I woke up this morning with high hopes and fruitful ambitions, and now I’m so exhausted I can’t keep my eyes open. 1987 is to hell and gone from here, but little, lasting memories keep Tiffany spinning in the jukebox of the mind. Tomorrow is Friday, the shortly thereafter, Record Store Day. We’re almost there…
Tag Archives: music
Cuff Tity
So, this is a bit odd. I’d recently (past few weeks) attempted to purchase (twice) a few records from http://www.tuffcity.com. Seems easy enough, for sure, right? I’d entered my CC and email info, had gotten the order confirmation and all, when excitement started to settle in. Cheap-ass records, no, wait, ESSENTIAL records at a discount, and this shit was flat, straight denied. Funds returned. I’d sent email after email, asking for any sense of gimmie denial, but was left in the dark. Today I rechecked the shop to confirm this post, and everything was taken down. Le sigh. The long road it is.
Epic Stereo Cassette
Double analog owner of this “Epic Stereo Cassette” MAY have cycled one official listen way back in the day, but she’s new meat now that Mr. Suave Walkman is in town. One acquires an eye for the essentials, regardless of the medium, while on the frigid hunt. 2 Record Set on One Cassette ain’t too shappy… Epic Stereo Cassette
License to Chill
This recent tape obsession seems not to be going away, especially since a fully functional Walkman entered the home. At the very least, cassettes offer an interesting perspective on album art, if and when done well, like with 1986’s License to Ill. Check Your Head uses the same landscape layout, as I’m sure several other legendary albums I’ve yet to acquire also incorporate. Heavy static and bass-y hum offer a nostalgic glimpse into the media of yesteryear, and we’re slowly grabbing up the essentials.
Tonight
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Check Your (Tape) Head
Another recent obsession in analog media, and the consolidated cassette collection is fully functional. You see, there was a time, not too long ago, where I’d (stupidly) given away 90% of my cassette tapes. I’d already owned them on CD / vinyl / both, or some type bollocks, but now, I’m kicking myself for not holding onto these rectangular treasures. As you can see, the essentials remained in my custody, and today… FINALLY, I’m able to enjoy them again.
Record player (x3), check! Compact disc player, check! 8-track player, (really?) check! Cassette player… well, it’s about damn time!
Super Ride 45
Bootleg 7″ records aren’t necessarily my thing… or the thing of my friends… or the thing of my friends’ friends… but brand any 45 with “Rocket from the Crypt,” and this casual collector starts hunting for shoe boxes for premium record storage. Super Ride 45 is the most recent addition to the family collection, but also serves as another solemn victory in the obtainable Rocket from the Crypt discography. Happy Thursday, for what it was.
Woah, Nelly
Woah, Nelly, am I excited for this book! Yes, that was just an Earthworm Jim reference… and I’m painfully okay with it. A quasi-autobiography-type-thing about one of my favorite high school bands which has sustained relativity and sonic consistency some 33 years after its pubescent, angry inception. NOFX has a book, you say? Where, and how much?
Also, RIP Merle Haggard.
GRR
Hidden legacies sealed on virgin vinyl. GR050 untouched.
1987
In 1987, I was 8. Also in 1987, Revolting Cocks released their heart-stopping live album, the double-trouble LP, You Goddamned Son of a Bitch. This album was recorded some 170 miles south of the rural, tumbleweed-rolling town I rode my GT Vertigo BMX around. Now, some 29 years later, this video documentation holds court within our humble library . Historical brilliance needs preserving, and this release was done up right.
Early Morning Spins
This kicked off our day… what was yours?
8-Track Love
Not sure where this recent fixation occurred, but we’re happy that she’s arrived. Sgt. Pepper on 8-Track… not sure what else needs saying.
Endless Happiness
When the fiancée digs for records…
“Pachanga”
Ladies and gentlemen, it’s time for Pachanga! Antobal’s Latin All Stars under the direction of Obdulio Morales manifests afro-Cuban greatness with their 1962 release from Brunswick Records titled, Pachanga… PACHANGA! Just when I was thinking how my late March, Thursday evening needed some soulful cha-cha, this lovely, and immensely exciting album came to mind. That is all.
Bruce Lee
This 1997 reissue of The Bruce Lee Band’s debut album was the fourth release from Asian Man records, and features legendary label owner Mike Park (previously of Skankin’ Pickle) on sax and vocals. What’s more, the album’s backing band consists of the roaring Floridians, Less Than Jake (yes, that Less Than Jake). If you’ve not heard this tireless album, it’s actually much better than you’d ever imagine, and comes highly recommended. It’s taken me 19 years to find a vinyl version of this flawless album. Don’t let nearly two decades go by before you find yours.
Cards & Analog Entertainment
Tonight’s rendezvous with social abnormality was Gin Rummy and the Beatles’ self-titled release on 8-track. What I lost in strategy, I gained in audio entertainment, and solid company. It’s all about the random Tuesday evenings in front of a lifeless television listening to vintage mediums and playing card games made famous by our grandparents… or, at least, it damn well should be.
Break it Up
This 1998 UK release on Elemental Records by the sultans of sleaze, San Diego surfers Rocket from the Crypt, is the latest checked mark on the slowly shrinking list of remaining Rocket records. This journey to acquire their discography will likely take me another decade to achieve, but the full result will have been well worth the wait… or so I’m telling myself each and every day I search for my missing, spinnable links.
King for A Day, Whore for A Week
It’s difficult to subjectively analyze Operation Ivy’s sole album, Energy. First introduced to these ears by means of bootleg cassette (in 1994), then rebranded by a Best Buy purchased CD (in 1996), then refurbished by various vinyl incarnations throughout my 22+ years of record collecting. Save for London Calling, there is no better pure punk-ish classic, as far as I’m concerned, than Energy. Think the Abbey Road of punk, for those not in the loop. Anyway, those who know me, know that clear vinyl records represent both the epitome of any given release, and the buck with which I stop. Proper, legitimate albums graduate to clear vinyl, then they are never purchased again.#onmywaytosavetheworld
Mining the Bowels of 50-Year-Old Technology
So, yeah… didn’t know this photo existed until today… this photo of me adhering the intricate nuances of the cabinet record player’s newly lubricated intestines. She’s a solid, working machine, now, and I’m a prideful, greasy funnel for 33 1/3 rpm joy.
Remember, Kids…
…Unlawful duplication may be hazardous to your health.
The Prudent Groove 