty damn solid.

Hey nobody I was looking at your 2 channel list and saw that you're using an SL-Q3. Just got an SL-Q2. I'm lovin it, put an Ortofon 2M Red on it, this is the follow up to the OM 10. Good stuff, we certainly have good taste, don't we?!?

[nobody]

I like my Q3 quite a lot. I tried a couple other low priced tables and the Q3 was an improvement over them and also had to auto shut off and repeat things that lots of people don't care about, but that I enjoy having. Thing has been totally trouble free and seems solid as a rock too. I'm using a vintage Shure M91ED right now on mine, but also have an Ortofon OM-40 I use from time to time. Honestly though, I've been pretty annoyed at my set up for the last year or so because the room I've had it in is terrible for sound. Looking forward to moving in a couple months and getting things set up in a better location.

[nobody]

Burning Ambitions: A History of Punk

One of my all-time favorite compilations. Fantastic cover art, featuring Sgt. Peppers done up with the Sex Pistols taking over the center stage. Great song selection. Even though you see the Pistols and Clash on the cover, the tracks inside leave 'em out, instead gathering classics from groups like Wire, Vice Squad, The Vibrators, The Saints, and many more. It starts out with 70s English stuff and includes a nod to the US with a Heartbreakers track and moves on to a few early hardcore tracks by Dead Kennedys, GBH, etc... They eventually released a 3 CD version of this thing, but they never have released a CD version that contains the complete original track listing, which I will give you here, if you click the pic...

Boredom - Buzzcocks
Bingo Master's Breakout - The Fall
1, 2, X U - Wire
Life - ATV
Keys To Your Heart - 101'ers
I'm Alive - 999
Gary Gilmore's Eyes - Adverts
Justifiable Homicide - Dave Goodman and Friends
Where Have All The Boot Boys Gone? - Slaughter and the Dogs
(Get a) Grip On (Yourself) - The Stranglers
Your Generation - Generation X
Baby Baby - The Vibrators
Identity - X-Ray Spex
Read About Seymour - Swell Maps
I'm Stranded - The Saints
Chinese Rocks - Heartbreakers
Lock It Up - Eater
Ain't Got A Clue - Lurkers
Lady - Adam and The Ants
Love Song - The Damned
Looking After No. 1 - Boomtown Rats
Where's Captain Kirk? - Spizzenergi
In A Rut - The Ruts
Angels With Dirty Faces - Sham 69
Stranglehold - UK Subs
Flares and Slippers - Cockney Rejects
The Wait - Killing Joke
No Government - Anti-Pasti
Holiday In Cambodia - Dead Kennedy's
Dead Cities - The Exploited
Last Rockers - Vice Squad
Harry May - The Business
Police Story - The Partisans
Someone's Gonna Die - Blitz
City Baby Attacked By Rats - GBH
Complete Disorder - Disorder
Russians In The DHSS - Attila The Stockbroker
Lust For Glory - Angelic Upstarts

[Auricauricle]

Having a great, Prog Day, with In the Court of the Crimson King, Lizard and In the Wake of Poseidon....

[Stone]

Burning Ambitions: A History of Punk

One of my all-time favorite compilations. Fantastic cover art, featuring Sgt. Peppers done up with the Sex Pistols taking over the center stage. Great song selection. Even though you see the Pistols and Clash on the cover, the tracks inside leave 'em out, instead gathering classics from groups like Wire, Vice Squad, The Vibrators, The Saints, and many more. It starts out with 70s English stuff and includes a nod to the US with a Heartbreakers track and moves on to a few early hardcore tracks by Dead Kennedys, GBH, etc... They eventually released a 3 CD version of this thing, but they never have released a CD version that contains the complete original track listing, which I will give you here, if you click the pic...

Great stuff. I have one of the volumes on CD, but not the other two. Thanks for the post.

[nobody]

That's not my burn, just one I found online. My copy is pretty beat from being played constantly on ****ty stereos way back when.

[poppachubby]

I'm not enough of a punk fan to really enjoy a comp like that. Really just too novelty for me. However I do find all the old school hard core wicked fun and I see some of those groups on there. I think Bad Brains is one of my old school faves, right up there with Zep, etc. So underrated and underappreciated. If you look at what they created and what they did for popular and underground music, it's mind boggling...

[02audionoob]

Just picked it up for a buck.

[nobody]

Love some Bad Brains. can't decide what was better seeing them live or a couple years alter when the singer HR came through solo and played an all reggae set to the dismay of more than a few in attendance. Speaking of reggae.


Big Youth: Screaming Target

Absolute classic of the genre. Great big echoing production by Gussie Clarke. Don't settle for the earlier reissue as the mix sucks and the newer expanded reissue from a couple years back adds on a bunch of great, previously hard-to-find singles and versions