10CC : FEEL THE BENEFIT
Great band. Great album, Great song. From 1977, this still works.
Happy Mother’s Day!
Category: Vinyl / Tunes Blog
WE SKIPPED THE LIGHT FANDANGO
Probably my favorite single ever, released in 1967 and made arguably even better by Annie Lennox on a wonderful sounding LP in ’95. The original recording was used in many films, including the 1989 New York Stories with Nick Nolte. Amazing that it was written 55 years ago by Procol Harum. Sadly, Gary Brooker, who led the band throughout their history, and who co-wrote and sang this classic, passed away on February 19, 2022. He was 76.
A Whiter Shade of Pale by Procol Harum.
EVERYTHING IS IMPORTANT
DON’T ASSUME ANYTHING
Perhaps I could be a life coach. If only I wasn’t so busy. Oh, that brings up another oft-quoted piece of advice, “Be careful what you wish for.”
It’s not enough to memorize this stuff. You have to incorporate it into your daily practice, and anyone who has lived a life of self-awareness knows this to be true.
Maybe I could fulfill this role with a really young person or someone who is not quite sure they know it all. Continue reading “”
JAZZ TO RELAX
I’ve been listening to a lot of jazz lately. It helps me de-stress from all the news coming out of Eastern Europe.
Miles Davis led several quintets over his long career, and I’ve been spinning those records lately.
It’s fun to rediscover your favorite Miles LPs after they’ve been sitting on the shelf for years, From Bags Groove up to In a Silent Way they are all superb. Of course, Kind of Blue is tops, thanks to Bill Evans.
CRIME OF THE CENTURY
The band Supertramp knew a few things. I was fortunate enough to see them in concert during their prime in the mid ’70s (at the height of the Cold War). I clearly remember being impacted by their music’s message about the dangers of power, corruption, and greed.
Nothing much has changed.
Crime of the Century remains an audiophile favorite for a very good reason. When played back in a dark room on a top-flight hifi system, this LP, mastered by the great Ken Scott, will transport you to a place most folks would rather not think about. Look for a MFSL UHQR under #1000 or a Speakers Corner reissue.
WILDFIRE
One night, Michael Murphy, a singer from Texas, dreamt a song complete with lyrics. He composed it with Larry Candler in a few hours that morning. Murphy believes the song came to him from a story his grandfather told him when he was a little boy. Released in February 1975, “Wildfire” became Murphey’s highest-charting pop hit in the United States. It hit #3 on Billboard that week and is considered a classic today.
Happy Valentine’s Day
HERE’S A MUCH BETTER IDEA
The Pro-ject Automat Turntable doesn’t include speakers, but it does include a fully-automatic start-and-stop with a German-made assembly that disengages and decouples while the record plays, thereby preserving the sound from mechanical vibration. I personally use Rega decks, but this option is very appealing.
HERE’S A BRILLIANT IDEA
Please do not play your albums on a turntable with built in speakers. In fact, don’t place your record player anywhere near your speakers. LPs never sound their best that way.
MUSIC REVENUE CHART
For folks who care about such things, here’s an interesting chart adjusted for inflation that shows where each music format has fallen in yearly revenue. LPs peaked in 1978, and CDs peaked in 1999. Only sales of new items are included. Colored vinyl is the new collectible fetish. Elsewhere, physical music formats have remained niche products, with revenue from used sales on-line unaccounted for. The days of finding gold in used record stores are pretty much over. Click on chart to enlarge.
WHILE YOU’RE WAITING
While you’re waiting for the earth to end, here’s a cool turntable to play your carbon based records on. The Brian Eno LED turntable is a collaboration with London’s Paul Stolper gallery.
CHRISTMAS IS HIGHER THAN THE WORLD
Merry Christmas!
I posted the following music video over a year ago. After talking with folks in the past month about what the’ve gone through since then, I think it’s an appropriate time to revisit it.
CHECK OUT OUR NEWEST VIDEO CLIP
If you have 22 seconds to spare, I think you’ll like it!
Lots of film work lately! More video to come…
Alive on Arrival
Steve Forbert’s debut album, Alive on Arrival was released in 1978 on his 22nd birthday, December 13. This foretelling unknown gem is still worth repeated listening. The original vinyl sounds great!
GET BACK
The Beatles: Get Back is a new documentary series directed and produced by Peter Jackson. It covers the making of the Beatles’ 1970 album Let It Be, which had the working title of Get Back.
Check it out. All you have to do is look at the 1969 photo above to know The Beatles were way ahead of their time. I mean, who else was wearing Chucks besides George?
VINYL IS HOT
In the last five years new vinyl LP sales in the USA have doubled to over 30 million units sold per year. That’s more than new CD sales today, and these numbers don’t include used record purchases.
Prior to 2016, the sales numbers for new vinyl was increasing but not anywhere this rate. Only problem is, most everything currently released on LP is on backorder. This is primarily due to increased demand and decreased supply (due in no small part to the small number of pressing plants and the lack of vinyl pellets). See this for more:
WELCOME TO THE BOOMTOWN
Seattle is and has always been different. That doesn’t mean it’s bad. It’s an assemledge of people from across the nation looking for learning, recreation and progressiveness, yet it remains reasonable (except for the more recent cost of living increases, homelessness, rioting and traffic problems). Continue reading “”