November 2004

Grandpa Likes Music

Well, kids, it's been another month, and I've managed to find some more steals on used CD's in NY and Princeton. CD's have been my only discretionary purchases this year, and because of that we're in a position to buy some overdue wedding gifts for some friends. After about nine or ten months, I feel financially comfortable. After the mess I put myself in back in 2003, comfort is a good feeling.

Dogs Die in Hot Cars Please Describe Yourself
This may be the 1980's-est CD I've come across in the past couple years. I'm not kidding you one bit. These guys have this Crowded House/Bug Country thing going up to eleven.

Energetic and poppy, Dogs blast into the past with "I Love You Cus I Have To", and never look forward. "Godhopping", more than any other song on the disc (which is saying a bunch) makes me think of the first time I ever watched MTV. "Lounger", on the other hand, reminds me of the summer after graduating from High School. This one will be a road-trip disc for a while.

The Velvet Underground and Nico
Shame on me for not owning this already. You know, I heard this one a few times in college all zonked out at some late hour in the morning, but I never took the time to listen. Well, one day about a month or so ago, this street vendor was playing a track off this album which stopped me in my tracks. It was "I'm Waiting for the Man." The dude told me what it was, and that it was not for sale. Hell. I went to three or four stores (not corporate ones, that's too easy) that day, but no luck.

By and by, I got my grubby fingers on it. Five bucks used, but no scratches. Superb!

My favorite song is "All Tomorrow's Parties." Like Otis Redding's "Respect", I wish I'd written that one. Absolutely beautiful.

The Passage BBC Sessions
The late, great, John Peel played some Passage tracks here and there on his show, but I never expected to find a cheap, used copy in the haystacks of NYC's used record stores. As it happens, I found this in a 'New' section, in the M's. What luck!

At times, they sound like Joy Division (Dark Times or Shave Your Head), and at other times, it sounds like Pink Floyd from their concert at Pompeii (Rod of Iron). However, this is not psychedelic music. Not by a long shot. As best as I can judge, this is a reflection of a transitional time in music. Some parts punk, other parts experimental, and others new-wave-ish. It's not dance music, but you cannot help bopping about to songs like "a song."

You may find another review of The Passage when I have a couple more of their albums. I'm slightly addicted, but I'd like to know why.

The Pet Shop Boys actually
My wife, Bigfoot, did not want me to buy this. If she had her way, I would never look at the "P" section of a record store without her company. She knows how much I love old-school PSB, and she'd prefer I keep my PSB time to vacations in the country, where people cannot see me dance all gay and stuff. Unsupervised, I dug this one out of a "New" bin for the low-low price of $7. Who says you can't find a deal these days?

Above all others, I got this CD for the song "It's a Sin", possibly one of my guiltiest pleasures. It makes me want a spanking.

The Zutons Who Killed the Zutons
Help me, people! I'm having a crisis! Until I played this disc, Franz Ferdinand were winning the race in my head for "Best Record You Got This Year" award. The Zutons are putting my brain into convulsions, and may overtake the fancy boys from Glasgow by the end of December.

I wish I was kidding. This is an altogether terrific album. Sometimes they sound like a late 1960's garage band, and at other times channeling an early 70's sounds more akin to the Band (and, lyrically, a touch of Townes Van Zandt.) Through it all, a single saxophone plays along in the background of nearly every song, almost to reinforce the darker tone of the lyrics.

You should buy this album for yourself for Thanksgiving. Don't wait for Christmas, you fool! Be like the squirrel!