Vol. 2, Episode 18

Here is my 1977 play list:

Artist Bay City Rollers Billy Joel Captain & Tennille David Bowie Elvis Costello Eric Clapton Fleetwood Mac The Guess Who Iggy Pop Kenny Loggins Little Feat Mink Deville Munich Machine Queen The Ramones Sex Pistols Steely Dan Talking Heads

Album It's A Game The Stranger Captain & Tennile's Greatest Hits Low My Aim Is True Slowhand Rumours The Greatest Of Lust For Life Celebrate Me Home Time Loves A Hero Caberetta Munich Machine Greatest Hits Mania Never Mind The Bollocks... Aja 77

Song It's A Game Only The Good Die Young Love Will Keep Us Together Breaking Glass Watching The Detectives Cocaine Go Your Own Way American Woman Lust For Life Celebrate Me Home Rocket In My Pocket One Way Street I Wanna Funk With You Tonite We Will Rock You Sheena Is A Punk Rocker God Save The Queen Deacon Blues Psycho Killer

Tool – Undertow
This is a really great album released in 1993. This is the groups’ first full length album. The first album was an EP. This is considered to be a heavy metal album but for the most part it is just a heavy sounding album. There is none of that typical metal screaming for the most part. The vocals are all intelligible and understandable. There are three singles from the album. The first one that was released is called Prison Sex. The video for the song was filmed in stop motion animation. It is a very disturbing but interesting video. The song is about being molested in a confined manner. I can not find the story that this song is actually about but I have read about it in the past. If I can remember correctly, it is about a little girl that is repeatedly tied up and molested by a relative. I can not remember if it is an uncle or a closer relative than that though. The next single is called Sober. The guitarist for the band has said that this song is about a friend that is only creative when he is under the influence. This seems like a cop-out to me. Then again, I have never felt creative under those circumstances. The last single from the album is Four Degrees. I don’t remember haring this song on the radio. Not that it is a bad song it just did not get much air play in my area. The original CD of this album featured a cow licking its rear under the CD tray. The CD tray was the usual solid brownish grey. You had to take the tray out to see the graphic. In other countries the tray was clear. I had the CD for a while but got rid of it. I bought the recent vinyl repressing. This picture is not part of the packaging for the vinyl.

I can remember enjoying the album; it is a good album, in my bedroom. It was at this time when my parents allowed me to stay home on the weekends instead of going up to the campgrounds with them every weekend in the summer. My sister and I would stay home a few of the weekends. She would go out and party. I stayed home and cranked my tiny stereo. This was one of the albums that I had on, staying up until I couldn’t stay awake any more.

Herb Alpert’s Tijuana Brass – Whipped Cream & Other Delights
This was an album that was in my mothers’ collection. It was released in 1965. It is an album that has no lyrics. I love these albums because I can focus on the instrumentation more than lyrics. It is the groups’ fourth full length album and probably their most popular. Herb used mostly session musicians for the albums in the past. It wasn’t until this album that he had to put together a static group so that he could start touring. The cover art for the album is just as important as the album itself. The cover is considered a classic pop culture icon. The cover has been parodied by many artists since its release.

It was not until I found my mothers record collection that I got this album. I only took a few of her albums at this time though. I recognized the cover and thought that it would be an interesting listen. I played the album on my cheap record player at the time. I fell in love with the album. I was still living at my parents’ house at the time. My mother loved that I was playing her old records. She liked hearing the old music. I liked hearing the old music. There is also something special about this album. It is done so well. I think that everyone should hear this album at least once for sure.


White Stripes – Elephant
This is the fourth album released from the White Stripes. It was released in 2003 on V2 records, if that means anything to anybody. It is the first album from the group to be released on a major label. The album was recorded in two weeks. The first single was Seven Nation Army. The riff used in the song is not a bass guitar as most people would think. The sound is actually created using a Kay hollow body guitar with a guitar pedal from Digitech. Since the group does not use a bass guitar I figured that he, Jack White, was using a guitar with some kind of pedal. I did not know what exactly until I did some research to find out. I liked the song so much when it came out that I sat down with the song on repeat to figure out how it would be played on the bass guitar. It is a very easy riff and I figured it out fairly quickly. I played with the song for quite a while after I figured it out. The next single from the album is I Just Don’t Know What To Do With My Self. This is a cover originally recorded by Tommy Hunt in 1962 and made famous by Dusty Springfield in 1964. It is a good version but I still like Dusty Springfields’ version better. The third single is called The Hardest Button To Button. The song has a repetitive drum beat that draws you in. The music video for this song features the two members of the band playing the song in various points and locations. The interesting thing about the video is the fact that multiple instruments pop up every time the drums are hit. For example when a drum is hit another one appears out of thin air. It makes for a fun video. The last single from this album is There’s No Home For You Here. This song did not get much airplay on radio stations. The song is a good song but it was a bit over the top for the casual fan.

I remember getting this album while I was living in my second home. I remember going to a dairy queen for some reason. Anyway, my second favorite song from the album is the song that Meg White sings. It is so simple and so elegant. We also never hear megs’ voice on any of the albums except this song really. It is a refreshing change from Jack Whites’ vocal style.

The Police – Outlandos D’Amour
This is the first album from the Police. It was released in 1978. The album was originally a flop because of low exposure and bad reception of the first couple of singles in the UK. I remember hearing the first single, Roxane, on the radio as a kid. I had no idea what the song was about but the music is very catchy. The song, I later learned, is about prostitution. The next single, Can’t Stand Losing You, is another great song. The original cover of the 7” has been banned in some countries as it features a man that has hung himself. There was an alternate cover that was released because of this. The third single from the album is So Lonely. The group used ideas from reggae and from punk to write their music. This is plainly visible in all three singles from this album. Like I said, I remember the songs from being played on the radio but I was so young when these songs were put out. I like the songs on the album and that is why I own the album now.

Rilo Kiley – More Adventurous
This is the third album from Rilo Kiley. It was released in 2004. I did not find out about the album until 2005 or 2006. The song that got me interested in the music that they created is Portions For Foxes. The story that is told in this song very similarly matched a relationship that my best friend was in at the time. The girl that he was dating is a very nice person but she led him to a place that he did not need to be in. He wants to be a good Christian but she wanted him physically and he couldn’t resist. At least that is my view of the relationship. The chorus sings that she is bad news. This is what she was to him in my opinion. She is a good person but in the relationship she was bad news for him. I have no idea what the singles were off this album except for this song. This memory is so big in my head that it doesn’t matter to me if there were any other singles. The rest of the album is good and very enjoyable to listen to but it is a bit overshadowed by this song and the memory that I have associated to it. I also use to take this album with me on local bike rides. The album as a general timing that fit my riding speed. This was always a fun time because I could I could think about what ever while riding on my own. As a last note on this album, my wife had never heard the studio version of Portions For Foxes before she met me. The version of the song that she had heard and liked was an acoustic version that was recorded at 89.3 The Current. It was included on 89.3 The Current, Live Volume 2. A compilation of live tracks recorded at the radio station that they put out every fall. We have been collecting them since their founding member album. They have put out 6 so far.

The Who – My Generation
This is the first album from The Who. It was released in 1965. There are some great singles from this album starting with the title track, My Generation. This is one of the greatest and most well known songs from the group. They are obviously not singing about my generation but my parents’ generation; it is 1965 after all that they are singing about. It is written about the rebellious British youths called mods and their feeling that the older people just don’t get it. The next single, A Legal Matter, deals with teenage divorce. During current times this leaves no impression on me. In an age where people are getting married later in life this song lyrically does not apply at all. It is still an interesting song musically though. The third single, The Kids Are All Right, Is a good classic rock sound. Although it was not a huge hit it is a staple in the groups’ cannon. This along with the first single called out to the mod crowd. The last single from this album is La-La-La-Lies. It is also a good song but the chorus leaves something to be desired. It is basically the song title. It is a fair song that is boosted by Moons’ drumming.