for those who never gave up their turntables
MY INTRODUCTION TO WRITING RECORD REVIEWS was for my high school newspaper in 1969. Like most nerds with cool record collections given a pulpit, I wrote condescendingly about the artists and music that my classmates liked. I remember damning Glen Campbell and dismissing Cream’s farewell album. [Read more] “introduction to rather rare records”
DISPOSABLE POP MUSIC has been with us for a long time. In fact, long enough that Tin Pan Alley and Brill Building seem almost legendary. The attitude that the music you listen to somehow defines who you are is recent. It originated with teenage boys who took their record collections dead serious in the ’60s. [Read more] “we took our record collections dead serious in the ’60s!”
MOST OF THE INFORMATION about the criteria required for an RIAA Gold Record awarded an album from 1958 through 1974 and singles through 1988 found on the internet is incorrect. This applies to almost every website I have seen, especially Wikipedia. Believe it or not, this even applies to the RIAA’s own website! [Read more] “understanding riaa gold and platinum record awards”
A WHILE BACK is an old person’s way of saying, “It was more than a few years ago but how much more, I ain’t certain.” So, a while back, I was telling my friends that the future of music was going to be AI generated by computer program developers who would not necessarily be musicians. [Read more] “guess I’m dumb about the state of AI generated music”
IN MAY 1968, the Rolling Stones released “Jumpin’ Jack Flash,” which was a worldwide smash. While it topped the Cash Box Top 100 in the US, for some inexplicable reason it stalled at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100. In August, the group followed with “Street Fighting Man,” the lead single from their upcoming album. [Read more] ““street fighting man” is the most valuable picture sleeve in the world”
PUT RECORD COLLECTORS TOGETHER and we talk about all sorts of vinyl-related topics. One conversation led to a discussion about the perfect album for an evening of sexy slow dancing. Sinatra and Mathis were mentioned—of course!—but my choice has been Julie London’s About The Blues album since I discovered the record decades ago. [Read more] “sexy slow dancing in the dark anyone?”