So, when the decision to purchase an album is based on the 50+ year old advertisement stuck to the cover of an unheard album, you know there is a problem. Jose Jimenez, and the 1960? promo sticker that surrounds Jose Jimenez at Hungry and I starring Bill Dana, is the culprit here, and I am the helpless victim.
Author Archives: The Prudent Groove
Best of Beastlike
This album, in compact disc form, was my first introduction to the band. More keen on The Kinks and The Zombies these days, but for those of you who don’t fancy the hunt, this Best of is damn spot on.
Bonnie
Oh, Bonnie Tyler… how you will forever be synonymous with the summer of 1996. I think it was the constant radio play of Nicki French’s 1993 cover of Total Eclipse of the Heart that ruined it for me, that or a friend’s sister had Faster Than the Speed of Night on cassette. Either way, I absolutely despised both versions… with a raging passion, but with anything that’s repeatedly shoved into your skull without your control, usually at full volume, you begin to find pleasure in the agony. I’ve grown to admire the original, now that I’m older and own the album, but I can’t shake the adventurous happenings of the warm, humid summer of 1996 every damn time I hear that song, or see this album cover. Also, hair.
The Cover of Plumbs
I very rarely purchase full priced albums solely on their cover art having not heard a lick of the music, but with Damaged Bug’s Cold Hot Plumbs, I had to take chance. The music is good, falling under the stoned-out-experiment-electro umbrella, but with this release, my eyes are much happier than my ears. Frame worthy for sure, yet a little unnerving, and I like that.
Devils, Rereleased
While prepping for a trip to the East Coast, let’s once again focus on the West Coast magistrates, Seattle’s The Murder City Devils. Rereleased in 2009, the band’s debut self-titled album struggled to stretch its indie wings, something that would over-abundantly come with their sophomore follow-up, 1998’s Empty Bottles Broken Hearts. Although certainly not the band’s most prolific moment, The Murder City Devils cements its deserving place in the collections of those who like their ear candy rough around the edges, yet melodically substantial.
Maniacal Laughter
When anger and rage are your evening companions, a little Maniacal Laughter is certainly in order. Falling under the ever-growing nostalgia umbrella, East Coast pop-punkers The Bouncing Souls returned to the mid-90s middle class punk scene with their sophomore effort, 1996’s nearly perfect Maniacal Laughter. One of my early introductions to the band was this and their first, 1994’s The Good, the Bad & the Argyle, but for me, Maniacal Laughter is much more sophisticated than its predecessor, while still managing to embrace the slick, lighthearted, bratty aura that made them fan favorites all across the world. If you haven’t seen The Bouncing Souls live, you most certainly should. They’re a hell-of-a lot of fun… or, at least they were 20 years ago. We all may be getting older, but we’re never too old for some hearty Maniacal Laughter.
Bernard Herrmann (double N), and the Hitchcock extravaganza… get this masterful record, after all, it’s a Varese Sarabande release, and those in the know, know. Released in 1980, a solid year after my manifestation, Vol. 1 in the Soundtrack Series, this is certainly one to seek out. On a day of SEVERE disappointments, North By Northwest is a comforting chap.
Groove at the Copa
A close friend and old roommate had a copy of this record back in the day, so when I saw it at Nickelodeon Records in San Diego for a cool $3, I had get it. From the cover, to the tracklist, to the Darin-esk cool within, Darin at the Copa, at least this copy, has found a welcoming place to call home in our collection.
Side note time: Nickelodeon Records was where I found my first Tim Hardin record, 1967’s This is Tim Hardin. I own all but a few of his albums now, and I’m grateful to the two women at Nickelodeon for helping to supply the essential ingredient to arguably the best discography known to man… arguably.
Boots
The latest thrift store excavation yielding nothing, let’s say, groundbreaking, but the PG was willing and eager to bring home this pristine 1964 Boots Randolph LP, The Yakin’ Sax Man, the, you know, quote, unquote jazz / easy listening LP. Have yet to listen to it (that sometimes happens), but the cover is aces!
Finding Thelma
Long after the rowdy Seattle serpents threw down the mic for what we THOUGHT was the last time, I found their last studio offering, 2001’s Thelma (EP) at a dingy little thrift store in Ventura, CA. The cover of this album housed a layer of funk so bad it emitted a murky cloud on its travel from shelf to turntable, but this was the Murder City Devils, and its physical filth only seemed to add to the band’s grimy (in an exceptionally good way) persona.
They’ve since recorded 2014’s The White Ghost Has Blood on Its Hands Again which, until researching for this post, I had no idea even existed. The checklist has just been updated.
Me and My Bean Bag
Me and My Bean Bag, the follow-up to the critically acclaimed Me and My Garbanzo Bean, shatters the primitive expectations (read: demands) from loyal fans of the Me and My Series. Marginally abandoning the space-country vibe of the series debut, the eponymous Me and My Asteroid Mistress, Me and My Bean Bag focuses more on the eclectic sounds of a Kitchen Aid mixer crossed with the unsettling sounds of lively power lines (aka: the rhythm section), which make up the bulk of this grounded album.
Questionable rumors are already spreading about the upcoming release in the series, a concept album loosely based on cement mixing called, Me and My Last Shoes.
If you enjoy Me and My Bean Bag, you’ll be thrilled by other outstanding releases from this groundbreaking series:
Me and My Asteroid Mistress (MaM001)
Me and My Expanding Waistline (MaM002)
Me and My Misinterpretation of the Word, Churlish (MaM003)
Me and My Garbanzo Bean (MaM004)
Me and My Bean Bag (MaM005)
Angel Prophylactics
I must have been wearing a green shirt when taking this morning photo (see, there is a reflection in the center plastic do-hickey). Anyway, I don’t squeeze out as many insert posts as I used to. If it were up to me, and it is, every post would be a classic, history-forgotten insert, but unfortunately (or not) that would mean I’d post roughly once a month. Anyway (again), as always with Angel Records ANYTHING, quality is nothing short of top of the line… the Rolls-Royce of record prophylactics. Protect your records, kids, and if you don’t, there’s always an Angel on your side.
8-Bites of Jaws
A new addition to this year’s Jaws Day celebration, this bass-heavy, rhythmically comforting 8-track served as both a conversation starter, and an outstanding source for interlude ambience. Bruce at his finest, thanks to John Williams.
Fight War, Not Wars…
Fight war, not wars. Destroy power, not people. – Crass
They wouldn’t be revered if they weren’t delicious. In the most simplistic of terms, Crass were holders of mirrors, reflecting the filth and smut of humanity. Blaming the frame which holds the mirror is much more popular than facing the impure and whorish tendencies we all inhabit as we stand and reflect. We hope to see something fixed, something humane, but reflection cannot, and does not lie.
To HELL With ‘Merica
I very much wanted to rant and rave about the current state of affairs, but chose to post this cover of Canada’s finest, the uncompromising Propagandhi’s 2nd album, instead. Even within our own walls we find restriction… anyway, GO CANADA!
Jaws Day 2k15
Happy Jaws Day, kiddos! (Photo courtesy of Jillian Kenney)
Please, Mr. Postman
Please, Mr. Postman, don’t drop, throw, toss, pitch, hurl, thrust, flip, heave, fire, or fling any of my precious records upon delivery. My copy of Lawndale’s 1986 debut LP, Beyond Barbecue, was a birthday gift (my loving SO), and now it’s little more than unplayable garbage and a sour subject. Government-infused laziness should not, nor ever, equal subpar workmanship.
Rocket from the Insert aka Circa: 1991
Haven’t done an insert post in a while, and I’m nowhere near out of my (lifelong) RFTC phase, so here is side two to the Paint as a Fragrance insert from 1991, aka RFTC’s debut studio album.
The artist’s signature looks to be either a forgery, or an afterthought, but really what the hell do I know. Likely some child relation to Speedo based on the last name. Anyway, on a completely unrelated note, binge-watch your shows responsibly!
Delicious Pizza
By far the best pizza in all of Los Angeles, the newly opened Delicious Pizza not only takes its logo, hip-hop motif, and aesthetic flare from the LA-based label, it was in-part founded by non other than Delicious Vinyl co-founder Michael Ross. With wall-to-wall memorabilia from hip-hop’s golden age, Delicious Pizza is 2nd-to-none for great eats, great tunes, and dirt-cheap cocktails. Part museum, part hip-hop heaven, Delicious Pizza, in every conceivable way, lives up to its name.
Give Us A Kiss
Solemn… elegant… desolate… nose-funk… beautiful… maze-town… stagnant pit of historic, Southern Californian greatness… “give us a kiss.”
The Prudent Groove 