Convoy - 20 of Today's Hits - 1975

I'm very sad to even be writing this entry because I really like that I've been able to offer up something new everyday. Unfortunately a couple things have rattled me this week which has brought me to this point. The last thing I want to do is for this blog to completely fail and stop, so I am taking measures to ensure that it goes on for a long time. Basically what this means for you the reader is that for at least the next couple months I and going to cut back on the posts. At the very least it will be once a week and if I have something special I may throw in two.

The reasons for this temporary slowdown are the following. This summer I spent a lot of time digitizing music and scanning or photographing records. I basically did enough work to provide posts everyday through the end of the year. Then I recently decided to take on another project which involves a lot more scanning and may lead to another blog or a website. Totally not music related. More on that later as I progress. That all seemed kind of okay because I had done all this prep work this summer. But the thing is, that this new project I think is going to drag on into next year, so I was already getting a little worried about what I was going to do in January.

Then there was the event this last week where a page got erased because someone made some copyright complaint. Now I have to go back and back everything up. It seems like no big deal, but actually it is going to be time consuming to do it the way that I want to. Again that is more time from my already busy schedule that also would take away from getting things ready for this blog.

That complaint also raised all sorts of new questions about what I can post and what I can't post. I still haven't made any decisions, but I think I may have to rethink some things and maybe be more selective. I'm actually not completely ready to give up on my anything goes sort of format, but I just need time to think. At the very least I am having second thoughts on a bunch of the records I digitized this summer to post in the coming months. I think I may have to wait on some of them, because perhaps they are too recent or too well known or who knows what, but that I think will eliminate a bunch of records I was hoping to post at least for now.

So my solution for the time being is to just post less frequently. If I do this I should have enough content to get me well into next year. The one exception to this may be the month of December. I have a ton of Christmas records ready to go and I think they may be safe from complaints so I may have more frequent posts.

So that is the deal for now. Again I am sorry and I feel like I am letting you few regular readers down. I am determined to not make this a permanent thing and to get back on track as soon as possible.

Please keep reading and posting comments. The next post is going to be great. It will be a mix for Halloween. I spent a lot of time on this one and it is more than just a playlist. I actually got into garage band and created something totally unique. So stay tuned for that coming in October. Just days a way.

In the mean time here is a complete oddity. It is a record from the 70's that is trying to capitalize off the whole trucker culture fad that happened back then. The cover really is about as trucker as it gets. The songs are selections from pop and rock music of the day. To make it even cheesier none of these are by the original artists. They are cheap knock offs. So are so bad they are unlistenable, but others are good for a laugh. Some are actually pretty close to the originals. I think that may be because the originals were also bland generic pop music that anyone could have done. One of my favorites for its weirdness and its inability to capture the original it the cover of Kiss's "Rock And Roll All Night".

Enjoy!

Convoy_ 20 of Today's Hits 1.zip
Convoy_ 20 of Today's Hits 2.zip

01 Saturday Night.m4a
02 Fly, Robin, Fly.m4a
03 Country Boy.m4a
04 Convoy.m4a
05 Rock And Roll All Night.m4a
06 You Sexy Thing.m4a
07 I Write The Songs.m4a
08 Evil Woman.m4a
09 Love Rollercoaster.m4a
10 Walk Away From Love.m4a
11 Fly Away.m4a
12 Sing A Song.m4a
13 School Boy Crush.m4a
14 Love To Love You.m4a
15 Last Game Of The Season.m4a
16 Mahogany.m4a
17 He Ain't Heavy... He's My Brother.m4a
18 Play On Love.m4a
19 Somewhere In The Night.m4a
20 Breaking Up Is Hard To Do.m4a

The Tokens - The Lion Sleeps Tonight/Tina 7" - 1962

I'm still so upset about losing that Shirley Bassey post a few days back. I fear losing everything I've done with no warning. So because of this fear I now have to spend time going through each of the posts from this past year and backing them up on my computer. I don't care about losing the photos or the music links. Whatever. I care about what I've written which certainly doesn't infringe upon anyone. Sorry I just had to get that off of my chest.

Today's tracks are from the golden oldies chest box. "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" is one of those songs I loved as a kid. Now it always brings to mind that scene in "Lion King". "Tina" was new to me when I bought the record, but it is great. I'm trying to place the sound, but it also has a faux islandy exotic sound to it with a bit of surf thrown in perhaps. Give it a listen and let me know what you think.

Enjoy!

01 The Lion Sleeps Tonight.m4a
02 Tina.m4a

When We Were Very Young - Camarata & A. A. Milne

Here's one to slow things down. It's calming and friendly. Nice poems by A.A. Milne put to music by Camarata. If you have little ones, they might like this one.

Enjoy!

01 Politeness.m4a
02 Daffodowindilly.m4a
03 Disobedience.m4a
04 The Four Friends.m4a
05 Twinkletoes.m4a
06 Happiness.m4a
07 The Mirror.m4a
08 Market Square.m4a
09 Sand-Between-The-Toes.m4a
10 Vespers.m4a

Here's the whole thing.
Camarata.zip

The Rolling Stones - Get Off Of My Cloud/I'm Free 7"

Nothing new here for anyone unless you are from another planet. I figure that isn't a reason not to share and write about this record. Both sides of this record are absolute classics. "Get Off Of My Cloud" is rock and roll in a bottle.

I like the commentary on consumerism in the song a theme also touched on in another Stones song "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" Where Mick sings,

"When I'm watchin' my TV
and a man comes on to tell me
how white my shirts can be.
Well he can't be a man 'cause he doesn't smoke
the same cigarrettes as me."

That is one of my favorite lyrics of all time.

Here he sings,

"I live in an apartment on the ninety-ninth floor of my block

And I sit at home looking out the window
Imagining the world has stopped
Then in flies a guy who's all dressed up like a Union Jack
And says, I've won five pounds if I have his kind of detergent pack"

Another jab at laundry soap. Funny.

Side two is also a great anthem of rebellious freedom. Make you feel young and alive even when you're old and not so alive.

Enjoy!

01 Get Off Of My Cloud.m4a
02 I'm Free.m4a

Section 25 - Looking From A Hilltop 12"

Not feeling well tonight and can't bring myself to writing much. Maybe I'll update this one later when I feel better.

Enjoy!

01 Looking From A Hilltop.mp3
02 Looking From A Hilltop (Instrumental).mp3

Addendum.

Feeling better today, so I thought I'd write a little something and update this entry.

Section 25 from from the Factory label stable. You probably would know them from their New Order output. If you want to know more about Factory records I highly recommend "24 Hour Party People" with Steve Coogan. Gives a nice dramatized overview of the company and two of their big acts, Joy Division and The Happy Mondays.

Section 25 followed more in the New Order vein of things. Electronica dance music. This single is kind of trancy as well, hypnotic if you will. For a brief overview of their history check out the Allmusic.com entry.

So there you have it. A little more on Section 25. Not much, but at least it is something.

Redux - Shirley Bassey - This Is My Life/Copacabana 12" - 1979 (Missing post)

This is a replacement post because someone complained about the original post and google pulled the page down. I now have to figure out how to get it back. I had written some things about memories of 1978 which I hope to get back. I wish if people had a problem with something that they would just contact me. I'm sure I can make adjustments to make everyone happy. If they want a photo or a link to some music take down, fine. but don't have Blogger delete my entire entry. It is such a pain.

Anyways, that's my rant on that.

Sorry that the music and record artwork is gone.

Nina Hagen - New York, New York 12" - 1983

I was so excited when found this record this summer. I had some faint recollections of this song. I could really remember the main lyric of "New York City is the ..." In my mind I remember the line as "New York city is the craziest place", but I don't think that is actually anywhere in the song. Funny how the mind is. I hadn't heard the song in 2 years, but I remembered that as a I kid I thought it was strange and I liked it. I think it had some weird video, that I can't really remember. So it was nice to finally hear it again and confirm that the song was actually even better than I remember. It is still weird and quirky but the music track lying under Nina's unique lyric deliveries is pretty good. Reminds me of Tom Tom Club. There is definitely some "Genius Of Love" thing going on. The track has some real New York club and hip hop influences from the early 80's which was a pleasant surprise.

The only other thing I really know about Nina Hagen is that I think she performed at the Berlin Wall shortly after that came down. I believe I remember hearing that at the time and thought "oh she's still around." Nina may have lost momentum in the states, but I think she kept an international if not German presence going for years after this single.

"Zarah" is fun and off beat just as you would expect from Nina. It's an interesting mix of Germaness, hip hop and club. It's worth a listen as well.

And for you German speaker there a German version of "New York, New York". I love hearing songs I know in other languages.

Enjoy!

01 New York, New York.m4a
02 Zarah.m4a
03 New York, New York (Unreleased German Version).m4a

Romeo Void - Benefactor - 1982

This album probably falls into that New Wave category, but is still has plenty of post punk attitude instilled in it. The classic "Never Say Never" is a great example of what I'm talking about. The attitude in the vocals are filled with punk rock F you attitude.

I also like "Ventilation" a lot. The opening random line grabs you with it's attitude. "Why don't you give up" she says. She doesn't need to say anymore and I'm interested. "Wrap It Up" is also pretty good. Like "Never Say Never" it has some nice sax accompaniment. "Chinatown", "Shake The Hands Of Time" and "S.O.S." Round out the list for my recommended songs. If you're a casual listening of 80's new wave you may know "Never Say Never", but these other songs will hopefully be new and ones that you will also be adding to your playlists.

Enjoy!

01 Never Say Never.mp3
02 Wrap It Up.mp3
03 Flashflood.mp3
04 Undercover Kept.mp3
05 Ventilation.mp3
06 Chinatown.mp3
07 Orange.mp3
08 Shake The Hands Of Time.mp3
09 S.O.S..mp3

Janet Jackson - Love Will Never Do Without You 12" - 1990

Released in 1989 and produced by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, this is another slick Janet Jackson release. Here you get some fun remixes that are sure to bring life to the party or at the very least change things up a bit.

Enjoy!

01 Love Will Never Do Without You (Shep's Work It Out Mix).m4a
02 Love Will Never Do Without You (The Work It Out Dub).m4a
03 Love Will Never Do Without You (Work It Out 7_ With Intro.m4a
04 Love Will Never Do Without You (UK Funky Mix).m4a
05 Love Will Never Do Without You (UK Funky Instrumental).m4a
06 Love Will Never Do Without You (Single Version).m4a

The Dwarves - I Wanna Kill Your Boyfriend 7" - 1987

I'm not an expert on The Dwarves by any means, but I can tell you I'm a fan. I think that this is their first release from way back in 1987. I'm sure this is a reprint, but I don't know from when. Don't really care. I picked it up recently and have been very pleased with it. It's a little rough around the edges compared to their more recent finely produced records, but that's okay. It's still catchy and very punk rock. Ah the bliss that is The Dwarves.

Enjoy!

01 I Wanna Kill Your Boyfriend.m4a
02 Sit On My Face.m4a

Drunken Mishap - S/T 7" - 1996

Here's an okay sk8 thrash record I picked up recently. It's fast. It's loud. It's decent. Not much else to say. Either you like it or you don't. It's just one of those things.

Enjoy!

01 Sk8 Life.m4a
02 T.V. Conspiracy.m4a
03 U.D.F..m4a
04 Don't Tread On Me.m4a
05 I Don't Give A Fuck!.m4a
06 Serenade Of The Drunk Punk.m4a

Deniece Williams - Let's Here It For The Boy 7" - 1984

This is actually my favorite song off of the Footloose soundtrack. I know that may sound lame because this song is pretty light weight, but it is a perfect pop song. This is one that as a kid I loved, but never would tell anybody. I even got a copy of the Footloose soundtrack and never really told anyone. I especially didn't tell anyone that I loved this song. The video for this song was pretty lame and worth a watch for the cheese factor. It was cheesy then and the cheesy factor has only gone up over the years. The part that really made an impression is the bit on the football field. Talk about bargain basement production. Couldn't they have gone to a real football field. I mean really.

Enjoy!

01 Let's Hear Is For The Boy.m4a
02 Let's Hear It For The Boy (Instrumental Short Version).m4a

And here's an extra bonus from the 80's.

Tex Williams - Is This Is All You Hear/Roll, Muddy River 7" - A-Side.jpg

And so we come to an end of my Tex Williams records. This one isn't as fun as the previous posts, but I figured I'd just get it out there anyways.

"Is This All You Hear" is kind of slow and a real sleeper. "Roll, Muddy River" has more promise and umph to it. Even with that said it is still kind of cheesy and simple. Still fun for a listen at least once.

01 Is This All You Hear.mp3
02 Roll, Muddy River.mp3

Duran Duran - The Reflex 7" - 1984

Nothing I can really say or add about Duran Duran that hasn't been said before. They were huge. They were great. Blah blah blah.

As a young boy I got into "Hungry Like A Wolf" mostly because of that woman moaning at the end. That was pretty racy and sexy for a boy in 6th grade. You felt a little naughty for listening to it. But then I became more aware in the months and years that followed that this wasn't primarily a band for horny little boys going through puberty. This was a band for the ladies. With that no firmly in my mind and the minds of so many other boys I wouldn't have anything to do with them. They were too girly. Looking back now I realize that they were great and that I missed out on a lot of great music at the time, not that I'm just discovering them. My qualms over them being a girl band disappeared in college and when I was dating my future wife who loved Duran Duran. But with that said I still kind of feel that I had valid reasons as a young boy not to be into them. Even looking back it is more than clear that they were not gunning for me to buy their records. I wouldn't have it in at one of their concerts any more than a young 12 year old boy would fit in at a Jonas Brothers concert these days. So I get why I didn't like them and why boys don't like groups like the Jonas Brothers today. They are talented and can write catchy pop tunes. In ten years the boys that hate them now will look back with fondness. Okay that's enough of that ramble. The point it Duran Duran is great. This song is great. It's catchy and sexy. It had a crazy video that in retrospect was a little cheesy. This record gives you perhaps a mix you haven't heard before which is a nice bonus.

Enjoy!

01 The Reflex (The Dance Mix Edited).m4a
02 New Religion (Live).m4a

Villa Lobos - The Surprise Box

This one is a complete change for this blog. I'm pretty sure I haven't posted any classical music before. So why now you ask. Well, the story is that I bought this record because of the goofy cover. I didn't really read the back liner notes and I'm not educated enough to know the composers so I must confess I didn't know it was classical music. I assumed it was going to be some kind of Latin vibe lounge music maybe with a little cheese sprinkled on top. I mean look at the cover. You can see it was a valid assumption. Well, it wasn't a loungy record. It's actually a couple pieces of classical music. I thought that perhaps it was still worth sharing because the cover is great and to be honest I actually like side one which is the entire piece of "The Surprise Box" by Villa Lobos. Side two by Falla is okay, but I can take it or leave it. I'm not classical expert. I really just kind of know the hits and I know something when I like it. I couldn't go on about composers and different genres and eras.

I don't know much about Villa-Lobos. You can get an overview of his life and work at wikipedia. It however doesn't list "The Surprise Box" as one of his works. I can tell you from reading the back of this album jacket that "The Surprise Box" was composed in 1932. It was a ballet for children according to the record. The plot as written on the jacket says,

It tells the story of Nini, a poor little girl, who never had any toys even at Christmas time. She always gazed, wide-eyed and longingly, at all the beautiful gifts that Santa Clause Brought to her rich companions.

On Christmas Eve, whikle grieving over her misfortune, Nin has a dream in which a beautiful box made of colorful crystal is brought to her. The box which seems like an enchanted showcase, slowly opens and a great cloud of smoke billows forth in the midst of which rises a stalwart Sailor swaying to and for. A beautiful Pierrette appears next, stamping her foot in vexation, followed by a little blue Domino who is teasing her by jingling his bells. Lastly a Peasant comes forth trying to comfort poor Pierrette.

Playfully, the Sailor, Domino and Peasant chase each other around until the Carnival King and Queen arrive with their followers. The happy crowd dances around Nini. A continual drumming in the distance heralds the entrance of an Adventurer of great elegance and agility.

The festivities are interrupted suddenly by the arrival of Sacy-Perere (A Brazilian urchin). This one-legged scamp spreads confusion among the crowd of dolls; however, they soon realize that this is the fairy friend of all shay and frightened children, and the dance is joyfully started again around Nini.

Another interesting thing I found on the liner notes is that they were written by a guy named Alfred Frankenstein. That's right Frankenstein. Imagine being that guy growing up in the 30's and 40's. Urgh. I hope he had some sons and that the name is being carried on.

So give this one a chance for a change of pace. It's got some Brazillian influences as well as French ballet influences.

Enjoy!

01 The Surprise box - Villa-Lobos.m4a
02 Homage - I. Fanfare On The Name Of E. F. Arbos - Falla.m4a
03 Homage - II. To Claude Debussey - Falla.m4a
04 Homage - III. To Paul Dukas - Falla.m4a
05 Homage - IV. Pedrelliana - Falla.m4a

Steve Bolton - Walk On The Wild Side 12" - 1987

This is a lighter funner version of the Lou Reed classic song. Steve gives it an 80's synth pop treatment and the overall effect is that it lightens the mood considerable. I like this version and I don't feel quite as dirty after listening to it like I do when I listen to Lou's version. His version is just a little grittier and dirtier. That's not a bad thing. It's just different.

I don't know anything about Steve Bolton other than I have this record. I see it for sale on various websites and auctions for 10-15 bucks. If you like it enough, go buy it. Otherwise just enjoy what I'm offering up today in digital form.

Enjoy!

01 Walk On The Wild Side (Vocal).m4a
02 Walk On The Wild Side (Instrumental).m4a

Tenderloinz - Where's The Beef - 1984

Here's a little electro funk novelty from the 80's. Many who lived in the 80's will remember the wildly successful "Where's the beef" campaign from Wendy's. For those of you who missed it the basic idea was that they were selling the idea that their hamburgers had more beef and so this old lady would get a burger from some other place, look at the small patty and demand "where's the beef?" It was a cultural phenomenon that basically just got annoying. Anyways just like other crazy pop culture phenomenon's someone saw an opportunity to cash in with a novelty song and this here is the result. Borrowing from the up and coming genre of electro hip hop this tried to capitalize on a couple fads. The record is fun to listen to now for nostalgia more than anything.

Enjoy!

01 Where's The Beef.m4a
02 Take A Number.m4a

Helen O'Connell - Green Eyes - 1957

This is the second record I've posted by Helen O'Connell. If you want to read more about her check out my last post on her. This is an earlier release of hers and again she is amazing. She's becoming one of my favorite female vocalists from this time.

The top song for me is "Brazil". The other highlights that come to mind are "Yours", "When The Sun Comes Out", "Green Eyes" and "Amapola". If you don't want to listen to the whole thing I suggest just starting with any of those.

Enjoy!

01 Star Eyes.m4a
02 Not Mine.m4a
03 Tangerine.m4a
04 Green Eyes.m4a
05 Yours.m4a
06 When The Sun Comes Out.m4a
07 All Of Me.m4a
08 Jim.m4a
09 Amapola.m4a
10 Time Was.m4a
11 Embraceable You.m4a
12 Brazil.m4a

Helen O'Connell - Green Eyes.zip