The College Crowd Digs Me

"Next of Kihn" - Greg Kihn Band (1978) I play “Next Of Kihn” all the time.  And like the album artwork suggests, Greg Kihn hadn't been pinned down yet.  The album sounds like Kihn is just doing his thing.  No diggity.  It leads off with a fun garagey type song and then fills the rest with catchy rockers and jangly alt-rock Jayhawks kinda stuff.  And Kihn also tosses in a couple of excellent floaty, trippy jams as well.  One is the haunting 6 1/2 minute gem... ”Remember.”   The song is timeless and you feel it.  And it's probably his best song. Many albums with songs that move around too much in their genre can be trouble.  But in this case...it all works.  “Next Of Kihn” is one of those 'personal' fav albums that didn't get all that much love like others yet to come...but it's still the one I reach for when I need a fix.  Like certain albums are want to do.  Plus it's on the Berserkley label which is cool.  Not an expensive album to pick

"Midnight In The Garden Of Good And Evil" ...John Berendt (1994) 388 pages NO SPOILERS: In this non-fiction novel, the author sets up shop in the 'quaint little town' of Savannah, Georgia to cover a murder trial that occurred in one of those majestic southern mansions that Hollywood is so fond of using for their movies.   The 1981 murder involves a high-profile socialite millionaire and a young hustler and shaker.  The courtroom is point and counterpoint drama.  All the evidence introduced.  The prosecutions' gambit.  The defenses' stratagem.  And of course, I wanted the truth to win out, but honestly, there was no side to truly pull for so I was mostly wearing apathy's grin by the end. John Berendt can definitely put together some fine sentences and paragraphs.  However, the first part of the story was a whole lot of  'so what.'  I was three shy of the “100 pages or quit it" mark before things finally started to kick in.  I'm

(a short jaunt) "Aisumasen (I’m Sorry)” - John Lennon / "Mind Games" (1973) I'll be honest. “Mind Games” ...the album...was a bit of a slow grower for me.  I just wasn’t feeling it.  And I'm one who's loyalty leans into the John Lennon camp, too.  Maybe because I'd heard the title track so many times on the radio, when I finally got around to picking up the album, I'd put the title track on such a high pedestal nothing could ever compare.  So yeah, this album has been a slow grower for me.  Anyway, I’ve just never really warmed up to this song.  Every time I try to listen to it...my mind starts to wander.  That is until it gets to the tasty guitar part at the end.  That's David Spinozza playing the guitar.  Among a lot of other things he's done, he's the guitar you hear on Dr. John's ...”Right Place, Wrong Time.”  RIP to The Night Tripper. "The Bug" - Dire Straits / "On Every Street" (1991) I al

"All Of Them Monsters" - Chancellorpink (2019) "All Of Them Monsters" (2019) is a tricky balancing act between being madly in love and just being mad.   Chancellorpink (Ray McLaughlin) ...singer/songwriter/musician from the great state of PA...has released his 5th album and it is some shimmery underground pop-rock that carries vocals that are very heavy neo-lounge.  Imagine Bowie and Bachrach walking into the Twin Peaks diner for a late night slice of cherry pie.  It's curious like that and I dig it. "All Of Them Monsters" (back) "All Of Them Monsters" (inside) "All Of Them Monsters" (CD) This is indie stuff, for sure.  But well-done indie.  Each song seems to create a wonderful conundrum of being catchy and slightly askew at the same time.  Not everything works, but Chancellorpink delivers more wheat than chaff.  The aptly titled, "Here To Haunt Me" and the lite-fuzz guitar gem  "A Lit

HERE'S AN IDEA! Long before Michael Landon played the traveling angel... Jonathan Smith .  Long before he became the Little House father... Charles Ingalls or the Ponderosa heartthrob... Little Joe .  And even before Michael Landon was cast as the infamous and original “Teenage Werewolf” (that role would find him the very next year)... the young Michael Landon copped a role in the '50s TV series... ”Crossroads.”   A show that dramatized the lives of clergymen and the problems they faced.  In this episode, Landon is cast as an eager, up and coming pugilist.  A talented young boxer with a priest/coach trying to protect him from a criminal pair who want nothing more than to make quick money off the kid.  This story was meant to raise awareness about how underage boxers were being thrown to the wolves against brutal and well-seasoned professionals.  And with predictable and sometimes dangerous results.  (Rules have since changed requiring boxers to be at least 18 years of a

"Mr. Flood's Party" -  Mr. Flood's Party (1969) Mr. Flood's Party was a psych band who left us this wonderful self-titled gem.  It's a slice of shadow psych...but not too dark.  Floaty, at times.  The arrangements are really interesting and the vocals are tight.  There are no shanks on this album.  No groaners.  It's all a good trip, and the aroma of incense floating around a blooping lava lamp would not be out of place. The band hailed from NY and possibly took their name from a 1920's poem of the same name.  And I so dig the album cover.  I need to find a shirt or button with that image on it.  I've kept my eyes open for this album   a long time but it's just not floating around in the wild.  Not for me to find anyway.  So this was a bit of a pony-up for me, but I think I did pretty good.  I made an eBay bid...fair, but lowball...and woke up the next morning with good news.  I don't eBay very often, but when do...I use the Ron

(a short jaunt) “Around The Plynth” - The Faces / “First Step” (1970) This version of The Faces is missing the wallpaper blistering vocals of Steve Marriot who left for different dreams.  And while  “Around The Plynth”  is a great song, I can't help wondering how little Stevie's driving vocals would sound on this one.  The  Rod Stewart vocals are fine here, but just a little too polite.  Little Stevie could outright get in your face.  And that, I would love to have heard.  Still, this is one of those wonderful deep cuts that makes vinyl lovers smile.  And that's Ron Wood doing the major surgery with his slide.  Spin this little gem next time anyone tells you Ron Wood is overrated.  Just killer!   Also, this is another track for your headphones.  Plenty of left and right bounce goin' on.  The Faces have always been a cherrypick band for me, but they never fail to throw down a song or two where they sound like they're just an angels breath away from b

"Just Kids" ...Patti Smith (2010) 304 pages If you are already a Patti Smith fan, like I am, you're gonna fall in love with her all over again.  If you're just driving by the house to check out her curtains, you're gonna want to pull in the driveway and sit a spell on the porch.  Because “Just Kids” is time well spent. “Just Kids” is an amazing and extremely personal snapshot about two young people unexpectedly crossing paths and forming what would become an almost unbelievable friendship.  That would be Patti Smith and Robert Mapplethorpe . But it's much more than that.  The strong connection between these two reads like one of those “stars in alignment” kind of things.  Fate takes the wheel.  Two kids, both compelled by the love of “The Arts” and the need to create...find themselves pulling resources, living month-to-month and week-to-week in the edgiest and unlikeliest parts of New York City where the underground arts and music breathe. Pa