Topic: music
Fuzz.com was a site dedicated to bands, musicians and music lovers. I spent a little time there and these are the three pieces I posted during that time:
musical milestones - the formative years:
My first vinyl purchase was Magical Mystery Tour. I bought it off of a neighborhood friend who somehow ended up with it as a gift and didn't have the sense or taste to enjoy it. The gate-fold booklet actually made the film look entertaining - boy was I wrong. The opening to "Baby, You're A Rich Man" is still one of my all-time favs.
Every morning before grade school I would wake up at sunrise and watch an old-tyme bluegrass and farm report show that featured Tennessee Ernie Ford. I am uncertain of it being a live broadcast, since it was in black and white (although that could have just been the set I was watching it on).
I wanted my MTV! The station hadn't come to our regional cable provider yet, but I recall middle-school kids clamoring for the multi-colored MTV pins that were being passed around. But, other than the hype, the 12 hours of programming kept me away from homework and the outdoors. Videos like Pete Townsend's "Face Dances" and Herbie Hancock's "Rockit" fascinated me to no end and kept me glued to the tube. Many years down the road, 120 Minutes would keep me away from collegiate studies as well.
Gave up on current music scene in mid-1980's and only listened to recordings made prior to 1974. Chess, Stax, Atlantic, Motown, RCA and Capitol label recording artists prevail.
Celebrated my high school graduation by attending a midnight screening of "Monterey Pop" and reconfirmed my belief that Otis Redding is god.
Hearing alt takes of Bud Powell's 1st Blue Note session overhead in Vinyl Fever record store effected me like a nerve gas and has never let go. I purchased that album, plus Miles Davis' "On the Corner", and went home to blow my little mind.
Vinyl Reflections – Favorite Album Sides
Not all sides were created equal. Here are a few of my personal favorites from the 1970's:
David Bowie - Heroes (1977) - Side A
No disrespect to the synth instrumentals that dominate Side B, as "V-2 Schneider" is one of Bowie's best, or the drum-heavy "Secret Life of Arabia", either. The songs on side A are deeply layered, offering some of the strongest collaborations from Eno-Bowie; I would opt for this over Low's A-side, anyday.
Gerry Rafferty - City to City (1978) - Side A
A near-perfect side filled with solid song writing and radio favorites: "The Ark", "Baker Street", "Right Down the Line", "City to City" & "Stealin' Time".
Van Morrison - St. Dominics Preview (1972) - Side B
Both sides of this album are enjoyable, however, side b offers a trio of oustanding songs that reflect his time spent living and recording in Northern California: the inspired "St. Dominic's Preview", the sublime "Redwood Tree" & the epic "Almost Independence Day".
My Favorite Halloween Vinyl
"Ghoul Favorites" was perhaps the title of this 45 rpm that actually contained much more than most 45's do. I discovered an ad for the disc in the back of a late-70's comic book, so the graphic and description sold me on the purchase. Side one featured short segments of various noises: torture chamber, banshee howling, screams. Side two was a narrative about a few boys, lost in a creepy dungeon or house, who were eventually eaten alive amid screams and laughter. A most effective disc that I wish I still had."Disney's Haunted Mansion" was an LP that featured a narrative of a boy and a girl attempting to escape from the Haunted Mansion; the voice of the boy was performed by Ron Howard. The sound effects and story were quite compelling, especially on head-phones.
"Ronco's Funky Favorites" featured such classics as Monster Mash, Purple People Eater & Shimmy Shimmy Coco Bop. Great, cornball favorites.
"Halloween" soundtrack by John Carpenter - the synth soundtrack effected me in a weird way as a child. A high creep factor.
"Bad Music for Bad People" by The Cramps - Very short disc filled with b-side howlers and has since been replaced in my Halloween rotation with the live & rare double disc "How to Make a Monster".
