I was lucky enough to find a copy of Man Or Astro-Man's first ever release for a reasonable price last week. The record is in great condition and the sleeve is pretty good too. This will probably be on next weeks post.
I also just recently found out about a local artist called Dessa. Her third album is what attracted me to her music. My local radio has played a few tracks from her new album Parts Of Speech. This will also probably be on next weeks post.
The Dodos have signed with a new record label and have a new record coming out at the end of next month. The album is called Carrier and will be put out on Polyvinyl Records. Release date is August 27th.
On with the show...
This is their first album. It was released in April of 1982.
I remember watching the videos for this album on MTV. I was lucky enough to
have MTV growing up as a kid. I also remember having a small dish on top of my
house so we could get HBO before cable was even a thing. We never had one of
those huge dishes though. I was still very young at this point and the hair
styles didn’t have an effect on me yet. The album is considered a concept album
with a theme of alien abduction. The tracks follow a story in sequence of the
abduction.
There were three singles from the album, the first being
Telecommunication. This track did not chart on the standard US or UK charts but
did do well on the dance charts. The song basically lists different ways that
other life forms may choose to communicate. Our choice is telecommunication and
has been for quite a while.
The second single released from the album is I Ran (So FarAway). The text on my album only reads I Ran. The version of the song that I
have was the one that was on the video. There is a version that has an
introduction and an extended ending. This can be found on a different version
of the vinyl and all versions of the CD. There is a third shorter version of
the song that has a fade out at the end. I have not hear the longer version but
would be interested if I could find a copy.
The third single is called Space Age Love Song. I recognize
this song just as well as I Ran. It has that same cool echo that was used on I
ran and is mostly why I like the song so much. From Wikipedia, “Lead guitarist
Paul Reynolds remarked on their 1984 video album "Through the Looking
Glass" that he thought of the song's title. He said that the band wrote and
recorded it, but couldn't come up with the title. He suggested "Space Age
Love Song" because he thought it sounded like a space age love song. His
title stuck as the song's permanent title.”
This is the second release from Soul Coughing. It was
released in July of 1996. I thought that this album was miles better than the
first album they put out. I was very excited to get my hands on this album when
it was new. This is one of my favorite albums of the mid 90s music. I was able
to see them live at a free multi staged festival some time after this album was
put out. I remember having the worst view ever, the back of the stage, but that
I was able to hear them well enough. The producer of the first album was unable
to produce the second record. Going against the wishes of the band and the
record label, Mike Doughty hired David Kahne to give the album a new wave feel.
The album put out three singles. The first was Soundtrack ToMarry (bad audio but actual video). I liked the opening with just an acoustic guitar and Mikes vocals. The
simplicity was earth shattering and the dead pan vocals were perfection. The
song did not chart that well but for me the song was awesome. I liked it so
much that I bought the 7” single. It came on clear vinyl. It was one of my
first colored vinyl purchases. I listened to this song so much both on that
single and on the CD. I have the lyrics nearly memorized. I have always liked
the bass sound from the band too.
The second single was Soft Serve. This song has a groovy
bass line. The guitar is electric with a vibrato on it. There is also some keys
that are organ like in the background. I was never as much of a fan of this
track. I had a friend who loved this track though and I never understood why.
He grew up in Chicago
and that gave him a different perspective but that is the only excuse that I
could give him.
The third single was Super Bon Bon. This track was so cool.
The upright bass has just a touch of distortion. There were mainly samples of
noise and instruments making noise through the song over the drums and bass.
Mikes vocals were over the top of it all in perfect clarity. It was so fun to
sing along with the lyrics because they only made sense in the fractions of
each line. The lyrics as a whole never seemed to make any sense.
This was never a single but I liked the song Disseminated.
The sample used for the main music was so cool. It reminded me of something
from a Warner Brothers cartoon. My friends and I also liked the word Chocodile
that is used in the chorus of the song. I have no idea what it is but my
assumption is that of a chocolate crocodile.
This is an album from the 90s that everyone should hear at
least once!
This is the twelfth album by Hall & Oates. It was released
early October of 1984. It marked the end of the duo’s success streak. It is
also considered one of the records that made the sound of the 80s. I remember
seeing the cover of the album and thinking it looked nearly like one of my
sisters shirts (it was the 80s after all). I recently found a copy of this
album still sealed at one of my local record stores. I was excited even though
there was only one song that I was looking for.
There were four singles released from the album. The first
single, Out Of Touch, released from the record is why I bought it. I remember
hearing the song on the radio as a kid still in elementary school. The song was
brought back to my attention when Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
was released. You had the option to change radio stations in the game and the
song was featured on the Flash FM channel in the game. In the video for the
song the opening track that fades into Out Of Touch is included. It was
probably a way to advertise more songs and slightly annoying to cut the track
as they fade into each other. The 12” remix version of the song was used for
the video.
The second single from the album is called Method Of ModernLove. The song is very interesting but never hit me as a good song. It did hit
number five on the charts though so I must be wrong about it. It just doesn’t
have a good hook and the synth horns don’t sound right to me.
The third single from the album is called Some Things AreBetter Left Unsaid. It is a quieter song and a bit slower too. For me it kind
of has an air of something that could have been used for a movie. I don’t
believe that it was but it certainly could have been. It is a good song, better
than Method Of Modern Love, but it still doesn’t have that hook like their
other hits had.
Possession Obsession is the last single from the album. This
is the last track on the album as well as being the last single released from
the album. The song just doesn’t seem to go anywhere though. It is a good beat
but there is no rise and fall and the hook is so weak.
The first single is really the only song that you need to
hear from this album unless you are a fan.
This is the sixth album by Judas Priest. It was released in
April of 1980. This album was considered heavy metal at the time like Led Zeppelin
was, the music really of the period from rock music. I was never a fan of rock
music growing up as a kid. I saw it as my dads’ music. The singles from this
album were played on the station that my dad listened to. My parents always
asked me to not get into that heavy metal music. They were talking of bands
like Metallica and Iron Maiden. It is funny to me now because they were a sub
genre to what my dad listened to i.e. not too different. I don’t know what they
were thinking. I did end up getting into the heavier rock but not until after I
left home. I wanted to find some of the classic rock and get a better
understanding of what was propelling the current rock of the late 90s and early
00s.
There were three singles released from this album. The first
single was Breaking The Law. I first heard this song through the Beavis And
Butt-Head show on MTV. The song is very simple with an easy to chant/repeat
chorus. The chorus is repeating the title of the song. The Beavis And Butt-Head
were very dumb and this was an easy chorus for them to remember add to this the
illegal connotations and it fits them perfectly. It was funny to see idiots act
idiotic.
The second single from the album is called Living AfterMidnight. I remember hearing this song on my dad’s radio in the garage. I am
not sure if he liked the song or not but he did not change the channel. He
never changed the channel really. I think he wanted to hear something other
than the tools he used to work on cars. The song is about the hedonistic,
rebellious way of living in the 80s. The vocals are what make it work so well.
The song really reminds me of the Thin Lizzy album called Jail Break.
The last single from the album is called United. The song
hits hard with a simple staccato verse. The chorus smooth’s out to something
that can be chanted in an arena setting. It was not a song that I had ever
heard before I got the album. It is a good song for an 80s rock song but not
something I intend to listen to often.
Over all it is a good album. I got it for cheap and view it
as getting the single for a buck and the rest of the album for a couple of
bucks extra. It is cheaper than getting a download from iTunes, that’s for
sure.
That is all I have for now...
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