a blog for those who never gave up their turntables or records
THIS BRIEF PIECE on the Duke of Earl was inspired by an equally brief article on my other site titled “earl earl earl, earl of grey.” That piece is not about a duke duke duke of anything, but about my enjoyment of Tazo’s Earl Grey tea, a beverage I have loathed for decades but—for some inexplicable change in my aging, testosterone-deprived taste buds—I currently crave the stuff! READ MORE
EARLIER THIS YEAR, I posted my first Amazon review, this one of the Rolling Stones’ album THEIR SATANIC MAJESTIES REQUEST. It had the over-long and grammatically cumbersome title of “Clearly their answer to PET SOUNDS—or at least Good Vibrations—SGT. PEPPER is actually as disparate an artifact as REVOLVER.” READ MORE
IN 1970, local rock star and entrepreneur Joe Nardone opened a teenage dance hall on the Public Square of downtown Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. Formerly the Stardust Ballroom, it was a second floor affair where couples had practiced ballroom dancing. It was just above the old Paramount Theater, then a first-run venue for new movies. READ MORE
IN THE OPINION of many rock critics, the best all-around album by a white female pop singer recorded and released in the ’60s may be DUSTY IN MEMPHIS. But, for my taste, the lady with the best pipes and the best all-around taste in pop music in that decade was Petula Clark. READ MORE
I INITIATED A NEW TOPIC on the Record Collectors Guild website in September 2004 titled “The Pseudo Psychedelic ’60s.” I had hoped for a lengthy and engagingly argumentative and informative thread that went on forever. Below is what I got instead: it was fun, but I did not really leave it with more knowledge that when I launched the conversation. READ MORE
THERE IS SOME CONFUSION regarding the use of certain terms for buying and selling records that is rampant on the Internet! It is also true at record stores, record collectors conventions, and through the mail using self-published sale lists, ads in magazines such as Goldmine—but not to the degree that ones encounters it on the ‘Net. READ MORE
BY 1963, JACKIE DeSHANNON had released fifteen singles and she had just turned 22 years old! By the end of the decade, she would score a pair of Top 10 hits (What The World Needs Now Is Love and Put A Little Love In Your Heart) but would have problems getting any of her other fine sides played on AM radio none ever came close to the Top 10 again. READ MORE
I WAS 28-YEARS OLD and living in St. Helena, the heart and soul of California’s Napa Valley. I had a day job learning the care and maintenance of plants at Four Seasons Nursery, which I enjoyed, as plant people tend to be friendly people. I was hardly wealthy—hell, I was barely solvent most of the times—but I felt blessed: I had a job and I was in love with a beautiful woman who was in love with me. READ MORE
WHAT’S A “MARIJUANA OVERDOSE”? That rhetorical question was inspired by the headline “Here Are All The People Who Have Died From A Marijuana Overdose” to an article in today’s HuffingtonPost (September 4, 2013). It states that US Attorney General Eric Holder wouldn’t intervene as Colorado and Washington implement plans for a system of legalized marijuana:
“In a joint letter written to Holder on Friday, law enforcement organizations warned that his move would lead to more crime, violence, and even death. READ MORE