Seaweed / Go Your Own Way [Fleetwood Mac Cover]

From the First Record That I Owned

I think this is a relatively rare item as I looked for mention of it for years on the Internet. Finally someone posted something about it. I have tons of records and will eventually find it, but it will no doubt be heavily scratched. I found my one of my favorite segments of the show and it happens to include one of the poems they recycled for the album:




"Don't worry Dahlink, remember this is just cartoon."

"That voice Bullwinkle. Where have I heard that voice?"

One other favorite segment is when the narrator is taken hostage and gagged. :)

I tried to get the address "airy persiflage" for one of my blogs but, no dice. And someone does a very competent job with that blog title but Blogspot needs to weed out some of the best names taken early and never really used like nodice.blogspot.com

Wallflowers

"One Headlight"

So long ago, I don't remember when
That's when they say I lost my only friend
Well they said she died easy of a broken heart disease
As I listened through the cemetery trees

I seen the sun comin' up at the funeral at dawn
The long broken arm of human law
Now it always seemed such a waste
She always had a pretty face
So I wondered how she hung around this place

[сhorus:]
Hey, come on try a little
Nothing is forever
There's got to be something better than
In the middle
But me & Cinderella
We put it all together
We can drive it home
With one headlight

She said it's cold
It feels like Independence Day
And I can't break away from this parade
But there's got to be an opening
Somewhere here in front of me
Through this maze of ugliness and greed
And I seen the sun up ahead
At the county line bridge
Sayin' all there's good and nothingness is dead
We'll run until she's out of breath
She ran until there's nothin' left
She hit the end-it's just her window ledge

[chorus]

Well this place is old
It feels just like a beat up truck
I turn the engine, but the engine doesn't turn
Well it smells of cheap wine & cigarettes
This place is always such a mess
Sometimes I think I'd like to watch it burn
I'm so alone, and I feel just like somebody else
Man, I ain't changed, but I know I ain't the same
But somewhere here in between the city walls of dyin' dreams
I think her death it must be killin' me

[chorus]

Beware of Darkness

"Beware Of Darkness"

Watch out now, take care
Beware of falling swingers
Dropping all around you
The pain that often mingles
In your fingertips
Beware of darkness

Watch out now, take care
Beware of the thoughts that linger
Winding up inside your head
The hopelessness around you
In the dead of night

Beware of sadness
It can hit you
It can hurt you
Make you sore and what is more
That is not what you are here for

Watch out now, take care
Beware of soft shoe shufflers
Dancing down the sidewalks
As each unconscious sufferer
Wanders aimlessly
Beware of Maya

Watch out now, take care
Beware of greedy leaders
They take you where you should not go
While Weeping Atlas Cedars
They just want to grow, grow and grow
Beware of darkness (beware of darkness)

The Beatles (Rooftop) - Multi Angle "Don't Let Me Down"

I'm Not Gonna Miss You / Glen Campbell

Now entering the final stages of Alzheimer's, musician Glen Campbell records a brutally honest song about the disease.

Ain't No Sunshine - Bill Withers

I remember seeing this performance. It was a highlight of my younger years. It was on PBS if I remember correctly.

Music Distribution Format Changes

Abbey Road Photo Session / and last footage of Beatles together.

Rubber Soul

George Harrison's last public performance

George Harrison's last performance:


of

Muscle Shoals

On Netflix:

Pressing On

Well I’m pressing on
Yes, I’m pressing on
Well I’m pressing on
To the higher calling of my Lord

Many try to stop me, shake me up in my mind
Say, “Prove to me that He is Lord, show me a sign”
What kind of sign they need when it all come from within
When what’s lost has been found, what’s to come has already been?

Well I’m pressing on
Yes, I’m pressing on
Well I’m pressing on
To the higher calling of my Lord

Shake the dust off of your feet, don’t look back
Nothing now can hold you down, nothing that you lack
Temptation’s not an easy thing, Adam given the devil reign
Because he sinned I got no choice, it runs in my vein

Well I’m pressing on
Yes, I’m pressing on
Well I’m pressing on
To the higher calling of my Lord

Written by Bob Dylan

Read more: http://www.bobdylan.com/us/songs/pressing#ixzz38i1pvHno

Early Sheep : (Raving and Drooling)

Early Pigs

2nd of the 3 new "demo" versions of Pink Floyd Animals songs.

Early Dogs

My original receiver.

Well, there it is. It is the same model of receiver that I had as a child. It sure looks spiffy!! :) 

I just purchased a used model for $38 which included shipping. It will come some time this week, I guess. What a pittance to pay for something I long ago threw away and have regretted doing so ever since. I have a pre-amp that I use with a newer model receiver now, which also has a usb connection. But this wonderful beauty above has a phono input... like everything did back then. It is kind of obviously low-fi, but at the time, no one could have told me there was anything better than this thing which cost $139 at the time, I believe. That was a lot of money for my parents to shell out for my Christmas present. This coupled with a Dual turntable and 4 Panasonic speakers, I think that was their brand as well, was just amazing. My dad had a little gadget that delayed the back two speakers into a kind of fake 4 channel. I used this bit of hardware years later to fake 4 channel sound for my TV. 

The really awesome thing was that Dad mounted speakers on the walls of my bedroom to create a rather good sound stage. Dad... he loved electronics.

I should no longer worry about throwing things away that I might want later. I should just document the details necessary to find them on ebay later and put them into circulation at my local thrift shop. If I ever want it later, well, I don't have to search through the attic to find it. 

I have searched for this thing numerous times and finally decided that I must have thrown it away. Does one ever remember throwing things out? Most of my life I lived in apartments with minimal storage. Had I kept all my stuff, the amount of money I would have spent on storage would be quite a tidy sum by now. So.. technically, I could save money by throwing things away and rebuying them later. This is all theory mind you. 

You can see I am excited to see this come in the mail. I hope it works well. After all, these things must be at least 45 years old by now. 

Medley

I always associated the sounds between tracks  (first 12 seconds) with these songs. After hearing this on mp3's from CDs for decades... honestly... this Vinyl appears to have a whole different (warm?) temperature to it. It may just be my imagination. I was taking good care of my records by the time I purchased this one. Very few pops. Transferring it was a bit difficult on settings, but I think I got it it pretty close.

Greenwich Village: Music That Defined Generation / on Netflix

Have a Cigar (alt)

Alternate "Have a Cigar" / Pink Floyd

I do like this version. It is so distinct in it's differences yet spot on the same song... well minus the rapid ending on the album. 

Good Bye to Tiki for now

The quintessential song in exotica or tiki lounge is "Quiet Village."

The first is by Martin Denny, the second by Arthur Lyman (who left Denny's band to make his own mark.) I lean towards the Lyman version but there are for sure lots of versions of this song out there. It is THE song to do. :)

Although I am fairly sure Les Baxter did Quiet Village as well, let's leave him with a different song that I like "Hong Kong Cable Car"  (which Denny and Lyman have probably done as well. :) )

Peter Gunn

While we are surfing around the area of lounge, this sub-genre seems notable. "Peter Gunn," the main theme for a television show of the same name, is intriguing because of its combination of jazz orchestration with a straightforward, rock 'n roll backbeat. I heard this song a lot when I was young. I never saw the TV show when I was young... I guess my parents had some standards for what is appropriate for kids.

Esquivel and the Road Zamboni

Since recently listening with the feeling of the needle hitting the vinyl of Martin Denny, THE Martin Denny record that started my interest in music, I have been listening to lounge music in my car. I went through Les Baxter songs. All music seems wonderful to me now. This is not muzak but nicely done creative instrumentations. 

So after I exhausted Les Baxter, apparently my iPod was on to Esquivel. My iPod interfaces with my car and it intimidates me. I have so many songs that I find it difficult to do anything except shuffle. After all, When you are driving, do you really want to search things? 

However, despite this, I had found the genre of "lounge" before I left my driveway and have been listening to songs for days. Sometimes I skip a particularly bad one. but I try to keep an open mind. 

Then there was Esquivel. I kind of knew what to expect out of Esquivel but what I did not expect was to be stopped at an intersection, blocked by a thing that looked like a huge Zamboni that was grinding up the road and spitting it out like a harvester into a truck in front of it. There was a state trooper car sitting there.... just threatening...  no help with the intersection or instructions on where to drive. On top of this huge machine behind the huge truck was a guy sitting in an airconditioned cabin, looking for all the world like a southern boy so happy to finally be going through the intersection with people being forced to see that he was the driver of the machine that chomped up the road. To the left of me was some other good old boy cursing because of the delay and... as the guy slowly Zambonied through the intersection in front of me, the soundtrack was this:

I have not been the cheeriest of persons in my recent days, but.. honestly, this cheered me up to the point of uncontrollable laughter. I am cheery now and hope to stay that way for a while.

Just to give you a better sense of Esquivel, here is the song I was listening to before the moment, as I was gliding down the road not a care in the world until of course, the road Zamboni, which stated  immediately "You will be late for work...."

Sometimes you just have to laugh. It is good for you. Music, it is always good for you. Listen... the life affirmation is there.

"My Blue Heaven" had to be my mother's favorite song, not in this version, of course.

She sang it to me a lot and changed the lyrics to include our family particulars.

Alabama - Neil Young

"Alabama"

Oh Alabama The devil fools with the best laid plan. Swing low Alabama You got the spare change You got to feel strange And now the moment is all that it meant. Alabama, you got the weight on your shoulder That's breaking your back. Your Cadillac has got a wheel in the ditch And a wheel on the track Oh Alabama Banjos playing through the broken glass Windows down in Alabam'. See the old folks tied in white robes Hear the banjo. Don't it take you down home? Alabama, you got the weight on your shoulder That's breaking your back. Your Cadillac has got a wheel in the ditch And a wheel on the track Oh Alabama Can I see you and shake your hand? Make friends down in Alabam' I'm from a new land I come to you and see all this ruin What are you doing Alabama? You got the rest of the union to help you along What's going wrong?

Stoneground Words

Melanie / Stoneground Words

Although this album is a tour de force of singer songwriter talent, I am drawn to the version of Pete Seeger's "My Rainbow Race" as a song which stands out.

One blue sky above us
One ocean lapping all our shore
One earth so green and round
Who could ask for more
And because I love you
I'll give it one more try
To show my rainbow race
It's too soon to die.

Some folks want to be like an ostrich,
Bury their heads in the sand.
Some hope that plastic dreams
Can unclench all those greedy hands.
Some hope to take the easy way:
Poisons, bombs. They think we need 'em.
Don't you know you can't kill all the unbelievers?
There's no shortcut to freedom.

Go tell, go tell all the little children.
Tell all the mothers and fathers too.
Now's our last chance to learn to share
What's been given to me and you.

M'Bira - Martin Denny

Martin Denny was really my first love musically. Yes, the Beatles were obviously the main inspiration to my love of music, but I was listening to Martin Denny before that time. My dad had a fair number of albums, maybe 40. I cannot remember them all and I doubt I saved them all.

I certainly saved Martin Denny's Primitiva. For one thing it had an awesome girl on the cover.

I know this album so well. I cannot possibly comment on it objectively. It is part of my being. 

Going back over the songs on the album, I have chosen one that was a favorite when I was 5 years old, and is still awesome today. The record came out the year I was born. 

Here is the exotic " M'Bira " from the same vinyl I played at least a hundred times when I was young:

See the instrument the song is named after, the m'bira, played properly:

Learn more about Martin Denny: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Denny

Learn more about the musical genre "Exotica": http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exotica

Before Moving On

This is a Columbia reissue of Ram have been playing. It sounds pretty darned good. I am kind of positive I bought it because I knew my own childhood version was scratched. At any rate.... I am now privileged to own it. Here are two cuts or three or four depending on how you count them. I just could not bear to cut songs that blended together...

"Dear Boy" is kind of straightforward as a song. Then it is, again, that dreamy wall of sound (using backing vocals mainly to create the wall) that make it special. Paul was experimenting. Many of his solo albums have this experimental... almost unfinished feel to them. While I love the stereo separation of the main vocals from the backing vocals in the song... it is a nostalgic thing for me... I think later in the song the wall of sound effect has a better feel to it. It is nice to begin a song with simple elements then move to complex... but.... those elements have a heavy load to bear when highlighted alone.

Then... well, what do you make of this?   Tied together by sound... "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey / Smile Away".   "Smile Away".... let's call that a ballad. :)  "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey" was a moment for me as it put together this sound (which was far different than I had been used to) into a very polished composition with orchestration and everything it needed to succeed. In fact, I would guess that this song helped more than any other to help me accept the vast changes Paul's sound seemed to be going through. Since then, I have heard enough outtakes to realize that not much had really changed at all with the exception of adding Linda's vocals, a little creativity, a carefree manner, and that country twang. :)

"Dear Boy"

I guess you never knew, dear boy, what you have found,

I guess you never knew, dear boy,

That she was just the cutest thing around,

I guess you never knew what you have found,

Dear boy.

I guess you never knew, dear boy,

That love was there.

And maybe when you look to hard, dear boy,

You never do become aware,

I guess you never did become aware,

Dear boy.

When i stepped in, my heart was down and out,

But her love came through and brought me 'round,

Got me up and about.

Dear boy,

Dear boy, dear boy,

Dear boy.

When i stepped in, my heart was down and out,

But her love came through and brought me 'round,

Got me up and about.

I hope you never know, dear boy,

How much you missed.

And even when you fall in love, dear boy,

It won't be half as good as this.

I hope you never know how much you missed,

Dear boy, how much you missed, dear boy

"Uncle Albert / Admiral Halsey"

We're so sorry, uncle albert,

We're so sorry if we caused you any pain.

We're so sorry, uncle albert,

But there's no one left at home

And i believe i'm gonna rain.

We're so sorry but we haven't heard a thing all day,

We're so sorry, uncle albert,

But if anything should happen

We'll be sure to give a ring.

"we're so sorry, uncle albert,

But we haven't done a bloody thing all day.

We're so sorry, uncle albert,

But the kettle's on the boil

And we're so eas'ly called away."

Uh-uh-uh-uh-uh-uh-uh-uh,

Doo-uh-uh-uh-uh-uh-uh-uh-uh,

Uh-uh -

Hands across the water, heads across the sky,

Hands across the water, heads across the sky.

Admiral Halsey notified me,

He had to have a berth or he couldn't get to sea.

I had another look and i had a cup of tea and a butter pie.

"couldn't put it in something else

So i put it in the pie, alright!"

Hands across the water, heads across the sky,

Hands across the water, heads across the sky.

Live a little, be a gypsy, get around,

Get your feet up off the ground,

Live a little, get around.

Live a little, be a gypsy, get around,

Get your feet up off the ground,

Live a little, get around.

Hands across the water, heads across the sky,

Hands across the water, heads across the sky.

"Smile Away"

I was walking down the street the other day,

Who did i meet?

I met a friend of mine and he did say:

"man, i can smell your feet a mile away."

Smile away, smile away, smile away, yeah, smile away,

Smile away, smile away, smile away, yeah, smile away.

Yeah, smile away, smile away, smile away, yeah, smile away,

Smile away, smile away, smile away, yeah, smile away.

I was walking down the street the other day,

Ah, who did i meet?

I met a friend of mine and he just said:

"man, i can smell your breath a mile away."

Smile away, smile away, smile away, yeah, smile away, oh,

Ho! smile away, smile away, smile away, yeah, smile away.

Ah, smile away sweetly now,

Come on now, ooh, sweetly smile away,

Yes, sir! smile away,

Now, smile away quietly now,

Oooh, ho, ho, ho.

Smile away horribly now,

Smile away, smile away, smile away,

Yes, sir! smile away,

Ah-oh,

Ooh.

Ah, who did i meet?

I met a friend of mine and he did say:

"man, i can smell your teeth a mile away."

Smile away, uhhh, smile away, uhhh,

Smile away, uhhh, smile away, uhhh,

Smile away, uhhh, smile away, uhhh,

Smile away, uhhh, smile away,

Once again. I need to correct those lyrics... well, a project for another time...

Into the Heart of the Country

I cannot pull myself away from Macca. Ram was actually one of my favorite albums due to it's availability to me after his earlier group broke up.  One of my favorite songs then and now was "Heart of the Country." Paul assumes a slight faux country American accent. Paul plays around throughout this album. I think he was sort of following a path towards freedom of expression. At the time,  I did not understand that this kind of song was a stretch for a lad from the UK.

....still holds up beautifully.

The bass beat... so backwoods. Nice.

Ram

Well, damn. Or hurray. I'm not sure which it is. I was comparing versions and realized I had recently been mysteriously recording in what appeared to be mono. I like mono mixes, just not one's done unintentionally. So I got out a record I knew like the back of my hand to calibrate and figure Microsoft settings for stereo... and sure enough somehow a setting had been changed back to default mono. hmmmm

At any rate. While I was messing around I decided to put together the two halves of "Ram On" by Macca. (less searchable names, you know. shhhh... We don't want the whole world in here do we? )

Audacity is a fine program but I might want to invest in the Adobe Audition sound program soon.

I guess as long as I am calibrating the turntable and figuring out how to timeshift, fade in, out, amplify... etc... on the Audacity program... heck, endless learning is part of any hobby... I might as well test out the durability of this blog to challenges it will probably endure. My first attempt at wedding the "Ram On" parts was full of learning but my attempt is not even close to where I would like it to be...

However, the vinyl has the same dreamy feeling that I remember as a young man... not so with the CD, I don't think. Clarity is not always the thing and I believe some mistakes have been slyly mixed down as well.. Clarity of mistakes please... transparency in mistakes should be a requirement. :) ...I enjoy hearing all the good things on CD I have never heard clearly. For instance, Macca wife's voice is more distinct in the better mixes of some albums. I like her voice, it is comforting in some way. But, sorry, I remember this song differently from the version on the CD. I will have to compare some day soon side by side on the same speakers. And then, I'm not at all sure what happens to it when converted to mp3 and then to avi for this blog. I guess I might want to look into that as well. Endless fun in complication. :)

Anyway, note the voices in the background towards the end. Is that clear on the CD? What would Dark Side of the Moon be without the interview voice edits? :)  "Ram On" is an ethereal wall of backing vocal/instrumental sound. Mistakes and oddities were celebrated.

Talking Heads '77

What can I say about the Talking Heads? I had multiple favorites before I finished one side. This album was ranked #290 on Rolling Stone magazine's The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list. I suppose I will have to revisit Talking Heads '77 and post more.  First up a light one... then a classic.

"First Week/Last Week…Carefree" :

"Psycho Killer" (Byrne, Chris Frantz, Tina Weymouth):

"First Week/Last Week…Carefree"

Can we run that again

Is that a woman's voice I hear?

I said, "Let's wait and see. I'll see for myself"

That's a phrase I repeat

To myself

Made a reference to me and

that's myself too

What progress I have made the first week

First Week

First Week

First Week

Every sentence I use

Refer to women and their names

I heard the voice first last week

I heard it myself

Made a reference to me

That's myself

This report's incomplete

I see for myself

Every appointment has been moved to last week

Last Week

Last Week

Last Week

I heard the voice first last week

I heard it myself

Made a reference to me

And that's myself

This report's incomplete

I can see for myself

Every appointment has been been moved to last week

Last Week

Last Week

Last Week

"Psycho Killer"

I can't seem to face up to the facts

I'm tense and nervous and I

Can't relax

I can't sleep 'cause my bed's on fire

Don't touch me I'm a real live wire

Psycho Killer

Qu'est-ce que c'est

fa fa fa fa fa fa fa fa fa far better

Run run run run run run run away

Psycho Killer

Qu'est-ce que c'est

fa fa fa fa fa fa fa fa fa far better

Run run run run run run run away

You start a conversation you can't even finish it.

You're talkin' a lot, but you're not sayin' anything.

When I have nothing to say, my lips are sealed.

Say something once, why say it again?

Psycho Killer,

Qu'est-ce que c'est

fa fa fa fa fa fa fa fa fa far better

Run run run run run run run away

Psycho Killer

Qu'est-ce que c'est

fa fa fa fa fa fa fa fa fa far better

Run run run run run run run away

Ce que j'ai fais, ce soir la

Ce qu'elle a dit, ce soir la

Realisant mon espoir

Je me lance, vers la gloire ... OK

We are vain and we are blind

I hate people when they're not polite

Psycho Killer,

Qu'est-ce que c'est

fa fa fa fa fa fa fa fa fa far better

Run run run run run run run away

Psycho Killer,

Qu'est-ce que c'est

fa fa fa fa fa fa fa fa fa far better

Run run run run run run run away

oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh....

Wikipedia:

Psycho Killer is a song written by David Byrne, Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth and first played by their band The Artistic in 1974, and as new wave band Talking Heads in 1975, with a later version recorded for their 1977 album Talking Heads: 77. "I'm glad," remarked Jerry Harrison in the liner notes for Once in a Lifetime: The Best of Talking Heads, "we persuaded Tony and Lance [Quinn] that the version with the cellos shouldn't be the only one."The band's "signature debut hit" features lyrics which seem to represent the thoughts of a serial killer. Originally written and performed as a ballad, "Psycho Killer" became what Allmusic calls a "deceptively funky new wave/no wave song ... [with] an insistent rhythm, and one of the most memorable, driving basslines in rock & roll."

"Psycho Killer" was the only song from the album to appear on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, peaking at number 92. It placed 32nd on the Triple J Hottest 100 in 1989, and peaked at #11 on the Dutch singles chart in 1977.

Cellos? :)

Ahhhhhhh this one: