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Showing posts from May, 2019

TCCDM Pulls One Out..."Low" (1977)

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"Low" - David Bowie (1977) "Low" is my favorite from Bowie's 'Berlin Trilogy' phase and was his 11th album.  It fluctuates around in my top-5 Bowie albums but never has quite settled.  "Low" is a great album though. all about experimental electronica and snarling, jarring guitars. Side A is short and catchy with Bowie throwing out cool lyrics over cool synths and guitar rhythms.  Nothing ever sounds complete.  Nothing ever gets resolved. Side B is colder and very... Brian Eno-esque.  All instrumental.  And though I have no reason to doubt Bowie was actively involved in the process...it all sounds very..." tastes great, less filling" like.  And again, nothing really sounds complete.  Nothing gets resolved.  Perhaps it's all a metaphor for our pathetic little lives.  And maybe that was the point.  And maybe me thinks too much! I absolutely love side A.  And sometimes...I love side B.  But only sometimes. And then the

I Went...SI--SI--SIRIUS...All The Way Home (again)

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(a short jaunt) "The Doctor" - The Doobie Brothers - "Cycles" (1989) I'm not crazy in love with it, but those wonderful Tom Johnston vocals are so familiar, it's hard to stay in a bad mood.  The original members got back together for this album and that's always a good time.  And this song, in particular, sounds like it could have been an outtake from one of the early “The Captain and Me"  sessions.  Feels like a summer day. "Arriving Somewhere But Not Here" - Porcupine Tree / "Deadwing" (2005) This is pretty epic stuff.  It has a very gentle, but dark, Floyd-like intro ("Animals,” to my ears.) Then morphs into something more distorted.  The delicious outro returns to a dark floaty ambiance.  The lyrics are mysterious and haunting and add to the already psychy-prog setting.  Like there's more going on than what you think you hear.   12 minutes of perfect.  Porcupine albums, come to me. &quo

Horse Head Has An Idea:.."Bill Evans Gets Ready To Play" (1966)

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HERE'S AN IDEA! Getting to watch jazz legend  Bill Evans  prepare for a television taping is like being a fly on the wall.  This was for a show in Copenhagen, Denmark, 1966...and we see everything!  We see Bill discovering that the piano the TV producers provided him has a funked-up damper pedal.  We see bassist Eddie Gomez ripping off runs, working his fingers and getting ready to go.  But more especially, we watch Bill Evans trying to catch the fill-in drummer, Alex Reid , up to speed.  Now Alex was no hack, he drummed for everyone all over Denmark...but Alex has an awful lot of information thrown at him to eat and has a very short time to digest it all.  So, you can almost hear Alex sweating.  Bill does try to relax his drummer, reminding him it is only a rehearsal.  But even then....the pressure can be felt. And it’s nice watching Eddie trying to help chill out the new drummer who clearly does not want to let Bill Evans down.  And it's very cool watching Eddie

TCCDM Dig and Flip: "Capote In Kansas" (2006)

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"Capote In Kansas" (I stumbled upon a good-sized box filled with a variety of graphic novels at an estate sale. No official count as I've just been pulling from the box when I find time to read one.  Afterward, I post the book and go from there.) "Capote In Kansas" by Ande Parks,  Chris Samnee 2006 by Oni Press 128 pages NO SPOILERS: Once upon a time, Truman Capote had the idea to take a trip to Kansas in hopes of writing a non-fiction “novel.”   It was a ground-breaking idea.  The story was to be about the horrific and unnecessary murders of the entire Clutter Family that took place in Holcomb, KS in 1959.  The story would be called “In Cold Blood” ...and go on to become one of the most critically acclaimed books of the 20th century. However, this graphic novel is not about the hideous murders.  It is an abbreviated telling of Truman Capote , a talented high society New York dandy trying to get his big story.  His experience trying to coll

TCCDM Pulls One Out..."Gris-gris" (1968)

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"Gris-gris" - Dr. John (1968) I had no idea when I picked up this album that "Gris-gris" would slip into my “house on fire” takeout bag of records.  I like it that much.  This is a stew of New Orleans r&b sprinkled with psych salt and stirred into a strange caldron of voodoo blues.  The music is very cool and, at times, a little unsettling I'm not going to banter too much hyperbole about the album's spooky reputation, although it does come by it honestly.  Spinning "Gris-gris" is a fascinating and mysterious experience.  True that.  Voodoo chanting and strange unexpected sounds over a variety of hypnotic rhythms give everything a haunting vibe.  As if Dr. John struck a bargain with who-knows-who allowing him to channel the original Dr. John Montaine, the high priest of New Orleans voodoo.  And, like I said, it is a little unsettling.  Like being an uninvited guest stumbling into an "Eyes Wide Shut" ceremony where guests w

Interview -- Dennis Dunaway (Alice Cooper)

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"All that I know  is all that I think. Dead feelings are cool, down lower I sink." ~  Alice Cooper  ~ RnR HoF bassist Dennis Dunaway , an original member of Alice Cooper , is a writer and performer of some unnerving songs.  Some wonderfully wicked, unnerving songs.  Even their famously euphoric anthems, “I'm Eighteen" and "School's Out" have an underlying hint of danger wandering beneath.  A fuzzy shade of darkness that you can almost touch.  But not quite.  Like magician Shin Lim , you can see the smoke coming out of his mouth, but you're not sure how it got there.  It's just there. Other songs are not as subtle.  No hidden agendas here.  Songs like, "Killer," "Black Juju,"  "Dead Babies," and "Halo Of Flies. "  It is what it is.  Haunting and in your face.  The kind of vibes that throw creepy sugar into the night.  I haven't forgotten about the theatrical pizzazz of Alice , for su

I Went...SIRIUS...All The Way Home (again)

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(a short jaunt) "Effigy" - Creedence Clearwater Revival / "Willy and the Poor Boys" (1969) You just don't hear this one often.  The song was written in one of those darker keys that hint of bad moons rising.  Fogerty was inspired by President Nixon's attitude toward the war protesters, if I remember right.  It's moody and portent.  And if the song was two minutes shorter it would be perfect. "Friends of Mine" - The Zombies / "Odessey and Oracle" (1968) I really like this song, and yet it only made #6 on my favorite songs from the bands classic "Odessey and Oracle" album.  That's how strong this pop-psych masterpiece really is.  "Friends..." is the Zombies tribute to a few of the love birds wandering around in their world at the time.  If you listen closely, you can hear their names.  I watched a clip of original members, Colin Blunstone and Rod Argent performing a couple of songs at a bo

TCCDM Pulls One Out..."These Things Too" - Pearls Before Swine (1969)

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"These Things Too"   -  Pearls Before Swine (1969) In 1969, Pearls Before Swine released their third album.  Led by singer-songwriter, Tom Rapp ... "These Things Too" is considered by most fans to be the weakest PBS to this point.  Yet this is usually clarified with a ..." still pretty good album"...disclaimer.  Tom  Rapp's lyrics are always interesting, but hard to describe without doing injustice.  I'll just add that his chosen words feel...unexpected, but perfect.  There's some gentle psych-folk goings-on, but just a little.  Still, there is a cool trippy melancholy that wanders around your brain like Angie Dickinson at an art museum.  (Sorry, I just watched a DePalma film.)  And most of it works.  From almost all accounts, Pearls Before Swine never really put out a bad record.  Pretty much risk-free, if you like your folk rock with a dusting of psych.  Grab'em when you can find'em. FWIW... The album cover depicts th

TCCDM Dig and Flip: "Star Trek: The Modala Imperative" (1992)

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"Star Trek: The Modala Imperative"   (I stumbled upon a good-sized box filled with a variety of graphic novels at an estate sale. No official count as I've just been pulling from the box when I find time to read one.  Afterward, I post the book and go from there.) "Star Trek: The Modala Imperative" by Michael Jan Friedman and Peter David, Pablo Marcos (Illustrator) 1992 by DC Comics 192 pages (Originally two 4-issue mini-series - ST / ST:TNG in 1991) NO SPOILERS: Chekov's first assignment.  He and Kirk beam down incognito to the planet Modala to observe if their people are ready for Federation inclusion and unexpectedly find themselves in the middle of a society filled with major civil discord and oppression.  Many years later, the TNG crew pay a visit to Modala and discover things have vastly improved, but all is not as it seems. "The Modala Imperative" (inside) The story is well paced with plenty of action and

Horse Head Has An Idea:.."T-Bird Gang" (1959)

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HERE'S AN IDEA! There is a T-Bird automobile  in this movie, but it's mostly parked with the gang leader waiting for his orders to be followed.  They must've borrowed the car from the lot, 'cause the T-Bird seldom moves.  The tuffs could have easily been called the "Parked-Car Gang" and never missed a beat.  So, yeah, there is a T-Bird in the movie and the gang leader gets to sit in it.  Now, let's move on. A young man's father is killed by the T-Bird Gang...and of course, the son seeks revenge.  This is a story that's quick in the telling...and really not too shab as far as 50s B-movies go.  Roger Corman is involved and adds his quirky touches to this low budget and that's always a good thing.  The leader of this  T-Bird Gang is played by Ed Nelson who went on to do beaucoup character roles in television. You'll recognize him, if not his name.  In this b/w, Nelson is a bit of a finger snapper and a bit of a poser.  Plays Chess.